What's New in greatriver.com and the Mississippi River Home Page by Pat Middleton?

What's New on Greatriver.com, the
?

We've had a flurry of questions about this year's meetings of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER PARKWAY COMMISSION... THE ANNUAL MEETING will be September 2008 at the Isle of Capri in BETTENDORF, Iowa. This will include the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. Phone 866-763-8310 for more information.

We've just started posting an online book by Carl Franson... SECOND AGE: MY YEAR on a MISSISSIPPI RIVER SHANTY BOAT. Click here ! For a great little You Tube video on a modern - day Shanty Boat, visit "Pat's Mississippi River Blog."

Flood Reports for Spring 2008 are posted on "Pat's Mississippi River Blog."
Birding, fishing, and land travel are all fair game on the blog!

Our frequently updated FISHING REPORT continues to be very popular. Mark tells us the river is wide open below Lock & Dam 8 and winter is OFFICIALLY OVER. Time to go fishing!

This is still scheduled to be the final year the DELTA QUEEN steamboat (shown left, on the cover of Volume 2 of DISCOVER! America's Great River Road) will sail he Mississippi River, operator Majestic America Line said, after Congress denied the Delta Queen a seventh exemption from a 1966 law banning passenger vessels with wooden superstructures. In 2008, the Delta Queen is scheduled to run 24 departures through November while celebrating a series of special commemorative events.

For details on DELTA QUEEN farewell cruises in 2008, click link.

   YES! We do paint privately owned maps, beginning with a high resolution scan! Click on the envelope, left, or phone 888-255-7726.

Beautiful, antiqued, hand-painted MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAPS! English, French, Spanish, Italian River Maps from 1698 to 1887. We have yet to see any maps that approach the unique quality of these maps. Call 888-255-7726 for details!!! Or contact us online to order personalized note cards of your favorite portion of the antique map.

For more truly unique journeys on small boats, trains, and other unique destinations around the world, visit our WATERWAYS TRAVEL DIRECTORY

We are always on the hunt for light adventure, a Mississippi River tie-in, and great depth of history and natural history. If a destination also offers riparian environment, paddleboats, small boat cruising, classic train journeys or world class scenery, we want to bring it to you!

Visit our free ONLINE PREVIEW of Discover! America's Great River Road guidebooks? We're just beginning to post portions of DISCOVER! America's Great River Road online. We've started with the official introduction which will explain just what the Great River Road is and how to travel it. When it comes to the Great River Road, we wrote the book!!!
Order the #1 selling river travel guide books on our secure shopping cart.

We have posted our Brand New Discussion Board for the use of Birders, Travelers, Fishermen and River Buffs at www.greatriver.com.



Beautiful, antiqued, hand-painted MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAPS! English, French, Spanish, Italian River Maps from 1698 to 1887. We have yet to see any maps that approach the unique quality of these maps. Call 888-255-7726 for details!!! Or contact us online to order personalized note cards of your favorite portion of the antique map.

Looking for a great SMALL BOAT CRUISE? greatriver.com is now #1, #2, and #3 in Google for Waterway Cruise Reports and Small Boat Cruise Reports from around the world!! We've just added a review of the IZAAK WALTON INN, a former Great Northern Railway Lodge just outside Glacier National Park. Thinking about a train journey from Vancouver to Jasper? Or Driving the Columbian Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise? Click the underlined link above to see our reviews of these and many small boat river cruises around the nation and the world.

Fall color and comfortable temps highlight this season for visiting the Mississippi River Delta. Volume 4, Memphis to the Gulf, of DISCOVER! AMERICA'S GREAT RIVER ROAD by Pat Middleton is now available to order at www.greatriver.com/order.htm and all better bookstores. Click here for a recent review from the S&D REFLECTOR.

The four volumes of Discover! America's Great River Road, provide an indispensable guidebook for anyone looking to explore the Mississippi River.. Like a string of pearls, the small towns of the Mississippi River offer fascinating history, southern hospitality, unique cultural landmarks. A great Christmas or retirement gift!

Check out birding along the Riparian corridors in Southwestern Arizona.
Riparian? That means water-dependant environments. We call them "rivers" up north. The difference is that our "rivers" tend to stay in place year-around!

We are currently updating our shopping cart including Nick Lichter's "Road of Souls" and all new original art photo note cards.

Did you ever think you might see fish FLY?? Or Eagles swim???
If you are a fisherman or pleasure boater on the Mississippi River, you will!
See our new WEEKLY FISH REPORT for the Upper Mississippi River.

