The Great River Road
August 23, Tuesday: Thunder Bay to International Falls to Itasca Lake State ParkWe woke up to beautiful weather for our first long driving day since we left New Jersey. We drove across Canada on scenic route 11 and dropped down to the USA at International Falls. Route 11 has only a few hamlets over its 200 miles and passes by lots of pretty lakes and moose ponds, but we had no luck in spotting any wildlife.
We crossed the border back into the U.S. around 1 pm. Our top priority was to find a gas station because we were running on fumes trying to get back to the USA and avoid paying the extremely high Canadian fuel prices. 
Other than frequently having the lowest winter temperature, International Falls' claim to fame is a monster paper mill. After fueling up, we headed southwest to Lake Itasca where the Mississippi River begins.
Other than frequently having the lowest winter temperature, International Falls' claim to fame is a monster paper mill. After fueling up, we headed southwest to Lake Itasca where the Mississippi River begins. We stopped in the town of Bemidji for a few groceries and then went to Itasca State Park where we got a campsite with a view of the lake. The park is huge, spread out around the three arms of the Lake, plus it has a large wilderness area and lots of smaller lakes. Jack wants to stay a couple of days here to explore and put the kayak in the lake. TV reception is too weak to pull in a steady signal, but we do have wifi at the campsite and cellphone coverage – yeah! We enjoyed a beautiful lake sunset.
August 24, Wednesday: Lake Itasca to Bemidji to Cass Lake
We woke up to sunny skies, but high winds, so putting the kayak in the lake is impossible. After breakfast, we walked a trail along the lake to a small lookout where the North Arm and South Arm join. It was about 1 ½ mile roundtrip and very pretty. We were undecided whether to stay another day, but the wind was still blowing so we packed up and decided to explore the Headwaters of the Mississippi and start driving The Great River Road that follows the Mississippi from the headwaters at Lake Itasca all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
We drove down to the historic lodge at the southern end of the lake – a small, but impressive version of the historic national park lodges. We stopped at Preacher’s Grove where a stand of huge red pine trees from the 1700’s served as a camping area for a group of preachers in the 1930’s. 
Up at the northern end of the lake is a museum and the actual Headwaters of the Mississippi. The water tumbles over a few boulders out of Lake Itasca. Jack and I walked into the stream and across the Mississippi – pretty impressive! Lots of kids were wading and swimming.
There were also a lot of exhibits explaining the science and history of determining the headwaters of the GreatRiver.
We drove north out of the park, passing The River as a slightly larger stream. As we took the back roads that make up the federal Great River Road, we crossed the Mississippi quite a few times and with each crossing, the River grew larger.
In downtown Bemidji, we stopped at the visitor center and took photos of the massive statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the blue ox.
Local lore is that the first book about Paul and Babe was published in Bemidji from a collection of stories that were told in the logging camps - so they consider this Paul and Babe’s birthplace.
Local lore is that the first book about Paul and Babe was published in Bemidji from a collection of stories that were told in the logging camps - so they consider this Paul and Babe’s birthplace.We returned to the Great River Road (GRR), following The River as it goes into Lake Bemidji and out the eastern side into the west side of Cass Lake.
We tried following the GRR north around Cass Lake to view the Mississippi coming out on the eastern side, but the road was closed. We turned around and returned to the state highway that travels around the southern end of the lake and into the town of Cass Lake. We stopped at a Forest Service campground on the Lake in the huge Chippehua National Forest and got a pretty site right on the lake. A short walk behind the RV led to a nice small sand beach, but it was too windy and the lake was full of white caps. As I walked out onto the beach, a medium sized snake, sunning himself surprised me (and I, him) and he wiggled off into the underbrush. Pretty green snake with yellow stripes – still not sure who was more scared.
We tried following the GRR north around Cass Lake to view the Mississippi coming out on the eastern side, but the road was closed. We turned around and returned to the state highway that travels around the southern end of the lake and into the town of Cass Lake. We stopped at a Forest Service campground on the Lake in the huge Chippehua National Forest and got a pretty site right on the lake. A short walk behind the RV led to a nice small sand beach, but it was too windy and the lake was full of white caps. As I walked out onto the beach, a medium sized snake, sunning himself surprised me (and I, him) and he wiggled off into the underbrush. Pretty green snake with yellow stripes – still not sure who was more scared.August 25, Thursday: Cass Lake to Grand Rapids, MN
Woke to a beautiful, cool morning. We have 95 miles to travel today and want to make two stops that AAA suggest need four hour minimums, so we decided to not put the boat in the lake and get moving. We followed the GRR south around Winnibigoshish Lake and up the eastern side to again see the Mississippi coming out of that lake. We wound our way along the GRR, crossing the River a couple more times before we got to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the next major town on our route.
I wanted to visit the official Judy Garland museum just outside Grand Rapids. So, while Jack napped and did some email from the RV, I toured the nice little museum with lots of photos and press clippings along with a tour of her childhood home.
