In the inaugural episode of the Mississippi Valley Traveler podcast, host Dean Klinkenberg describes his journey to the Mississippi River. After leaving behind a small city in the corn belt, he started college in a Mississippi River town where the river first captured his heart and imagination, but it would be a while before his life centered around learning and writing about the Mississippi.

Show Notes

It’s summer and many of y’all will be hitting the road to travel and see something new (or revisit places you enjoy). I haven’t done a travel-themed podcast in a while, so in the next couple of episodes, I’m going to go over the highlights of driving the Great River Road. In this episode, I start with an overview of what to expect from the drive plus some overall highlights. Then, I start a north to south trek down the Great River Road from Itasca State Park and ending at Lake Pepin. Along the way, I’ll comment on the following places: Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Crosby, Brainerd, Little Falls, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the communities around Lake Pepin. I obviously won’t be going into great depth about any particular place but instead want to give you a sense of the variety of attractions and experiences you can expect along the Mississippi River, with some picks about my favorite spots (and where to get good food and drinks). In the next episode, I’ll cover the rest of the Great River Road from Lake Pepin to the Mississippi’s confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois.

Support the Show

If you are enjoying the podcast, please consider showing your support by making a one-time contribution or by supporting as a regular contributor through Patreon. Every dollar you contribute makes it possible for me to continue sharing stories about America’s Greatest River.

 

Don’t want to deal with Patreon? No worries. You can show some love by buying me a coffee (which I drink a lot of!). Just click on the link below.

Transcript

[coming soon]