An insider's look at the rise and fall of the G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Filled with historic photos and a complete history from its humble beginnings to its Zenith as the 4th largest brewery in the United States. #17 in our "Books and Charts" order section. See also:

7 Exuberant Quality Fine Art RIVER EXCURSION NOTE CARDS available only from greatriver.com     A Great GIFT IDEA for the river buff on your list. Click on "Blue Flowers" image to see all seven new designs by Lisa Middleton.

Grand Excursion 2004 to the Upper Mississippi River has come and gone...but the Mississippi River remains to be discovered! Click link for historical details and web links. Discover! America's Great River Road, Volumes 1 and 2 will guide you along the entire route, Davenport, Iowa, to St. Paul, Minnesota! Email us now to reserve your copy of Volume 4, Memphis to the Gulf.

Steamboat Buffs! Author Michael Gillespie (Come Hell or High Water and Wild River Wooden Boats) was recently featured on the History Channel! Order books by clicking on the titles. Visit our new Steamboat photo gallery .

A great link for identifying mussel shells on the the Mississippi River and a useful site for those searching for riverboats and Captains!

PADDLERS! Seasoned kayaker, Byron Curtis, details his 62-day journey on the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Basin. Includes daily notes, distances, gear list and more! http://greatriver.com/order.htm

We are currently revamping our Birding Bulletin Board and our new LONGHAUL BBS for boaters planning a TRANS-MISSISSIPPI journey. Also see our ADVENTURE BBS . YES! we have the river navigation charts and DISCOVER! Guidebooks you need for the journey at http://greatriver.com/order.htm

Return to the Mississippi River Home Page

SANDHILL CRANES ARE BACK IN WISCONSIN. March 15, 2003
Visit our Birding pages beginning at http://greatriver.com/cranes.htm (cwings.gif deleted)

      NEW!

If you are looking for a specific bit of information (even your own name!) located on the Mississippi River Home Page, try out our new On Site Search Engine. You can also search the Mississippi River Home Page from Alta vista or Web crawler or any other favorite search engine by typing in http://www.greatriver.com leaving a space then typing in the word you are searching.

   Welcome to our newest Sponsors, PHYLLIS DALE TRAVEL and the ANASTASIA riverboat out of Alton, Illinois. Call Phyllis Dale for cruising with the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN or DELTA QUEEN steamboats.

Visit our newly updated Weather page for current weather maps, forecasts, lock conditions and more for the Mississippi River Valley.

Coming in September, Pat's report Winter in the Grand Canyon and cruising the headwaters of the AMAZON RIVER! New on our cruise report page: Enjoy our first SLIDE SHOW, Cruising the Yangtze River in China ! Also, Fast Water Fly Fishing, Whitewater Rafting and Scenic Floats on the Flathead River, Glacier National Park. Click here to access all our WATERWAY CRUISES reports.

Monarch Butterflies are migrating south to Mexico. We've added a new section on how to follow them!!! click here!

Contact us

The University of Virginia is sponsoring a display of historic maps, including many related to the Mississippi River and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Their web offering is excellent! Click here to learn more.
    [Visit our Mississippi River Bookstores! ]
Tundra Swans are back on the upper Mississippi! They were filling the bay south of Goose Island and Hwy 35 near La Crosse. New posting on the observation platform south of Brownsville, MN. Looking for Eagles? They're on the Upper Mississippi. The Upper river is still open! Our Birding section has several eagle-watching features. Planning to come looking for Eagles and Swans? Order Vol 1, of DISCOVER! America's Great River Road at http://greatriver.com/order.htm Thank you for checking out our sponsors!

Who visits greatriver.com? Click here to see stats on the top 50 countries.

Planning a bike trip on the Elroy-Sparta National BikeTrail? Over 120 miles of state bike trails meander the varied terrain of Minnesota and Wisconsin's"Coulee Country." Visit this page for info on the Root River, Great River, LaCrosse River, and Perrot State Park bike trails. Sponsored by Innkeepers and bikeshops along our most popular bike trails!
Walleye Fishing is hot on the Upper river, and a trophy catch now and then is almost to be expected, but is it safe to eat the fish? Check out our fishingfeature at http://greatriver.com/fish
Please let our sponsors know that you've found them on greatriver.com We could not continue to bring you this site without their participation!!

Employment opportunities at Great River Publishing! If you do HTML programming and design, or would like to represent the Mississippi River Home Page to advertisers in your community, please write Employment@greatriver.com or call Pat at 608-457-2734.

Along with snow storm after snow storm, we now also have the Wisconsin Presidential Primaries on Feb 19. The snow isn't great for campaigning, but it IS providing for great skiing in the Upper Midwest.

Gail Mewes has nearly completed her first week pedaling down the river from Nauvoo, Illinois to New Orleans. She sends us riveting reports of her journey on the ADVENTUREBBS.

