"Touring the Mississippi" Personal Page by emoja

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My Grandma, My Sis and I

The three of us started out from Prole, Iowa, a small town about 20 miles outside of Des Moines.

One of our first stops was Burlington, Iowa, because I'd read about this place called Snake Alley. It's supposed to be the curviest road in the country. Sure enough, it was incredibly curvy - each curve was about the length of our van. I stopped at the top of the road and took a picture before winding my way down.

Riverboat Gambling

Riverboat Casino - Fort Madison, Iowa

We did some gambling during our trip. My grandma loves to gamble... and I admit, I like playing slot machines myself.

So we stopped in the town of Fort Madison, Iowa and went to the Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino. I won $35!

It's as American as Mark Twain

Mark Twain - Hannibal, Missouri

Hannibal, Missouri was the furthest we went on our trip. This is a town that Mark Twain lived in as a youngster. His books are supposed to be based on this town. Hannibal definitely has a lot of tourist attractions built around this.

The Illinois Side

Dried-up creek alongside the Mississippi River

On the way back up to Iowa, we decided to take a ferry across the Mississippi from Missouri to Illinois. It's the neatest little small town ferry in Canton, Missouri - you pull up on a dirt road, wait for this rickety boat, and after you cross over you drive through about 30 miles of cornfield until you reach civilization.

The Illinois side of the Mississippi is much prettier than the Iowa side. We stopped at a park along the river and took pictures of this beautiful dried up creek before we continued on.

Part of My History

Llewelyn Quaker Museum - Salem, Iowa

We made a special trip to Salem, Iowa to visit the Llewelyn Quaker House. Llewelyn was a guy from the deep South who came to Iowa and built this house in the 1830s specifically to assist black slaves who were escaping to the North.

Missouri: Slaves. Iowa: Free.

Poster at the Lweleyn Quaker Museum - Salem, Iowa

Missouri was a slave state while Iowa was a free state - and Salem is not far from the border of Missouri. Hence, this house saw a lot of raids from southern slave owners, looking for their property.

In the kitchen, there is a trapdoor with a decent amount of space below for hiding slaves. There's another trapdoor in the floor of the study, it's much smaller.

What a Beautiful Day!

Emoja's sis sits above the Mississippi

I highly recommend driving along the Mississippi at some point, especially when it's nice and hot in the summertime. Roll down the windows, enjoy the greenery, breathe in the freshness of America's heartland. It's funny, but as I finish this page I am beginning to see what makes small town America so beautiful. Now if only we could get them to vote Democrat!

If you want to start planning your own Mississippi River trip, take a look at this website.

Page Updated Feb 1, 2005
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Comments (42)

olddude Dec 10, 2008 at 2:13 AM Report Abuse

Congrats Michelle! I am still in the Washington DC area...waiting for the inauguration.
Court94403 May 20, 2008 at 10:12 PM Report Abuse

Greetings from the SF Bay Area! Enjoyed your pages, especially Luxor and Cairo. Best Wishes for the new baby!
Etoile2B Feb 28, 2008 at 9:56 AM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday from sunny California!
Bokhari76 Feb 28, 2008 at 1:03 AM Report Abuse

Hi Michelle. Happy Birthday to you. Wish you many happy returns of the day.
persian_hiker Nov 20, 2007 at 11:08 PM Report Abuse

dear Michelle,you have nice pics!
kanbala Oct 30, 2007 at 3:01 PM Report Abuse

you are welcome :)
FAIRYCHIMNEY Oct 19, 2007 at 1:04 AM Report Abuse

hey there , if u like to meet up for a drink drop me a line , perhaps a easy trek at the weekend ?? greetz from cappadocia :)
michaelxxx Oct 13, 2007 at 7:52 PM Report Abuse

Hey Interesting homepage! keep it up! hope you could visit mine too! Michael :)
gregoryr1m Jul 29, 2007 at 9:33 AM Report Abuse

I liked ou Tour of Mississippi album very much. I'll check. Greetings neighbor :*)
LucyInTheSky Apr 3, 2007 at 4:43 AM Report Abuse

Hi there, im staying in this charming hostel BAstop , the website is www.bastop.com/ many people have recommended it to me so i think it's nice. cheers, Lu