My semi-regular blog documenting the fun and excitement of traveling along the Mississippi River.
I’m really nothing but a big kid, which probably doesn’t surprise those of you who know me. Put me on a cart and wheel me through a big factory with lots of noise and shiny things, and I am giddy and overwhelmed - giddy in a manly kind of way, of course. John Deere
Wednesday got off to a rough start. At 5:30 in the morning, the hookers in the room next to mine were fighting with their pimp. This woke me up. Unable to get back to sleep, I decided to go ahead and start my day, so I jumped in the shower, which, for some reason,
Winter can be a great time to visit Minnesota’s Mississippi River valley, if you aren’t already sick of cold weather. Snow softens the rough edges of rocky bluffs. The floodplain is decorated like cake frosting with piles of snow sculpted into graceful formations by unforgiving winds. The inviting waters of the Mississippi River and its sloughs are transformed into vast
Winter driving sucks. I know this. I have 12 hard-earned years of winter driving experience in Minnesota and Wisconsin. You can’t be in a hurry. You have to stay alert. Try to drive during daylight hours if it’s snowing. Pack your trunk with a survival kit. Steer into the skid. Pump your brakes to slow
If you’ve ever hiked through a state park, admired groves of trees in a public forest, or swam at a public beach, you should thank the CCC. In 1932, the US – and the rest of the world – was mired in one of the worst economic depressions in history. An unfathomable 25% of the
Tuesday – the 30th of January – it was 71 degrees at noon. 71 degrees! Three hours later it was snowing. Ugh. As I was driving around town, I watched the reading in my car thermometer drop to 62, then to 52, then to 35 –in less than in hour. It’s enough to drive otherwise
