You can learn a lot about geography when planning a trip. Studying the maps for more than just the route you want to take can show you things you haven't thought about before - like just how far the Mississippi River runs! The headwaters start at Lake Itasca in Minnesota where the river begins its over 2,300 mile winding trip to the Gulf of Mexico. If you drove from Lake Itasca to New Orleans, it would be about 1,500 miles by highway.
Our Middle States route has us going about 5,450 miles, or an average of 120 miles per day. During the 46 days, we will cross the Mississippi River eight (8) times. Our southernmost crossing will be just below Memphis on our way to Hot Springs, then two weeks later, we'll cross east again at Winona, Wisconsin. Then 9 days later, we'll cross heading west again at Dubuque on our way to Le Claire, Iowa. We'll criss-cross a few more times at Hannibal and St. Louis with River Boat tours planned for both locations.
Growing up in the south, my only experience with the Mississippi River was crossing into Louisiana on the way to visit my grandparents. DH and I have been to New Orleans a few times, and to Texas by car, but again, the crossing was on I-10. We thought once about maybe doing one of the riverboat cruises but never did. [Note: checking out what is offered in tour packages/itineraries has been helpful in identifying places to stop and things to do that we might not have thought about on our own.]
You can read more about the Mississippi River here.
~ Cindy D.
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