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To wrap up our summer adventure we thought it would be fun to start at the headwaters and then follow the Mississippi River south before turning west toward home. Truly, it was a great idea and we were both excited about the trip. However, we soon came to the sobering realization that we just didn’t have enough time. So, our modified plan is to cruise down the Upper Mississippi which is the stretch from the headwaters south to Cairo, Illinois where the Ohio River empties into the Big Muddy.

That required that we head over to Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes (technically, the state has a whopping 11,842 lakes). Unfortunately, we won’t be able to brag that we’ve done the entire 1,250 miles of the Upper since we didn’t have time to visit the headwaters up at Lake Itasca. Our time with the Great River began in Minneapolis/St. Paul which seemed fitting in a way since St. Paul used to be the northernmost navigable spot on the river.

We’ve crossed over it many times during our travels yet we are still blown away by the river’s sheer magnitude; at 2,320 miles long it is the second longest in the country (behind the Missouri) and it has the third largest drainage area in the world—water from thirty one states and two Canadian provinces flow into it. Not only that but the Big River transports a mind-boggling amount of goods. From Minnesota farms the river carries over five million tons of corn, wheat, and soybeans down to New Orleans every year and that’s just some of the products from one state!

The river’s name is the anglicized form of misi-ziibi which means “Great River” in the Ojibwe language. The river valley has a long human history, evidence of occupation extends back at least 8,000 years. Native peoples used the river for transport and its fertile flood plains for farming just as explorers, settlers, and modern residents did and continue to do. In the early 1600s French fur traders moved into the Upper Mississippi region and cultivated relationships with the local inhabitants. Father Louis Hennepin accompanied La Salle down the Mississippi in 1679 on an exploratory mapping trip commissioned by the king of France. Among many other accomplishments he named the only falls on the entire river after St. Anthony (which is now surrounded by Minneapolis and known as Minnehaha Falls).

Over a century passed during which the Mississippi flowed in relative obscurity. In 1783 under the second Treaty of Paris (which wrapped up loose ends at the end of the American Revolution) land east of the river became part of the United States. Twenty years later land west of the Great River was added—the result of the Louisiana Purchase—and still Americans neglected the river. In 1805 the government sent Zebulon Pike west and he negotiated with local tribes for land where the Minnesota River empties into the Mississippi. “Minnesota,” by the way, comes from the Dakota term which described the cloudiness of the water in the river.

After the War of 1812 ended in 1815 the U.S. government suddenly recognized that it needed to assert its power in the northern Mississippi region. Construction of Fort Snelling began in 1819 at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. It was the northernmost Army outpost and its mission was twofold: to control access to both rivers and win the loyalty of the native peoples. For a decade things were rather quiet on the northwestern frontier, the nearby Ojibwe and Dakotas were relatively peaceful, so the soldiers tended to farming, logging, and running their grist mill and sawmill which were powered by St. Anthony Falls. As we learned during our tour of the restored fort, it was considered the most miserable of assignments since it was so remote and the winters were harsh.

In the 1830s two things occurred at the fort that later led to two separate military actions (though the fort was never attacked). An officer named John Emerson was posted at Fort Snelling and he brought with him his personal affects, including his slave Dred Scott. Per the Missouri Compromise slavery was illegal at the fort which was in Wisconsin Territory, so Scott sued for his freedom. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided against Scott and the outcry was one of several events that propelled this country into the Civil War. The other event was the arrival of settlers. The fort was located in what the U.S. government recognized as Indian Territory and was therefore not open to settlement, but they came anyway. The resulting tensions eventually led to the deadly Dakota War.

One of those squatters was the ambitious and incorrigible Pierre Parrant. In 1838 Parrant, who everyone called Pig’s Eye, settled on a piece of land across the river from the fort and opened a tavern with his own special home brew. As his was the first residence and (a popular) business the spot quickly became known as Pig’s Eye Landing. In 1841 Lucien Galtier, a Catholic priest, arrived and immediately changed the small settlement’s name to St. Paul, good thing since it evolved into the state capital. Couldn’t you just see it, Pigs Eye Landing: the capital of Minnesota.

Settlers in the region found fertile soils, thick forests, and rich mineral deposits—St. Paul did not remain small for long. Minnesota became a territory in 1849 and was admitted to the union as the thirty-second state in 1856. In honor of its abundant resources the state motto is L’Etoile du Nord, the “Star of the North.” Though it is the twelfth largest state in land area, almost sixty percent of its residents live in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis/St. Paul).

We drove up the Great River Road to explore the Twin Cities from our RV park near Red Wing. The weather was sunny and warm but the crush of summer crowds was over so it was easy for us to navigate our way around. We started the morning with a tour of the State Capitol building before heading over to the Mississippi National River and Recreation Visitor Center. It was there that we learned more about the twenty nine locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi. Congress authorized their construction in the 1930s to improve commercial navigation since the northern part of the river had such a high elevation change. Completed by 1940, the system, which lifts boats 404 feet, opened up points further north of St. Paul to barges. Transportation by barge remains important for their ability to move a massive amount of goods: a standard barge which runs 200’ long and 35’ wide can hold 1,500 tons!That’s the equivalent of sixty semi-trailers. Legally, a towboat can push fifteen barges at a time on the Upper Mississippi: that’s the equivalent of 900 semi-trailers!

While there we picked up a copy of Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi which relates his experiences on the Big Muddy. His tongue-in-cheek descriptions are hysterical! In his day steamers ruled the river and though the boats are larger now I think it would still be amazing to travel the river. Our friends Tori and Lori took a boat trip down the river a few years back which we were envious of then but even more so now. For this trip though, we will experience the river from land.

As I mentioned earlier our home for the week was at an RV park near Red Wing. The name Red Wing was taken from the translation of Chief Hupahuduta’s name, “swan’s wing dyed red.” The town historically was renowned for its namesake pottery and shoe company. Both industries still operate there today though the pottery companies have only recently reopened. I popped into the Red Wing Shoe Company factory store in downtown not so much to shop but to marvel at yet another WLO (World’s Largest Object): a sixteen-foot-tall workboot! Made from eighty cowhides and with a 104’ long shoelace the boot was made in 2005 to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary. Once again I was flabbergasted…

Currently the area’s notoriety comes from controversies surrounding the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant. Which we didn’t know anything about when we made our reservations. Until our arrival we had no idea that we would be camping within a mile of it. I rather think that is information one should have, don’t you? Don’t get me wrong—I’m not against them per se, just prefer to know what I’m getting myself into. During our stay the community-wide alarm siren went off, thankfully it was just a test. Though honestly, we were in such close proximity that in case of a meltdown the alarm wouldn’t have done us one damn bit of good—it just would have been the last sound we ever heard. Cheery thought, eh?

I took one day during the week to explore on my own since Lance was tied to his desk. I crossed back over to Wisconsin and followed the Mississippi south. The river along that stretch is a wide and lazy thing called Lake Pepin, the natural result of the large amounts of silt deposited by the Chippewa River. I was headed to the small community of Pepin to visit the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. In 1867 she was born in a small log cabin out in the forest about seven miles from the town. This area became the basis of Little House in the Big Woods, the first book of her famous Little House series which I devoured as a small girl.

The area looks nothing like when she lived there, the forests have been cut down and corn fields now stretch as far as the eye can see. In her later years Laura wrote:

Many changes have made living…easier. But the real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.

Sounds like good advice to me!

“Spoonbridge and Cherry” sculpture, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Photos: View our photographs from Our Upper Mississippi Introduction.

Dates: We stayed in Minnesota from 08/30/09 to 09/06/09.