Welcome to new readers from Heartland Boating. The first of Pat's2-partseries on river birding was published in the August issue. For more on riverbirding, visit our Birding Pages!
"Kitty,Kitty,Kitty!" Cats, pose a grave problem for rural wildlife. This new feature suggest that cats kill between 8 and 217 MILLION birds each year in Wisconsin alone!

Check out weekly email reports from Kimberly and Rebekah as they make a modern-day hike from Utah to Nauvoo, Illinois, on the Mormon Trail! This week: coping with wind, storms, and dehydration. Also, check out our INSIGHT Feature, Mormons on the Mississippi.

Web Hosting Services from GREAT RIVER PUBLISHING.
If you have appreciated the fast, reliable access to our greatriver.com site, you may want to consider placing your own web site with our server. CLICK HERE for details on signing up with our highly recommended server. HIP offers fully-featured, commercial quality sites that we are happy to recommend to our readers and advertisers.

Looking for travel info? Purchase an advance copy of Volume 3, (St. Louis to Memphis) and we will email you the chapters on Cairo, Western Kentucky, and Western Tennessee. Planning a trip for somewhere else between St. Louis and Memphis? Order Volume 3right here and request the region you need for immediate email delivery!

1997 Flood Watch Updates: The National Weather Service is predicting severe spring flooding throughout the Upper Mississippi River as snowmelts flood tributaries and then the Mississippi itself.
This weekend, reports of rapid snowmelts in Minnesota. The National Weather Service is predicting the most severe Mississippi River flooding on the upper river since April of 1965. The crest is expected in mid-April. Click Here for a chronology of the Floods of 1993.

Thanks to those who reported learning of us on CNN, Starting Point, and in newspapers in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and Minneapolis this month. Visit http://www.amazon.com where DISCOVER! America's Great River Road is a featured travel book and specially priced. Search for Discover! America's Great River Road to see recent reviews.

A new natural history feature, Glaciers Formed the Mississippi River Valley, is now posted. Check right at the very end for ascholarly explanation of how the Mississippi River valley formed during the Jurrassic period. Thanks Ruth and Mark!

Have also added more comments from experienced boaters on the Lower River tothe ADVENTURE section of STUMP THE RIVERLORIAN.
Check out our new page on theWreck of the Steamboat Sultana and the islands known as Paddy's Hen and Chickens Thanks,Joan,for posting your question to STUMP THE RIVERLORIAN! Jack wanted a map of the Mississippi River drainage basin and some facts and figureson Mississippi River tributaries. Good for classrooms!
Business Owners may also contact Pat for complete information on establishingyour own web presence, either by developing your own web site, placing yourbrochure on theMississippi River Home Page or placing your ad on our award-winning content. Email, or callus at 608-457-2734. Visit our Welcome Pages on the web athttp://www.greatriver.com/sponsor.htm and request a FREE copy of our 10 TipsforMarketing Your Web Site.

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New to the BIRDING SITE:
Check out the Travel Insight Features page for several other new wildlife features (Monarchs, mussels, and more!) We've added a Travel Tips section as well, where viewers can send in their favorite spots along the river.
Check out the weekly aerial waterfowl counts for pools 4-14. If you have a count for any of the lower pools, please send them in!
Tundra Swans are back on the river between Alma and Stoddard, Wisconsin, resting as they migrate back to Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast. This is a magnificent sight, with 15,000 - 20,000 white swans clustered primarily on Reick's Lake just north of Alma, at Minnieska, MN, and just north of Stoddard, Wisconsin and at Brownsville, MN.
Other New Stuff! We've added several new links,includingone for the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge and the US Army's own weatherpage! There is also an excellent new link from the Army Corps called the "NavigationCenter." Everything you want to know about navigating the river, lock & damreports, and more! Check these out in the "Government" section of our Links page.
Welcome to our new sponsors!
The Illinois' Wineries brochurenowincludes travel tips for each community where the nine wineries are located.
If your organization has a brochure that YOU would like posted to the web(river related, of course), please send it to Heritage Press, Rt. 1, Stoddard, WI 54658.
Find our new sponsors listed in the TravelDirectory.While you're there, click on the UPDATED monthly list of Festivals andspecialevents.
Please let our sponsors know that you appreciate their support of the MississippiRiver Home Page. The site absolutely would not be possible without the support of ourbusiness sponsors!
*********************************************************************** Introducing
HERITAGE INTERNET PUBLISHING
Web Site Design and Hosting
If you have been considering starting a web site of your own, we would be happy to apply our web design experience and skills to your project. Find everything frompricelists to an actual application, all on line.
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