Here is a recap of the last few days.
Saturday - Drove from Walmart to Pine City, Minnesota. We went to see a reinactment camp about fur trading. The museum was called North West Company Fur Post. When we walked in we were greeted by a woman who claimed to be living in 1804. She was part Ojibwe Indian and part French Canadian. She took us back in time with her so that we could understand what it would have been like to be a fur trader or Ojibwe indian in the early 1800's. She was a terrific guide. The coolest thing about the tour was that the boys could feel and hold anything on the tour. They felt the many different types of animal furs, tasted what the voyageurs were cooking, played with the Indian children's toys, tried on the chief's hat, and even made a toy out of a stick and a pine cone. We all really enjoyed the tour. I've posted a link to the history of the American fur trade if you want to read more. We finished the tour just as a huge storm hit. When it rains out here it is like standing under your shower when the water is on high. You stand in it for 5 seconds and you are soaked. We drove in the rain to Millie Lacs Kathio State Park. The state parks in Minnesota are very pretty. I love all the trees that arch over the roads. The kids met a boy named Damien and had a great time playing with him. Peyton opened a chipmunk restaurant and had many small visitors. It was actually quite amazing how long Peyton could sit still and watch the chipmunks scurry under his chair.
The next day I went for a run on a trial in the woods. It was quite the extreme from the mall run. I literally had deer running in front of me on the trail. It was really cool. Dave went for a run after I got back, but didn't get lucky enough to have the deer friends run with him. We packed up while the boys rode their bikes to the lake with their new friend and his parents. We drove to met them in the RV and the boys had a great time swimming and geocaching. We then we hit the road and drove northwest to Itasca State Park. This is the Yosemite of Minnesota. It is a beautiful state park with lots of bike and hiking trails. It is also famous for being the point where the Mississippi River actually begins as a small stream.
On Monday, after Dave worked all morning on insurance stuff, we rented a couple more bikes and went on a bike ride to the historical river headwater. It was actually pretty cool. We crossed the rocks at the mouth of the might Mississippi River which is actually only a few feet wide at the start. We then walked down the river in the water a half a mile. It was really fun walking down the Mississippi { "stream" :-) }. If you didn't know...the Mississippi starts in Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. This is a 2552 mile, 3 month trek, through 8 states. What a journey! We hoped back on our bikes and rode around for quite a while and then headed back to the RV.
Do you see the chipmunk?
Start of the Mississippi
