Have You Ever Seen The Headwaters Of The Mississippi River - Photo
Many have seen the Mississippi, at some point, on it's journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
One of the great rivers of the world, and a major transportation link in the U.S. Spectacular, huge, powerful, and muddy are some of the terms used to describe it.
Hereis a photothat shows the actual headwaters of this great river.
It's origin is Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota. Known to the Ojibwe people as Elk Lake.
From Lake Itasca it flows north to Lake Bemidji, (Bemidji means Crossing Waters), then east before it's starts it's 2300 journey south to the Gulf of Mexico.
The rock bridge is where Lake Itasca ends and the Mighty Mississippi starts. It'ssix inches deep at this point.
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Hope you enjoy the photo.
Just beautiful Kavika. This trip provided you with a lot of opportunity for you to show us your talent.
Thanks Perrie,
The real talent was getting the damn tourists off the rock bridge so I could get the photo...
Wolf would have worked as well Royal.
It is quite a spiritual experience Raven Wing. To see the beginning of a mighty river is really a wonderful experience.
Muskrat Badfish, they are hell on fish....
Great photoKavika ... Thanks for the enjoyable view .
Thanks Petey, it was a great time.
My nookomis (grandmother) took me there when I was around 12 or 13. She told me the story of the ''Guardians of the Water''...
Thanks AeonPax.
The only time I ever saw the Mississippi was when I was in St. Louis for a weekend convention. However, whenever I think of it the refrain from "Old Man River" goes through my mind.
Wolf would have worked as well Royal.
Not necessarily. Everyone knows the story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' .
I love that song and it sure fits the Mississippi Buzz.
That I will do Raven Wing.
I just saw the picture you posted on the headwaters, how inspiring to think of the great and mighty Mississippi in all it's splendor just a stream only 6 in deep. Like a child at birth, one never knows how great that little baby will be when grown.
What a great analogy James.
Thanks for stopping by.
My pleasure and tis I who gives the thanks.
Great photo on a beautiful day as well. It sure looks a lot better than it does at the other end.
Thanks Six. The Mississippi is protected water from Lake Itasca to Little Falls MN. I believe. It is so clean you can drink right from the river.
Now the other end is really another story.
Nice shot -- a compelling progression of natural elements -- almost step-like --that bring the viewer in!
I don't know if you've ever read "Flyfishing Through the Mid-Life Crisis," but as I recall (when reading it during one of my three or four midlife crises), there was an interesting part about headwaters.
Thanks Mac.
No, I haven't read it. I'll check it out though.
It's pristine N/A...truly beautiful.
I've had the great good fortune to walk across that rock bridge when we visited my mother's folks. I was eight. I've never forgotten how it looked and felt to be there at the source of so much power.
Minnesota is breathtaking. I was awestruck at all the water everywhere we went. Water seems to be the element that speaks to me the most. It was wonderful to be there and immersed in an experience that will never exist in Southern California.
Boozhoo Mashkawide'e,
Good to see you again.
It is a beautiful state. I posted two articles on Anishinaabe with photos of MN.
Thank you niijii.
I'm barely on the Internet these days. Trying to avoid all controversy and stress since there's too much in my personal life right now.
As I look at your photo, I can feel the water flowing over my hand -- so small in those days -- as I squatted above the rocks trying to keep my clothes dry ( Mustn't have wet clothes in the car) and still feel the spiritual replenishment offered by the water. Amazing how much the body remembers after all these decades.
I remember well when my grandmother took me there and told me the story of ''The Guardians of the Water''...Many years ago, but the memory never disappears.
Take care of yourself and come back when you can. We miss you on Anishinaabe.
Baamaapii niijii (until later my friend)
Itasca State Park is about two hours away for us and we go a few times a summer; they have fantastic hiking and biking trails. Had a black bear scare the shit outta outta me and my big yellow lab (passed on since then) there a few years back, but all the bear really wanted was a trash can we were near!
:~)
Yes, they really do have wonderful hiking and biking trails. It's really a well run park.
Note to self. Next time in Minnesota don't stand next to Larry and a trash can...
I don't see that big ol fish, to much reflection
Ha---LOL!
