The Great River Road - Red Wing to La Crescent, Minnesota

According to the National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, it's hard to go wrong anywhere in the vicinity of the Mississippi River. The so-called Great River Road starts at Lake Itasca and runs along the river, a bit on each side, until halfway down Illinois. For the benefit of Aussie readers, that's a long way (about 1,500 kms or 970 miles).

From the Twin Cities we headed south to the town of Red Wing, Minnesota, which is famous for stoneware and Red Wing shoes. We didn't see much in the way of pottery, but we did visit the home of Red Wing shoes. There I discovered that my much loved Vasque hiking boots are actually a Red Wing product. I also discovered that, no matter what, women's motorcycle boots are never on sale. Part of the store is set aside to a little information exhibition, outlining the manufacturing process for the boots and identifying some famous Red Wing wearers, like Mark Harmon and President George, W. Bush. I don't know how positive a recommendation it is to have your shoes up on a pouffe in the Oval Office, but I took comfort in the fact that Mark Harmon still looks pretty fit. I also found the perfect Christmas present for my Dad. I think a giant pair of camo hunting boots are just the thing.


Red Wing is nestled against the shore of Lake Pepin, a wide, backed up section of the Mississippi. The Lake is bounded by a sandbar near Read's Landing, caused by the rapid entrance of Wisconsin's Chippewa River into the Mississippi.

We passed through the town of Wabasha on our way south beside Lake Pepin. The National Geographic guidebook suggested that we note Anderson House on our way through. The book says that it is Minnesota's oldest hotel and is known for its "Pennsylvania Dutch food and bedtime cat companions." It was only after I checked out the hotel's website that I realised how true this was. At this hotel you can reserve a cat with the room. Your feline companion is delivered with litterbox, food and toys for your enjoyment. I now wish we had spent the night here instead of just driving past.

The guidebook also instructed us to look out for John A. Latsch Wayside State Park with its five bluffs, including Faith, Hope and Charity. These three prominent bluffs were named by steamboat captains who used them as landmarks. I couldn't find any reference to the names of the other two bluffs, so I took the initiative and gave them new names. five The bluffs of the John A. Latsch Wayside State Park shall henceforth be known as Faith, Hope, Charity, Fred and Wilma.

We stopped for lunch in the town of Winona. This 19th century lumber town sits on a giant sandbar at the side of the river. During fall (autumn) migration, about half of North America's canvasback ducks stop here to feed. Of course, it's still summer so I didn't see any of them, but I have absolute faith in the assertion of the guidebook.

We asked Thelma for a lunch recommendation and she immediately served up the goods with a restaurant called "Prime Steak 'n Cake." For such an intriguing name we just had to stop.


Alas, Thelma's out of date database had struck again and the restaurant had rebranded itself much less imaginatively as "Timbers" restaurant. Fortunately, a remnant of the old name still remained for blogging purposes.



The new sign suggested some potentially odd food choices. I still don't know just what "auce shrimp"might be. Although I was sorely tempted by the promise of "Al dente sauce" on the pasta, I elected to give myself over to the cultural experience and try the local elk burger. Before taking my first bite I improved the serving by adding beetroot from the salad bar. This raised a few American eyebrows but was well worth the effort.

We drove on past Trempealuea Mountain, the only rock island on the river that is as high as the bluffs on either side. Unfortunately, as significant as this landmark might sound, we somehow managed to miss it.

This leg of the journey ended in La Crescent, apple capital of Minnesota, where I was amused by the sight of "golden arches" on a construction site. Please tell me they're building a McDonalds.