On our unplanned trip of Lakes and Leaves, we take a right at the Mississippi River and head north

After our short stop at Delabar State Park on the Mississippi (albeit hard to see the full river where we were) we headed up the Great River Road. The GRR follows the Mississippi through ten states (MN, WI, IA, Il, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, and LA) for close to 2,500 miles. The route is made up of many state and local roads that somewhat follow the course of the Miss. River. The GRR is both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road, depending on the state. For us, the route at times was hard to follow, especially as we passed through larger towns where the signs seemed not as apparent.

We started on the GRR in Illinois and crossed the Mississippi several times. We were in Iowa for a couple of hours until we crossed into the southwest corner of Wisconsin.

We stayed the night at a Harvest Host, a brewery in Potosi, Wisconsin. HH is an organization that provides overnight camping for RVs at wineries, breweries, farms, and other such places. The Potosi Brewing Company was our first utilization of our HH membership, so we weren’t sure just what to expect.

Potosi Brewing Company was originally founded in 1852 and the town is on the GRR. The original brewery shut down in 1972 and sat idle until it was reopened in the original building in 2008. The building also houses the National Brewery Museum with a collection of beer bottles and cans as well as other beer memorabilia. The Great River Road Interpretive Center and Transportation Museum is also located here and available for viewing. The GRR Interpretive Center is one of 70 museums and historic sites all along the GRR selected to showcase the history of the towns and cities the GRR passes through.

We had a great meal with excellent beer (of course). The place was packed with people including a wedding party post-wedding, I think. We did a quick tour of the museums and listened for a while to the band playing outside then retired to our van parked across the street.

The next morning we continued up the GRR. We drove through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge but didn’t see much wildlife. Maybe a bit too late in the season? We pushed on into Minnesota, eventually stopping at Great River Bluffs State Park, naturally on the Mississippi. The views of the sunrise over Wisconsin and the Mississippi were pretty spectacular.

After the beautiful sunrise at Great River Bluffs St Pk, we continued on north, leaving the Great River Road and crossing back into Wisconsin, headed to Lake Superior, the first of the Great Lakes for us. The GRR had been a surprise to us, a great look at the small towns and back roads along the Mississippi as well as providing some insight into the history of the river. It was all capped by the sunrise, but it was now onto the Great Lakes.

Next: Visiting the highest waterfall in Wisconsin, and waking up on the shores of Lake Superior