Two weeks ago, when we met folks around here, everybody asked, “why Cashton?” We laughed and replied, “to relax.” They laughed even harder and said, “perfect, there isn’t much else around here.” The area has one thing, beauty. (And horses, adds one of us.)
True to form, however, our planner wasn’t just relaxing but was also “planning” on the side. Hence, here we go!
From our Reader’s Digest reference book, The Most Scenic Drives in America (Thank you, Mike & Jackie!), she read:
“Like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, the Mississippi and the Great River Road are bosom buddies, ever inseparable as they wander about in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa… one perspective on the river… which wanders up one side and down the other. Length: About 470 miles.”
The Mighty Mississippi River? A scenic drive that includes boats? We’re in!
A wiggling 40-minute ride to the west and we picked up the Great River Road to begin our journey-within-a-journey at the Old Settlers Overlook near Stoddard, Wisconsin.
Todd has seen the Mississippi River but much further south, where it is indeed a LARGE river. Susie, having never seen it, had great expectations for her first peek at the Mighty Mississippi.
Standing stunned atop the hill, we heard a train on the track below. Quick! Let’s get a closer look and pic of that! So, we got back on the road, eyes still on the river and tracks, looking for another “scenic overkill” from which to actually see the train. Too late; missed it. – Geez they move fast! – But, lo and behold there’s a very large barge tow. Yeah! A boat! Really big setup – too big for the camera to get it all. The 350-yard channel is right near shore, and all that other river is shallow!
As we continued the journey, we were surprised by a sign for “Lock and Dam #8.” Huh? Locks and a dam on the “Ol Man River?”
Confusion reigns!
Safe to say, on this stop, we learned a whole boat full. 🙂 Long story short, the US Army Corp of Engineers saved the day. Starting in the 1920s up in Minneapolis and into the mid-30s, they built a series of locks and dams all the way down to St Louis, MO. All built to raise and hold back the water, channel it, dig it deeper, and then control it so we could move lots of stuff from northern Minnesota all the way down the river! Wow, who knew!
Needless to say, Todd wanted to stop to see every boat! So, here’s just a few more boat shots because, well, you know. It became weird to think of all these shots of the river, there is only a narrow channel through which the boats navigate.
One big 15 barge tow is equivalent to 1,050 large tractor trailers or 6 locomotives and 216 rail cars! The tow is just cruising downriver with 2 knots of push!
But enough about boats. How about scenery? Weeks ago, as we neared the Cashton area – we noticed how the hills were more bumpily – [“bumpily,” Honey? Yes, “bumpily.”] – and often sharper. Well, it got more pronounced near the big river. Couple of stops in, we learned more about the Driftless Region. Apparently, there’s a whole chunk of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota that was NOT smooshed by the last glacier period; hence when the water ran off, it carved a bunch of valleys and left even more of these abrupt “bluffs.”
Between the strings of bluffs, the valleys are filled with incredibly fertile farmland.
We later learned that the Great River Road actually stretches 3,000 miles through ten states. Oi vey, that’s a lot of scenic roadway!
(Hwy 26 Overlook in Minnesota)
Our Travels 