Heading out from Red Wing we crossed the Mississippi into Wisconsin and picked up the Great River Road National Scenic Byway in Hager City. The Byway at over 5,000 km follows the Mississippi from it’s origins in Minnesota down to the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s objective was to explore it as much as possible.
We followed Highway 35 along the shoreline of the river down to Stockholm where we encountered a southbound BNSF freight train running between the road and the river. We kept pace with the train down to Nelson, where we left the Byway and explored some of the twisty county roads east of the river. This was a great stretch of roads leading us into beautiful hidden valleys with no traffic whatsoever.
Rejoining the Byway at Alma we passed by Lock 4 of the Lock and Dam system that regulates waterflows and allows for navigation along the Mississippi. We would encounter additional locks at Winona and Genoa. The Byway was a great route, following the river to a great extent and passing through several small towns full of mid-western American charm. The only disconcerting aspect to the drive was the number of road kill raccoons we found. They were surprisingly regular, almost acting as a macabre form of mile marker.
Passing through La Crosse we stopped for a coffee at Starbucks (difficult to pass up given how few we’ve seen on this trip so far) and fueled up at Prairie du Chien.
South of Bridgeport the Byway leaves Hwy 18 and follows several different county roads closer to the river. We had a brief stop at Potosi Point. There we met some locals flying a kite and taking photos of circling bald eagles overhead (their nest was visible in the shoreline trees to the north), and benefitted from their suggestion to follow the River Lane Road (also known as Rustic Road) as a further deviation from the Byway route. It was worth the slight detour.
Rejoining Hwy 61 we headed south into Dubuque where we checked into the hotel and explored the downtown area, looking for a restaurant. We settled on an Italian venue, had a great meal, and then enjoyed the local cityscape murals as we returned to the hotel.
