Dat's de Mississippi River

 Here begins the Mississippi River's  2552 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
 

There are few tourists on this cloudy Monday afternoon: some family groups, including an older couple with children and grandchildren. The man looked like one of those Swedes or Norwegians who seemed to populate Minnesota when I first moved here 30 years ago: a stereotype, the kind of guy who wears overalls except for church on Sunday and sounds like an Ole and Lena joke.

He was  quiet until we the headquarters came into view, and then he stopped in his tracks and gestured toward the water. "Dat's de Mississippi River", he said reverently to no one in particular.

The view was awesome.