As we approached the border crossing at Fort Frances to International Falls, Minnesota, we started seeing
these signs indicating long waits. 1.5 hours to U.S. border? We were less than two miles away from it.

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Those signs had to be for special events or another time. We drove right up to the border with no delay at all. When we got to U.S. Customs there was only one car in front of us. June 24: It's Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox in Bemidji, Minnesota. - Look how small Larry is in comparison. We're at Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River
This is where Lake Itasca trickles through a few rocks and becomes the Mississippi River Bill stands by the marker indicating where the Mississippi River begins Bill has crossed over to the other side of the river Larry has moved over to the other side with Bill Bill and Larry stand on a small foot bridge over the Mississippi River
This is the 'Mighty Mississippi' as it leaves the park We head for the Soudan Mine, a mine that used to be the source of a lot of iron ore like you see here The mine was closed in 1962 and is now a state park. Tours of the mine are available to the public. These are the pulley supports that hold the cables for the elevator - that drops you 2,500 feet down to the level of the mine. A mine train then takes you 3/4 mile through a dark tunnel into the mine shaft - to where the ore was removed. This is a wideshot showing the inside of the mine.

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