What starts small can quickly grow into a powerful force.  The Mississippi River is one of nature's examples of this truism.

I decided to seek out the source of the Mississippi while in Minnesota.  Where my family is from---Southern Louisiana--- the Mississippi River is a huge part of the culture.  The river drains waters from most all of the United States between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians into the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans.  It is the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world.

Its origin is humble.  Before collecting all or most water runoff from 31 states, the Mighty Mississippi River tumbles over the few rocks you see above.  The placid lake to the left is in Itasca State Park.  It was cool, damp, and gray the day I visited.  This is it, the source of something great!

The two shots above and the one below are merely three different angles of the spot where settled lake water tumbles over perhaps a thirty foot run of rocks you can walk across to begin its 2,552 mile journey that has played such a big role in our country's development.  Like so many things in life, what starts as a trickle...

I left the park and decided to further explore the origins of this river over the coming days.  It doesn't take long before the Mississippi is joined by other tributaries.  The first major river that merges with it is the St. Croix River, which runs along 124 miles of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.  The St. Croix River is dammed (below) in St. Croix Falls to supply energy to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. 

Wisconsin's St. Croix Falls and its neighboring city in Minnesota, Taylors Falls, are charming cities.  The two pictures below are of the churning waters a couple of miles below the dam in Taylors Falls.

This area is very much worth exploring if you are ever in this region of the country!

I followed the St. Croix south along the border until it converges with the Mississippi River (below) just a few hundred yards beyond this 19th century iron bridge.  Incidentally, the steamboat companies were furious and sued the railroad companies when they first erected these bridges.  They labeled them a "public nuisance" and a threat to commerce!  A then-young Abe Lincoln represented a rail company in one of the proceedings.

I followed the river beyond the convergence point as it winds down the southern half of the Wisconsin-Minnesota border.  The photo below is from Winona, Minnesota after I followed the "River Road" south on the Wisconsin side, then back up north on the Minnesota side.  It is a beautiful drive (ride) on both sides.  I highly recommend it!

So much in life that starts small grows into something larger and much more grand!  Hopefully we can all enjoy the small things in life and, in whatever sense, find a way to make them as mighty and majestic as the Mississippi River!