Our next planned stop was The Forest History Center, which the AAA guidebook awards gem status, but we weren't very enthusiastic because it is another costumed interpretive center and we had just spent the better part of a day at the Fur Trading Center in Thunder Bay. In the end, we relied on AAA's recommendation and it was a good thing because really enjoyed The Forest History Center. The Center is a reconstructed logging camp from around 1900. Neither of us knew anything about logging, but we do now -- such as, lumbering was done only in winter when local farmers would come in their off season to make money.
They would clear cut everything, use monster horse-drawn sleds to drag the logs to river where they would be floated downstream in spring to the mills. Each stop on the tour had an interpreter artfully telling their stories -the bunk house, blacksmith barn, dining hall and saw sharpening area. As in the fur trading post, we realized afterwards tht there was no church anywhere – kind of surprising, but we forgot to ask about it.
August 26, Friday: Grand Rapids to Crow Wing State Park, MN
We stayed at a campground in Grand Rapids. 
After breakfast, we headed south on rural route 3 and 10 that make up the GRR. This was farm country with freshly baled hay in the fields and we glimpsed the river here and there.
After breakfast, we headed south on rural route 3 and 10 that make up the GRR. This was farm country with freshly baled hay in the fields and we glimpsed the river here and there. At Crosby, the GRR takes a short detour north to stay with the river. We ate lunch in the decent sized town of Brainerd and cruised the downtown.
We arrived at our campground destination, Crow Wing State Park in early afternoon. Unfortunately, the one remaining electric site was on a hill and no matter how we maneuvered
the RV, we couldn’t get level enough for the refrigerator to run, so we had to choose another site without any hookups.
Crow Wing State Park is right on the Mississippi and we chose it so we could put the kayak in the River. Despite the breezy conditions, we put the kayak in the Mississippi and paddled upstream against the wind. We pulled in to an island, but the bank was so muddy, we had our snack in the boat. We could see lots of tracks in the mud – otter, muskrat?? We relaxed on the return trip and peacefully drifted along the forest-covered banks.August 27, Saturday: Crow Wing to Monticello
Woke to a cool, calm morning. We took a good 2 1/2 mile hike around the park. 
The trail skirted the little peninsula staying next to the River, ending at the spot where the town of Crow Wing once stood. 
They erected a boardwalk where the main street had been and identified the businesses and homes with placards. It had been a major trading town that was deserted when many of the town elders were resettled on Indian reservations and the railroad was built through Brainerd instead of Crow Wing.
The trail skirted the little peninsula staying next to the River, ending at the spot where the town of Crow Wing once stood. They erected a boardwalk where the main street had been and identified the businesses and homes with placards. It had been a major trading town that was deserted when many of the town elders were resettled on Indian reservations and the railroad was built through Brainerd instead of Crow Wing. We thought we could kayak again at the next park, so packed up and got on the GRR.
Following the GRR can be difficult at times because it doesn't follow just one road, but twists and turns and the only road sign in the GRR route signs. We lost the route almost immediately, but finally found our way back to the GRR in the town of Little Falls, boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh. We toured the legendary airman's home and museum and learned that even as a boy, he exhibited outstanding engineering and entrepreurial skills.
Following the GRR can be difficult at times because it doesn't follow just one road, but twists and turns and the only road sign in the GRR route signs. We lost the route almost immediately, but finally found our way back to the GRR in the town of Little Falls, boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh. We toured the legendary airman's home and museum and learned that even as a boy, he exhibited outstanding engineering and entrepreurial skills. We quickly lost the GRR again and decided to just drive straight to our destination campground. In making a strange detour due to road construction, we accidentally found the GRR and followed it to the RV park.
August 28, Sunday: Monticello to St. Paul, MN
We again passed on putting in the boat because The River here is wide, with a very strong current. The drive south along the GRR quickly entered the suburban areas of Minneapolis, but we rode along the river most of the way. Close to Minneapolis, we saw one of the many dams and locks on the Mississippi and drove through the huge River Park. The park was heavily used by walkers, bikers and joggers. Further south, beautiful homes lined the road across from the River. They weren’t overly large, but were all different styles, craftsman, tudors, etc., with gorgeous flower gardens and neat lawns. This part of the Mississippi is known for the pale bluffs towering above the River. The bluffs are filled with caves and there are many stories of outlaws using them for hideouts.
When we got to St. Paul, we stopped at the Science Center right downtown to visit the National Park Service for the Mississippi River Recreation Area to pick up some literature and guidebooks. We returned to the same campground just outside St. Paul so we could again visit with Carl and Norma.
August 29, Monday: St. Paul, MN
Carl picked Jack up at 9 a.m. to play golf and Norma picked me up at 11 for our trip to the Minnesota State Fair in Minneapolis. We met a couple of her friends at a meeting point at the fair and as Norma said, “we ate our way through the fair.” I had roasted corn on the cob, pork chop on a stick, a root beer float and chocolate chip cookies. Yum. I skipped the deep fried chunk of butter and never did find the deep fried Snickers, but it was probably for the best. We toured the fine art exhibits and the home crafts exhibits – some amazing stuff. We were exhausted with the walking and standing and got back around 6 – we both just wanted to relax and get some sleep, so we said our goodbyes until the winter when they will return to South Carolina.
