NOTE: If you’re just joining us, this is the 4th installment in a series of “Moments,” selected at random from the “journey of a raindrop,” the road trip of a lifetime. I’m a travel photographer and writer in love with the Mississippi River, so when I learned that it takes a single drop of water 90 days to travel the entire Mississippi River from its headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, I knew that I would make this journey. For 90 days, I kept pace with my imaginary raindrop, wandering back roads, meeting amazing people and having days filled with crazy, wonderful, serendipitous experiences. As the book of photographs and tales is being produced, I’m sharing these travel moments with you here. I hope you enjoy!
Day 10 – Lake Waukanabo
Yesterday I stood on the Laurentian Divide. If you paid more attention that I apparently did in Geography class, you know that a drop of rain falling on the north slope of that ridge will drain to the Hudson Bay and on the south, into the Mississippi and eventually the Gulf. I met the Laurentian once before on this trip, back by Itasca. It curves north from there and then northeast across the state of Minnesota. Apologies to my geography teachers, but I didn’t even know there was a Continental Divide other than the one in the Rockies!
Encounters
It was raining when my alarm went off at 5:00 this morning. I smiled in sweet surrender and snuggled back down. When I awoke again 45 minutes later, it was no longer raining, was still dark and was (of course) the perfect time for me to get up and out there. The sky was painterly, with billows of grays and white, which made the greens pop. The Great River Road between Grand Rapids and Palisade stays close to the River with frequent access roads and very little traffic, perfect for a dawdler like me.