Lake Bemidji State Park - Bemidji, Minnesota

Monday we left Grahams Island State Park at Devil’s Lake, ND and traveled a little over 225 miles east on US Hwy 2 to Lake Bemidji State Park near Bemidji, Minnesota. We left the Great Plains and got into mostly rolling timbered terrain, Still lots of farms, but now the crops are more of corn and soybeans. The mix of pine and hardwood forests looks a lot like home.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we went about 50 miles southwest to Lake Itasca State park and the Headwaters of the Mississippi River. There has been controversy over the actual beginning point of the river, but the general consensus is that the Mississippi begins as a small stream flowing out of Lake Itasca. The park service has placed rocks across the outlet of the lake and you can walk across the Mississippi over the rocks (and get your feet wet), or 50 feet or so downstream you can cross on a foot log. Needless to say, this was a very interesting place - especially considering what the Mississippi River looks like downstream at places like St. Louis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.







Today we stayed at camp and took a nice walk to Big Bog Lake here in the park. The hike was a little over a mile (one way) through a mostly Black Spruce and Tamarac forest with the last quarter mile being over a long boardwalk through the marshy bog to the lake.



All along the boardwalk visitors can observe all kinds of vegetation - Pitcher Plants, insect eating Sundews, Orchids, Rush-Asters, and many other plants. This time of year there were no Orchids in bloom.





Tomorrow we will be headed on to the North Shore area Minnesota on Lake Superior