August 30, Tuesday: St. Paul to Wabasha, MN
We headed south from the RV park in Woodbury to Hastings where we picked up the Great River Road.
In Hastings, we stopped at one of the locks and dams that are scattered throughout the length of the River. Unfortunately, there were no boats in the lock. 
We cruised the downtown, found a do-it-yourself truck wash and got all the dust and muck from the dirt roads off and then back to the GRR to the substantial town of Red Wing.
In Hastings, we stopped at one of the locks and dams that are scattered throughout the length of the River. Unfortunately, there were no boats in the lock. We cruised the downtown, found a do-it-yourself truck wash and got all the dust and muck from the dirt roads off and then back to the GRR to the substantial town of Red Wing. It was beginning to rain, so views of the River were hazy. Red Wing is known for three things – an old elegant hotel, Red Wing shoes and Red wing pottery. Guess it was the rain, but we were both a little out of sorts. We stopped at the hotel, but skipped the other things. We expected a beautiful old hotel, but they had modernized the lobby and so we quickly left after checking out a gift shop. Just outside Red Wing, we found a spot for lunch and a nap in Frontenac State Park that sits on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi and the northern end of Lake Pepin.
After lunch, we continued south and stopped in Wabasha to visit the National Eagle Center. The center has six eagles that we got to see up-close - really close!
The museum is very well done. We spent an hour there and decided to stay right in Wabasha at a local campground.
We drove through the little town of Homer and crossed the River in La Crescent over to La Crosse, Wisconsin. We drove through this large town, again admiring the old homes and tried to drive up to Grandad Bluff, but the road was closed due to construction. We continued south in Wisconsin through the backwaters of the Mississippi with lots of shallows, islands and apparently good fishing.
There were a couple of small Indian mounds right in the park. They aren't obvious; just raised bumps - this photo shows two of them.
August 31, Wednesday: Wabasha, MN to Marquette, IA
The GRR is actually two roads in this area, one in Minnesota and the other in Wisconsin. I decided to continue on the Minnesota side down through Winona. We cruised through town admiring the beautiful old homes and I wanted to stop at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum where they have some impressionists and post- impressionists along with the Hudson River landscape painters and numerous others with pictures of all the great US rivers. They had Monet, Sisley and Renoir, but my favorite by far was the Signac, still in his Pointellism period. I would love to use it as the basis for an art quilt – something to think about when we get home.
We drove through the little town of Homer and crossed the River in La Crescent over to La Crosse, Wisconsin. We drove through this large town, again admiring the old homes and tried to drive up to Grandad Bluff, but the road was closed due to construction. We continued south in Wisconsin through the backwaters of the Mississippi with lots of shallows, islands and apparently good fishing. We stopped at a small road sign that commemorated the Battle of Bad Axe where the Black Hawk massacre occurred and ended the short-lived Black Hawk war. At Prairie du Chien, we went back across the River to McGregor, Iowa and Effigy Mounds National Monument. It was getting too late to walk the trails to the mounds, but we stopped at the visitor center and toured their small museum and watched a short movie about the local Indians before they closed. We decided to stay the night at a local state park, Pikes Peak and return the next day to walk some of the trails at Effigy and see the Indian burial mounds.
Pikes Peak was a very pretty small park on top of a bluff, in fact, the highest point on the River. They have bragging rights that Zebulon Pike was here before he went to Colorado to name their mountain.
September 1, Thursday: Marquette, IA to Dubuque
We 
walked the trails to the bluff in the campground. Beautiful scenic views of the River and all the islands, barges and bridges. It is horrendously humid and hazy, so photos aren’t very good.
walked the trails to the bluff in the campground. Beautiful scenic views of the River and all the islands, barges and bridges. It is horrendously humid and hazy, so photos aren’t very good. There were a couple of small Indian mounds right in the park. They aren't obvious; just raised bumps - this photo shows two of them. Jack and I talked about losing some of our enthusiasm and wondered if we were "River'd Out". Most of this part of the trip was all about the beautiful river vistas, but the hot and humid weather resulted in obscuring the views with a thick soupy haze. We decided to postpone the Great River Road at this point and return to do it in the future when we do the southern half of the Mississippi.
We plotted a route that would take us southeast toward Kentucky to make a few stops before heading home. We did stay on the GRR until Dubuque, where we stopped at a AAA office to pick up maps for Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. We crossed the River to Illinois and ended up following the Illinois side of the GRR as far south as the town of Savanna. From there, we followed route 52 southwest to Mendota, Illinois where we picked up I39 south to our campground just northwest of Bloomington, Illinois.
September 2, Friday: Bloomington, IL to Nashville, IN
We drove due east on route 9, until the Indiana border where the road changed to route 2. This is major farm country with corn and soybeans everywhere in strip farming contours. The corn is turning brown and some of the soybeans are turning yellow. Guess they cut and harvest it dried? We were surprised to see the landscape change from flat farmland to picturesque hills just south of Indianapolis.
Our drive east into Nashville, Indiana went through a couple of good-sized towns and pretty forested areas. The temperature reached 100 degrees, and we were lucky to find a campsite with electric because today is the beginning of Labor Day Weekend.
