Changing channels for the Red, Mississippi, and Atchafalaya Rivers In 1831, Henry Shreve, a riverboat captain who was always looking for ways to make it easier to navigate the Mississippi River, saw a bottleneck on the lower Mississippi and wanted to do something about it. At Turnbull’s Bend, the river made an
The first time I walked in the door of the Third Street Deli in Pepin, Wisconsin, Judith, the owner/chef, looked up from the grill and said “Ooh, a handsome stranger just walked in.” I was a little hung over—honestly, I was very hung over from a late night exploring the downtown bars in La Crosse—and
The American Queen pulled out of St. Louis at 6pm, three hours ahead of schedule. The Mississippi River was technically closed to commercial traffic, but the captain worked out a deal to let us pass by the trouble spot as long as we did it during daylight hours. Because of the early departure, a
The Great River Road along Lake Pepin The Mississippi River Parkway Commission, the folks responsible for marketing the Great River Road, are celebrating their 75th birthday this month, and they don’t look a day over 25! The Great River Road is the realization of an idea that is almost as old as the
Eddy Harris is a brave man. In the 1980s, he bought a canoe and paddled the Mississippi on his own, a feat that is challenging for the most experienced canoeists, which he wasn’t. Before the trip Harris knew what a canoe looked like but had spent little time trying to paddle one. He started his
Traditional travel guides are nearly dead. Are travelers better off?
