We had some breakfast, got the girls ready and headed out.
The hike was only a couple of miles and Penny Lane was so happy when she got there. She was pretty sure it meant a swim for her.
PENNY LANE AND DAD WALKING ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI
ALMOST THERE
SUCCESS!
As you can see, the Mississippi River makes a modest start. It continues on through the park and stays narrow and fairly shallow.
STILL GOING
After we all got to walk across the Mississippi (Annie said "no way!"), we continued on the trail and found ourselves in a cool, shady area of the park.
I had been hearing a persistent chirping noise off and on during our hike. It was so loud and continual that I thought it was a bird. We stopped for a minute to follow the sound and I discovered that it was a Red Squirrel. Red Squirrels are smaller than the gray squirrels I am accustomed to seeing and they are much louder.
Penny Lane found them to be maddeningly tantalizing. She was bent on making friends with one of them.
"COME HERE RED SQUIRREL!"
The squirrels continued to tease and we continued to hike. The out and back ended up being almost five miles. Annie Belle hiked the entire way. I am always prepared to carry her but she chose to be a Mighty Dog.
We got back to Lewis and made sure the girls had drinks and food. Once they settled, we got into the car and drove to an area that had an observation tower. We decided to get a bird's eye view of the park.
100 FOOT OBSERVATION TOWER
We started up and did not stop until we got to the top deck. My fear of heights gave me a bit of a jolt but I just kept moving. The view from the top is spectacular. The skies were clear and the winds were calm.
WE WERE ABLE TO GET A GREAT 360 DEGREE VIEW OF THE PARK AND SURROUNDING AREAS
We descended the tower and walked back to the car. As we drove back to the RV, we stopped at the park lodge and had a look around. The lodge is log cabin style and very welcoming. We took a walk to the lake and just marveled at how peaceful it was.
It does not take long to understand why Minnesota is called "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." It is hard to go very far without coming across a lake. They vary in size and shape but they all offer beauty.
Our camping experience at Itasca State Park was good. It is remote but beautiful.
We had planned to stay until Thursday but we need to get to a place that offers better phone and Internet. We have a project cooking and it we need good connectivity to keep it hot.
We ended our day with a meal at a remote bar and grill called Lobos. It was named after a legendary rogue wolf that randomly killed local livestock. It took hunters 12 years to finally get the best of him.
As night fell, we made a fire and just enjoyed our spot of light in the surrounding darkness. Rob and I heard a wolf howl in the distance. We looked at each other and said "was that a wolf?"
Another great day in this thing we call life.
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