Itasca State Park - Fall 2021

I walk the Earth

“For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length--and there I travel looking, looking breathlessly.” ― Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge ------- "I am a poor wayfaring stranger, traveling through this world below" ― traditional song

Our visit to Itasca State Park. Home of Lake Itasca and the Headwaters of the Mississippi. Yes, this is where the mighty Mississippi begins its journey.

Itasca State Park (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is a state park of Minnesota, United States, and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park spans 32,690 acres (132.3 km²) of northern Minnesota, and is located about 21 miles (34 km) north of Park Rapids, Minnesota and 25 miles (40 km) from Bagley, Minnesota. The park is part of Minnesota’s Pine Moraines and Outwash Plains Ecological Subsection and is contained within Clearwater, Hubbard, and Becker counties.^[2]

Itasca State Park was established by the Minnesota Legislature on April 20, 1891, making it the first of Minnesota’s state parks and second oldest in the United States, behind Niagara Falls State Park. Henry Schoolcraft determined Lake Itasca as the river’s source in 1832. It was named as a National Natural Landmark in 1965, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. About 500,000 people visit Itasca State Park annually.

From the Wikipedia article Itasca State Park