Today, we packed up to leave Lake Itasca, Minnesota, where we stayed five days at this year’s annual Native Orchid Conference symposium. It was held in Itasca State Park and was headquartered in the Douglas Lodge complex on Lake Itasca.
We finished packing and had a quiet breakfast in the lodge:
According to the Minnesota Historical Society:
Built in 1905, Douglas Lodge is the oldest surviving building in the state park system and the first to be constructed in the Rustic Style. The Lodge is a 40-foot x 80-foot rectangular two-story structure built with peeled logs with saddle-notched corners resting on a split stone foundation. Douglas Lodge was the first building constructed to serve visitors to Itasca State Park and was built with funds appropriated by the State Legislature in 1903. Attorney General Wallace B. Douglas, a pivotal figure in the battle to save the timber in Itasca Park at turn of the century, selected the site overlooking the east arm of Lake Itasca. The lodge that now bears his name was originally called Itasca Park Lodge or State House.
After breakfast, we wandered down the hill to the lake to get one last look:
On our way back to the cabins, we passed one of several hummingbird feeders next to Douglas Lodge. Here, the hummers were out in full force, drinking the sugar-water provided by the state park staff:
We enjoyed watching the hummingbirds, but it was time to check out of the park and head back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we would leave our rental vehicle and fly back home to Greenville, South Carolina. So we went back the short distance to the 4-Plex Cabins and packed our belongings. Here are a couple of shots of the cabins:
The amenities were much nicer than I had expected, considering the reasonable price that was asked. The only thing I missed was a shower instead of a tub, but that tub came in very handy after a day of crouching and squatting out in the field in my attempts to photograph those tiny orchids. In addition, we had maid service each day of our stay.
We checked out of the park and headed up the road a few miles to the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca. We had actually visited the site a couple of days prior — after leaving Iron Spring Bog — but it was in the afternoon, and the site was crowded with families of “tourists”:
The sky and lighting were perfect, except I wanted a shot with no people! So today, we arrived early in the morning, hoping that we would be the only ones there. When we drove into the parking lot, I could see a couple of trucks belonging to the staff and two other vehicles with kayak carriers and a trailer.
We walked the 100 yards (~90 meters) or so down to the site. When we arrived, we found a few fellows hanging around, chatting with a park attendant. Nearby, at the headwaters, was a film crew, filming in the early morning light! We waited for them to finish their work so that we could get an unobstructed view of the place. While waiting, I asked one of the crew who they represented. He told me that they had spent the last six weeks winding their way up the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico delta to this very spot, filming at selected sites along the way. They represented TV5Monde (France’s version of our PBS) in Paris, France, and were filming a documentary about the Mississippi. Wow! It was our luck to be able to see the last day’s filming of this documentary. We spoke to them a while longer, and then they wrapped up and left. Here is one of the last shots they captured of their “star actor” dabbling in the edge of the lake just next to the headwaters:
Now, we had the whole place to ourselves. We could finally get a few unobstructed shots of this historic place:
Finally, here is a picture of the sign, carved into a standing tree trunk, telling about the headwaters:
This was a fitting end to our almost-three-week vacation to Canada and Minnesota. We packed our camera gear and headed back on our 5-hour drive to Winnipeg, Manitoba, savoring the companionship of our fellow travelers, and forming memories that would last us a lifetime…
–Jim
0 Responses
Such a picturesque place. The log cabins, the hummingbirds and the river views are just wonderful.
That’s interesting about meeting the French film crew. I came upon a film crew once that were working for “a cable channel”. The talent (actresses) were in bikinis.
Nice hummingbird shots.
Those math tests at the bottom are getting too hard for me. I’m running out of fingers and toes.
I was at the headwater earlier in the morning, the film crew was trying to get very early shots. I basically walked into the shot before I knew they were there, probably a good thing I had decided not to kayak at that end of the lake that morning. Love the pics, makes me want a better lens!