After a couple of hours riding in the rain, we reached the Mississippi Headwaters in glorious sunshine, The middle photo shows where the waters of Lake Itasca flow over the stones to become the start of the Mississippi river. We stopped a few miles down the road to see the river as it starts wending its way to the Gulf of Mexico. We were meant to be in North Dakota tonight to meet with our friends Paul & Laurel, but severe thunderstorms rolled in about 100 miles short of our destination, so we didn't think it would be a good idea to be caught out in the open with the possible threat of hail stones and a tornado.

After leaving Thunder Bay we crossed into Minnesota. The Customs Officials were very pleasant and efficient and there was only a 6 dollar fee each. Remarkably different from flying into a US airport and they didn't want to look at any papers relating to the bike, which surprised us.
We hadn't travelled far when we came upon Grand Marais, which a couple of people told us we should visit. It was a lovely small town on the shores of Lake Superior and we decided to stay over.
It turned out to be a good idea as Anne had been stung on the thigh by an insect whilst travelling on the bike the day before and she had reacted to it. Her face swelled up and her legs were covered with
raised red spots. Fortunately there was a clinic close by and she didn't have to wait long to see a doctor who was very pleasant and prescribed tablets to cure it and we came away with a $149 fee. Makes you realise how lucky we are to have the NHS!

You may have heard about this young man, Terry Fox, who after having his leg amputated due to cancer decided to run from the West coast to the East coast of Canada raising funds for Cancer research. Sadly he didn't finish the run but he made such an impact that $24 million dollars was raised for Cancer Research. They also named the 100km stretch of route 17 (the Trans Canada Highway), going into Thunder Bay, after him.

Saw this sign again today so had to take a photo as its unbelievable. The road was dead straight for miles and it had a speed limit of 90km/h. There is a lack of sports bikes here and you can see why. You would only have to be caught doing 85mph and you would have a $10,000 dollar fine and your bike seized!

Fortunately the Tornado warning came to nothing and managed to start the day in the dry. The above photo was taken at White River - home of Winnie the Pooh. Apparently Winnie the Pooh was inspired by an orphaned bear cub which was purchased from a trapper at White River by Captain Harry Colebourn during WW1.  He was a veterinarian and his troop train had stopped at White River enroute from Winnipeg (his home city, after which he named Winnie) and he took the bear on to England as his troops' mascot.  Before shipping on to France he left Winnie at London Zoo, where she was discovered by author A.A. Milne's son  Christopher.  Winnie inspired Milne to write the children's stories for his son.  But I guess you all know that J

Better roads today - more twisty and not so busy. Following the edge of Lake Superior on the route 17 which is the Trans Canadian Highway. This runs from coast to coast.
Weather holding out at the moment but tomorrow is forecast as thunderstorms with the possibility of a tornado further west. As we are travelling west, we will keep an eye on the weather forecast to determine whether we wait it out or not.
Staying overnight at a place called Wawa, famous for being the last section that completed the Trans Canadian Highway. Lake Wawa pictured above.