Minneapolis, Minnesota

         A walk in the park-Minnehaha

The Minnehaha falls are 53 feet.

A beautiful scene (unless there is a severe drought)

Can you imagine???

This is the statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha featured in  

Henry Wadsworth Longfellows epic poem 

"The Song of Hiawatha"

Since we weren't too familiar with it, we looked it up and the 'poem' was 284 pages long.  So we decided to continue our unfamiliarity!

No plaques to describe him, 

maybe I should make up a story!

The Minnehaha Creek empties into the Mississippi River

just a short way from here.

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul Minnesota

A lovely church built with Georgia marble.

This relief of the 12 disciples took 4 years

and they continued all the work in the winter.

(imagine all that snow and the 40 degree below zero temperatures)

Beautiful Nave and dome.

It seats 3000 people, and one of the seats has JFK's name on it.

The guide mentioned that the electrical bills in the winter  were

 $100,000 per month.

Paul

The inscription at his foot says:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God"

Luke

One of the many beautiful chapels

City Tour

We had a fun tour with actor/tour guide (John Dillinger)  and learned much about the old crime and corruption of the St. Paul's police force.  Apparently it was so bad that it was known nation-wide for the corruption.

(much like _____ today!)

The man that put Prohibition into effect had his office on the 4th floor of this Landmark Hotel.

He was going to make sure that no one had anything to drink.

And then, directly across the street was the largest bootlegger.

He endeavored to make sure that no one ran out of anything to drink.

It was a good day and tomorrow we get a ride on the Mississippi River while we eat lunch.

Headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi- Lake Itasca, Minnesota

 

Lake Itasca State Park

Headwaters of the Mississipi River

The more we looked at the signs and maps, the more Lou kept asking "how can they possible tell where the actual starting point of the river is?,  

and which of little tributaries is supposed to be the Mississippi"?"

Apparently the native tribes kept wondering why the white people kept searching for the source,

couldn't they just enjoy the river for what it was??

All the tourists are enjoying the 

"I walked across the Mississippi River" routine

The early explorers were warned that going down the river would be experiencing

class 1 rapids, wetland marshes, muddy bogs, wild animals, and native tribes.

Navigating these widely ranging conditions to travel the 2500 miles is apparently 

a big sport today.

The answer to the question of 

"why is it so important to find the beginning of the river?"

is the fact that the treaty of the 1783 following the Revolutionary War 

"PROVIDED THAT THE UNITED STATES NORTHWEST BOUNDARY SHOULD EXTEND FROM THE NORTHWEST ANGLE OF LAKE OF THE WOODS TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.  ITASCA WAS ON THIS BOUNDARY" 

(INSCRIPTION ON THE ROCK)

The marshes at Lake Itasca are quite heavy.

When the tour boat had a problem with a stuck rudder, 

we just enjoyed some time to chat and get acquainted with others on the tour.

Bemidji, MN

 

Our first night and 'welcome dinner' 

at 

Ruttgers Birchmont Lodge

I don't know the flowers, but aren't they pretty?

We are in the town that Paul Bunyan made famous

 or was it the other way around?)

The Woolen Mills factory was a wonderful tour.

The machinery for all this clothing is incredible.

The buttonhole maker won the Grand Prize at the world's Fair and Exposition held in Paris, France in the year 1900.

This is THE machine, and the Mill owner maintains it and did a demo.

Works those buttonholes in lightning speed with ultra precision.

In case you are interested in this history.

The knitting machine is like nothing you've ever seen--

4 'cakes' of yarn, 9 needles for each cake, 

and 36 needles knitting this thin strip of yarn edging!

The braiding machine to make the decorative edges on the clothing.

Next stop - Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

Legendary loggers of the northwest territory.

Legends include that he could chop down a whole forest with one swipe of his ax.

Another is that he and a friend got in a fight and knocked down all the trees in South Dakota and created the Bad Lands.

Love this one,

shows the size of Paul Bunyan vs car.

Enjoyed the day, sunny and clear (for a change!)

Lewis & Clark - Learn as we go

                                Pompey's Pillar. Near Billings Montana

At Pompey's Pillar, this rock in the background is where Lewis Clark's signature stands, and is the only actual evidence of his trip.

Too bad we couldn't see it because the viewing had to be done after climbing 200 steps and trying to see it thru the mirror they had placed there!

Urk!

The Corp had 50 horses to help them in their journey, but they all had been stolen.

They learned how to construct these bullboats (7 feet in diameter, and constructed out of buffalo hides and willow branches)

After being stranded, a small contingent managed to travel several hundred miles up the Yellowstone River to meet up with Clark. 

Back to our campground in Medora, North Dakota

a quaint little town near the Roosevelt National Park.

( We have managed to stay in many campgrounds near the trains!)

 The Lewis and Clark interpretive center, Washburn North Dakota

(We drove a lot of miles to see this gun!)

Lou had to see to see the air gun that was purported to be the most important gun in American History.

It held 22 bullets, was fired to show the natives the power that the Corp had.

It is said that this gun did more to advance relations with the Indians ( as many as 50 different tribes), yet never killed one person.

We were able to see the (recreated) Fort Mandan where they built and stayed for the winter.  The Mandan tribe was very helpful in establishing diplomatic relations and help in guiding the party west.  

Lewis and Clark appear to have first met Sacagawea  at Fort Mandan.

Each room had a fireplace - pretty necessary in the winter weather 

of 40 degrees below zero.

The lofts were probably the 'best room' when the snow is high and the temperatures are so low.

5 months of living in small quarters led to the ordinary pleasures and pastimes -

music and card games.

The Captains quarters  - Sextants and map making.

and a bit of libation.

Lou is enjoying the Blunderbuss

It is a heavy large caliber cross between a shotgun and small canon.

They had to carry all supplies and equipment to fix everything they would need on this 2 year journey.

The blacksmiths had to be able to fix all metal items and all guns with their 16,000 pounds of gear!

Our guide asked what we thought this item was------

answer:  Battle Axe

(no not her!!)

It was a desirable item of trade, and has been found as far west as Idaho.