WELCOME TO the Mississippi River Home Page
with Mississippi River author, Pat Middleton

MISSISSIPPI RIVER HOME  |  WATERWAY CRUISE REPORTS  |  Hand-painted River Maps, River Books, Note Cards and Gifts  |  Feature Articles |  FISHING| |  Hand-painted HISTORIC MAPS  |  River Classifieds  |  Contact Us  |  Press Releases | Photo Gallery | Links | BIRDING | Rambling' On Blog |

We hope you'll return many times to sample our huge Mississippi River Travel, Education and Recreation resource.
As featured in American Profile Magazine, USA TODAY,  New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler Channel!
Rated #1 by GOOGLE for Mississippi River Travel and Waterway Cruise Reports for more than 20 years!
"Highly Recommended" by School Zone evaluation service
Pausing your cursor over any image on www.greatriver.com may produce additional info.

 

 Fall Color is PEAKING on the Upper Mississippi River,
Click on CURRENT COLOR REPORTS for Specific Locations!

I am just back from a beautiful three weeks of cruising with the American Queen between St. Paul and St. Louis. Fall color should peak on the bluffs of the Upper Mississippi River for the October 18th week. Lots of Sunshine predicted, so plan to hit America's Great River Road! Click here for CURRENT COLOR REPORTS.

Out on the Mississippi River, we noticed an increasing abundance of American Bald Eagles each week. While my favorite stretches are from Lansing to Red Wing, truly we saw eagles all the way to Alton, Illinois. Noticeably more ADULTS than Juveniles. Not sure why that was. Has anyone else noticed that? Please comment in our RAMBLIN' ON Blog!

 

New Waterway Cruise Report: Cruising the Seine River! Honfleur to Paris, France!

We have several stories posted online about our summer cruise from Honfleur at the mouth of the Seine River on the English Channel to Paris. It was a beautiful cruise with many similarities to our cruises on the Mississippi River... and many grand difference! We hope you enjoy our stories of visiting the WWII landing beaches in Normandy and our cruise with CroisiEurope, one of the largest cruise lines in Europe. Visit our Waterway Cruise Report by clicking HERE. Explore our RAMBLIN' ON Blog for short stories of interesting discoveries!

“Old Abe” participated in D-day landings via America’s 101st Airborne Division

 

Whenever we travel around the world, I love keeping an eye out for “things Mississippi River.” We recently participated in the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings on the beaches of Normandy France.

Among the Americans landing at Omaha Beach were the 101st Airborne Division whose logo is Wisconsin’s own “Old Abe” the eagle! We saw the “Screaming Eagle” displayed on hats, uniforms and even a French storefront!

Read more about OLD ABE! Please visit our RAMBLIN' BLOG for frequently updated reports about EVERYTHING Mississippi!!

 

A New Map of Lake Pepin by Lisa Middleton ... Order Today!

This fine art print of A New Map of Lake Pepin features named islands and sloughs and is both geographical and historical in nature. Landmarks visible to those cruising on both road and river are marked from Wabasha to Red Wing. Approx. 36" long, beautiful when framed. You may study a large high-resolution image by visiting our ART GALLERY HERE.

Gift Print is just $28.95. Fine art Giclee Reproductions available also. Delivery date is May 1, 2014.

Click envelope to request information on LAKE PEPIN Prints!
Or Call 888-255-7726

Click on the image of our NEW LAKE PEPIN MAP to visit Lisa's dedicated MAP BLOG,  www.greatriverarts.com/artatheart

We are pleased to announce that our Historic Maps are now displayed and available for purchase at these quality venues along the Mississippi River. Please do visit.

Abode: Design for the Home, Stockholm, WI

Minnesota Maritime Art Museum, Winona, MN

Freedom Park Prescott WI

For more info, please phone 888-255-7726
or 406-471-7563.

"The Cartographer draws the map. The artist makes it beautiful." ... Quote from the Vatican collection of ancient maps.

 

3/17/2014 Sandhill Cranes are BACK! Welcome SPRING!

Hurrah, though it’s been cold as the dickens again, the calls of the SANDHILL CRANES and Canada Geese are filling the valley again. It could be in the high 40s tomorrow, so WELCOME friends!

The river is opening up in places so some of our Eagles are moving north. Saw a group of 12 American Bald Eagles, all ADULTS, lazing overhead the other day. They were low enough that I could hear them “chittering” sociably among themselves. It's the first time I've seen so many adult eagles moving together!

Our summer Eagles are on their nests, and I have been enjoying watching the Decorah Eagles again on USTREAM. Check this link… http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Also just had a comment that American White Pelicans have been seen near La Crosse, Wisconsin, so yes, SPRING is here!

