On Day 2 we drove to Lake Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River begins, and walked across the river. After exploring more of the state park, we drove the winding Great River Road back to Bemidji, crossing back-and-forth over the river dozens of times.
We begin the Midwest Wanderer Great River Road adventure at the Lindbergh House in Little Falls, Minnesota. We stopped there on the way up because it wouldn’t be open on the day we passed through traveling down the Great River Road. Our final destination for the day was Bemidji, Minnesota, “the first city on the Mississippi.”
We first wrote about the Nina and Pinta replicas in 2013, when we stumbled across the ships in Clinton, Iowa. The Nina and Pinta, replicas of two Columbus’ ships, offer tours to the public. A couple of weeks ago we visited Peoria, Illinois. As we walked down to the Illinois River to board the Spirit of Peoria for a moonlight cruise, we noticed the Nina and Pinta replicas docked there. Checking the schedule, we found the ships were in Peoria through September 24, 2017. Their next stop was Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where they’ll be from September 29 through October 8. Read further for our original experience and descriptions of the Nina and Pinta replicas.
I’ve mentioned here before that if I could have only one snack food for the rest of my life, it would be cheese popcorn. But not just any cheese popcorn. The supermarket stuff won’t do. It must be super cheesy, the kind you can only find in a gourmet popcorn shop. So every time I stumble upon a popcorn shop in my travels, I must go in and buy some. Here are 11 Midwest popcorn shops I’ve come across in the past few years that offer rich gourmet cheese popcorn—and caramel corn in lots of flavors if you prefer your popcorn sweet.
During Lent, the time from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter, Christians often retrace the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion by following the Stations of the Cross. Stations of the Cross are a series of fourteen devotions that depict Christ’s last day. Stations of the Cross are commonly found in Catholic churches but can also be set in larger outdoor spaces, oftentimes at Shrines. Following the path of the Stations of the Cross is a prayerful and meditative experience. I have visited three Midwest shrines in the past few years that include outdoor Stations of the Cross and have written about them previously. Here is a summary and links to the original articles.
I have been on a motorcycle exactly once in my entire lifetime—and that was as a passenger on a ride around the block. With that said, I still loved the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson is an American icon with a rich history, a history that unfolds as you navigate through the museum exhibits.
