Today was Labor Day and coincidentally the first cycling day of our adventure. We're out in front of the hotel about to pedal the distance to the recognized headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca. It was also a day to work out any mechanical bugs in our bicycles or bodies before leaving Bemidji for good tomorrow.
The 30+ miles ride out was on a lightly traveled road through the scenic countryside of mostly northern Midwestern forests. We had an early start so arrived at the Headwaters by late morning. These photos are taken outside of the conservationist Mary Gibbs Welcome Center where the Mississippi River begins. There are alot of fun facts and diaramas of the complete Mississippi River basin. The Mississippi is the 4th longest river behind the Nile, Amazon, and a river in China.
Wendy is pointing to where we are on the map of Minnesota.
On a ride like this it is ceremonial to dip the bicycle wheels into the waters at the start of the trip. Here we are at the beginning of the long flow of water down to the Gulf of Mexico.
It was time to get my feet wet and test the waters. It'll take approximately three months for each drop of this water to make it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
We learned alot about the river today that we will be traveling along for the remainder of the month. We left the Headwaters and returned back to Bemidji.