 

WATERWAY CRUISE REPORT:

Cruising IRELAND's  SHANNON RIVER

One of our most memorable small boat cruises in Fascinating IRELAND!

Armchair travelers will enjoy our extensive library of  travel photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

River topics abound in the archives of Greatriver.com...
Click BIRDING for the most current reports on our RAMBLIN' ON Blog or Click HERE for www.greatriver.com birding archives. To find a vast array of articles related specifically to Eagles or other subjects, use our greatriver.com SEARCH engines!

 

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Remember to visit our FEATURE PAGE DIRECTORY for an expanded listing of ALL our feature stories on Heritage, Natural History, and Recreation Resources for visiting the Mississippi River. WHAT's NEW PAGE for all that's new on www.GreatRiver.com and lots of "this and that" from Pat on the Mississippi River Blog. The FEATURE DIRECTORY is a good place to start your tour of www.GreatRiver.com Or use the SEARCH Button located on most pages. Over 31 cruise destinations are detailed in our WATERWAY CRUISE REPORTS and TRAVEL FEATURES. Not only have we been traveling and reporting on traveling the Mississippi River for 25 years, but we have concurrently been exploring many of the world's great travel destinations... and many you've never heard of!

For EVERYTHING MISSISSIPPI RIVER.....

Whether you are looking for a story-teller at the bow of your boat, or a "friend on the road," there is one guide to the heritage and natural history of the Mississippi River Valley that has been recommended by readers, national media, and libraries across the county:

"Discover! America's Great River Road, in four volumes,  is a terrific guide for those who relish boating, fishing, or cruising on land along the Mississippi River." ~BOOKLIST MAGAZINE, American Library Association review

If your winter travels include Memphis to the Gulf of Mexico, let us recommend:
Volume 4, DISCOVER! America's Great River Road,  MEMPHIS TO THE GULF
ISBN 09711602-1-x
240 pages. Many maps, photos, historic images. Index, Appendices        

 Great River Road, Vol 4 Memphis to the Gulf   $19.95

SEE ALL 4 Volumes of DISCOVER! AMERICA's GREAT RIVER ROAD, many other QUALITY BOOKS, HISTORIC MAPS and Mississippi River  NOTE CARDS at  http://www.greatriverarts.com/shopping/

"We enjoyed our epic journey enormously, thanks mostly to your DISCOVER! America's Great River Road guidebooks. The history, culture, and suggested detours provided daily fascination. We just wanted to thank you for your good work!"  ~ Readers from Vermont.

     "I am Louisiana French on my mother's side and had a 7th Grandfather who was killed at Fort Rosalie in 1729, so the Louisiana section was of great value to me. I enjoyed it so much that I would like the other three volumes of DISCOVER! Thanks so much!"  Reader from Louisiana  

    "Last year we traveled 5,000+ miles along both sides of the Mississippi River. It was a fabulous trip... in large part due to your DISCOVER! America's Great River Road  guidebooks."  Reader from Oklahoma
 

 

 

 

 

Or Purchase ALL your Mississippi River products RIGHT HERE
Books, Art, Note cards and more GREAT GIFTS for the RIVERBUFF in your Family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

OLD TIME RAILROAD STORIES
An Anthology of True Adventures, Humorous Tales, and High Melodrama Written by Those Who Lived the Era!

Edited, with Introductions by Michael Gillespie. Full Index, Glossary, and dozens of Historic Steam Rail Photographs Published by Great River Publishing,   172 pages, B/W   $19.95  ISBN 978-0-9711602-5-5

OLD TIME RAILROAD STORIES
  $19.95

Visit our shopping cart at www.greatriver.com/order.htm to see all our Mississippi River books and Antique Maps!

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Waterway Cruises: Train Journeys

RAILROADS and MORE RAILROADS!! Classic Journeys with Great River Publishing!

Considering a classic railroad journey? We have reviewed the Vancouver/Banff trip on Canada's VIA Rail, Alaska, and the Rhine River by train. Visit our  to explore!

 

Stunning photographs of international waterways are included in our professional Great River photo gallery.  Other galleries offer detailed photos of vistas, quality note cards, antique maps and other river art.

Click here to see just our MOST POPULAR photographs... all are available as quality 5x7" note cards, individually wrapped.
 

Our HAND-PAINTED HISTORIC MAPS of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER are considered the "most beautiful on the Internet" by many of our readers.

Click Image left, to View Antique Map Samples

Click image to view Mississippi River Wildlife and History note cards.

 

 

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