:~)
There is one there, it's a 55 inch muskie. Honest, would I lie...
That's them James, good eye...
I'M GETTIN MY POLE OUTTA THE CLOSET KAVIKA, MEET YOU UP THERE!
I'll be there next year again. See you there James.
SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN TO PUT INTO ACTION
James, Gunny, either of you ever been spear fishing?
We used to do that for frogs. Taking fish that way is kind of illegal around here.
Not with a spear gun. A spear, the way the Ojibwe do it. TTGA, not illegal if your Ojibwe, part of our treaty rights.
Guppies and a toothpick...ROTFLMAO
A favorite painting of mine by 19th C. American genre painter, William Sidney Mount, is "Eel Spearing at Setauket" (Long Island).
Beautiful painting Mac.
Thanks for posting it.
You can tell that he not only knew how to paint like a master, but that he had actually been in one of those boats at some time.
We will wait for you Gunny. (just as soon as we land this big un)
When I was a "young un" but I never got to zero in because the fish were 6" from where I saw them, never quite mastered that illusion effect
James, it does take time and practice to master the illusion effect.
Gorgeous photo. I love water scenes.
Thanks Spike, it's quite the experience to stand in the water there, knowing that this is really where the mighty Mississippi starts.
Thanks for stopping by.
Truly gorgeous! Just think, it's just the beginning... How clean and beautiful it looks!
Thanks for sharing this with us-- I never really knew where it started. I always thought it was where the Missouri River joined up with another river, or something.
It's so clean that you can drink the water, which I have done many times Dowser.
The headwaters are protected by law..It truly is a spiritual experience Dowser.
I believe that's where St. Louis is (and I don't think I'd want to drink the water there).
No you don't want to drink that water..
In April, I'll be at the other end of the Mississippi, New Orleans, and will post some photos of what it looks like there..
Isn't that when Mardi Gras takes place? If so, I don't think that any photo could do it justice.
Nope, Mardi Gras is in Feb. TTGA. But we'll be spending a lot of time in the Quarter and visiting a friend of mine that lives back in one of the Bayou's.
I love wandering around the quarter, especially at night. It evokes so many layers of sensory excitement.
While I was there in 2002, I also visited the cemeteries (all graves above ground because of the high water table) and the voodoo shops. Bought a Mardi Gras poster and several voodoo necklaces for souvenirs. Still have them in my hallway. Took a walking tour of the old houses with a guide who was eloquent concerning the generations of families. Such rich history there. It swirls around you. The buildings show the various cultures that ruled there: Spanish, French, etc. Lots of Creole influence too. Wonderful jazz bands all along the quarter. New Orleans is my kind of town.
Was standing on the street corner right by Jackson Square, looking over at Saint Louis Cathedral when my legs suddenly buckled and down I went. Now, I have a tendency to fall because of my back injury that makes my left leg go numb, but that's when I'm walking. I can't feel when I'm on uneven ground when that happens. But this time, I was standing completely still.Some sort of invisible force? I'll never know.
Walked along the river where it met the gulf waters (this was before the hurricane and flood) and took a short trip on a paddle boat. Wish I could have ridden the bigger steamboats upriver for a day or two. Didn't make it back into the bayous. We ran out of time. Would have loved those too.
But we stayed on an old plantation for a writing conference after we left New Orleans. That too reeked of history and was loaded with macabre tales. The present owner inherited through her family who were the original slave owners. Her husband was warden at the prison there until he shot her several times, then sat down to watch as she bled out. Fortunately, her maid snuck out and went for help. I can't believe she survived even then. He was a prisoner in the same prison when we were there but was trying to get released. She was scared he'd come after her again if he managed to get paroled.
While we were in New Orleans, we stayed in a historical hotel. Quite charming to wake up amid the flowers and have breakfast in the walled courtyard. John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman were filming Runaway Jury while we were there. Some of the other writers drove me nuts because they were so star struck. We were supposed to be using New Orleans as a backdrop for our writing, but all they wanted to do was search out the filming and find the stars. Being from Los Angeles, that had no interest for me. We just don't fall all over the stars like that out here. They were thunderstruck Hoffman was so short. What did they expect?
