Maria crossed the Mississippi...

...and Dad Fell in.

We left Grand Forks and headed into Minnesota.  We first stopped to find the head waters of Mississippi.  It is located in Itasca State Park. From here, "1475 feet above the ocean, the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico."  The lake there feeds a creek and there is a line of rocks that you can walk across to cross the Mississippi.

Debbie stepped in, but smartly stepped out.

Maria successfully crossed the river and back.  

That is her across the river.

Dad took three steps and fell in, slipping on a rock.  His toe is still hurting (wondering if he broke it).  His pride is more damaged.

Mercifully, Debbie and Maria didn't get a picture of me in the water. Hey, I didn't get my hat wet.  Then I found the next bridge which was more age appropriate.

As we left Itasca, we crossed the Mississippi River (creek) several times.  It flows north from there to Bemidji and then it starts south.  So there were times when we were both east and west of the Mississippi. I wonder what a radio station would be called if it were in that zone?  Would it start with a "W" or a "K"?

Then we headed for Bemidji, Minnesota.  Bemidji State is in the WCHA, not the NCHC, but Miami played them in the NCAA semi-finals the year that they lost in the Finals to one of those northeastern schools. The campus is a little tighter than North Dakota, but it is right on Lake Bemidji.  If fact, one can see the lake from the football field.  Can you imagine a wind coming off that lake for a late October or November game?

They play their hockey at an arena in downtown Bemidji, the Sanford Center.   We had lunch in downtown Bemidji.  Bemidji is also home to Paul Bunyun and Babe, his Blue Ox.

Then we headed for Duluth.  Two reasons for Duluth.  One, it is on Lake Superior and two it is the home of another NCHC rival, the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  There was a deep fog on the Lake Superior when we got there...

but it started to lift and we got some pictures at Kitchi Gammi Park.

Sarah wouldn't let us take a selfie.

While driving around Bob saw a sign for this park.  We had to stop and take a picture or three.

Then we drove around the campus of Minnesota-Duluth.  They play their games downtown also.  College Hockey is probably the biggest entertainment in these three towns.

Before we headed for our hotel, we drove over to Wisconsin - Say "Cheese"! and back.

We finished the day by staying at the Black Bear Casino south of Duluth. We got into our room just in time. It poured as we got into our room.  We didn't gamble, but the room rate was decent.