Today we drove over to the Mississippi Head Waters Visitor Center. The mighty Mississippi that we see in Memphis is a small stream as it begins flowing out of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. Lake Itasca is 1475 feet above sea level so the Mississippi has a downhill path on its 2552 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico. This is what the Mississippi looks like 600 feet from it's beginning at Lake Itasca.

Here is Pam walking across the Mississippi at its beginning.

Here we see the first road to cross the Mississippi and the size of the river under the bridge.

The Mississippi actually starts flowing north until it enters Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji. She flows out of Lake Bemidji and soon takes a southern direction. The city of Bemidji is the first town on the Mississippi River. At the connection between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji is the town of Bemidji's Visitor Center and the Paul Bunyan Park.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue Ox

Lake Bemidji