Until I read your post, Kavika, I had not thought about the fact I've walked across the headwaters and walked along the edge of the end waters of the Mississippi. Wow. What a great feeling.
Loretta,
My dream trip, probably not possible since the boat itself would cost at least half a million, but natural for an old sailor who has always wanted to command his own ship, would be out the St. Lawrence from the Great Lakes to Nova Scotia and down to Cape Horn, taking in the Gulf Coast along the way. Then through the Straits of Magellan and up the West Coast all the way to Sitka and Anchorage, with a possible side trip to Oahu along the way. Probably take about three years, but what a ride. I'd have to win the lottery to afford it, though.
Sounds like your had a great time Loretta.
Looking for stars is one of my favorite pass times. Of course I look in the sky.
We had a office in New Orleans. I always made sure that I had to bethere during Mardi Gras and especially ''Fat Tuesday''..Which, by the way was an official holiday in New Orleans.
That's a heck of a trip TTGA. Never give up your dream, they sometime come true.
Very nice photo.
Thanks Tacos.
LOL. I too look for sky stars on a regular basis. The good news is they are quite cooperative and look back at me with a twinkle in their eye. Very patient and merry bunch they are.They just hang out above waiting for me to have time for them.
Haven't been to NO during Mardi Gras. It's on my wish list.
TTGA, did you know you can volunteer to crew on the tall ships? They might sail some of the same waters of your dreams.
I was looking into it when family circumstances changed, and I had to postpone that dream. It's still on my wish list.
It would still be on my wish list Loretta, if I was still physically able to do it. Operating a large windjammer requires that you be in very good physical shape, and, unfortunately, I no longer am. I still have the skills needed to handle a smaller vessel with power assists, though.
I too am not in top shape, but that doesn't mean I abandon my dreams. They just morph into another. Last year, there were two tall ships in Ventura that took two hour sails and battled each other, with people like myself in the crew. It was a paid trip, but if I'd heard about it in time, I would have been on it. Might be more practical at this age and considering the time I'd have to devote to crewing like I wanted to before.
Sounds like you have a solid grasp on your dream adaption too. Glad to hear that. Hope you can do at least part of the trip.
The French pastries. Oh, yes, ummm, thanks for the memory. I would have loved living there for a while. You must have some great memories.
Now that I've connected the two ends of the river I visited, the headwaters when I was eight years old and the end waters fifty years later, I'm wondering how I can weave that into an article. Sure would be fun to traverse the river inbetween.
I sailed a good part of the Yugoslavian coastline. A wonderful trip. We would go into areas that none of the cruise ships or larger boats could go. We stopped in a small town on the Dalmation coast named Biograad (white city). Ended up staying there for a couple of days, rather than the couple of hours that we had planned on.
Ok, the wine was flowing, sooooo why leave.
This is the plantation where we stayed -- Butler Greenwood. Anne Butler, the woman who owns it, is a writer.
My friend and I stayed in the cottage on the pond. Waking up at dawn and watching the steam rise off the pond while the ducks fed, came and went was wonderful. There were a pair of swans (one was black) and a stray goose or two.
Beautiful grounds but also troubled by the past. In one tale, the kitchen cottage is said to be haunted. It has a deep well right in the center of the kitchen said to be the resting ground of a slave who fell in. Anne doesn't play up the ghost stories. She doesn't want that to be the reason people visit and doesn't believe them anyway.
Without her knowledge, the writer's group held a seance there, just for fun. Nothing happened. When we returned to our cottage, my friend's key was bent and would not open the door. She'd used it to lock the door when we left. Eerie.
That is one of the few places in the US that I have never been to. Great photos of the very beginning of a wonderful force of nature the US could probably not live without.
Hi Grump,
It really is a wonderful force of nature. Just the amount of goods that are barged up and down the river is amazing.
Fishing is good up at the north end as well.
Thanks for stopping by my friend.
Raven,
I don't think that many people realize just how much heavy transportation still goes by water. Everyone figures that trucks and railroads have replaced it. For the most part, it's still the cheapest form of bulk transport.
And the traffic problem would be much worse.