Annual One-For-You and One-For-Them Sale!

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‘Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING! And our annual one-for-you-and-one-for-them sale! 

Doesn’t sepia make you think of Pumpkin Spice? ‘Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING!

This is one pumpkin spice that will not add any unwanted pounds and will last for years on your wall.

All of November and December we offer one of our most beautiful maps as a gift with every shipment….Our Sandwich Islands Map! It’s a print of a classical 1879 Augustus Mitchell map restored and painted by Lisa Middleton. It features early Hawaii, Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Panama Canal. You will receive this gift in addition to all of our holiday discounts!

This gift is free with all 16×20″ or larger map orders. Maps smaller than 16×20″ will receive this map as a magnet as a bonus gift! All bonus maps will be mailed to the address on the order. If you mail it to yourself keep it or give a “Christmas Bonus” to someone you love. No discount code required. It comes with every order:) Or, you may also order it directly and receive 2 for 1 right now! Order your own copy here

Clinton, IA. Eagle watch Jan 4, 2020

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If you have been on Pool 8 watching the Swan migration, you will have noticed that the American Bald Eagles are abundant wherever water is open. Eagle Watches have been a traditional Winter celebration along the length of the Mississippi River. The first of our announced dates is for CLINTON, IA.  The Eagle Watch will be Jan 4, 2020 at Lock and Dam 13.

Booths, etc. will be at Clinton Community College, Iowa.  Bus will run between the two to save parking, etc.  Scouts will have food there to sell.  We will have
coffee, etc. at the Corp. building to warm you up.  David Stokes from WI
will be the guest speaker.  If you would like the flyer, please e-mail astraight4@frontier.com

Eagles on ICE by Richard Middleton

Eagles on ICE by Richard Middleton

Woohoo! Tundra Swans by the thousands this morning!

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Had the great joy this morning of seeing thousands of pristine white Tundra Swans along Wisconsin’s Hwy 35, just to south of Goose Island!  The sky was full of flying swans as well as swans filling the ponds.  When I returned 1/2 an hour later, the skies were empty and there were fewer swans on the water.

Tundra Swan

“So where did they go?” I asked another birder who was panning with his scope.

“Did you notice that the wind changed direction and picked up, since 11 a.m. ? That’s what some of them were looking for. They’ve already resumed their migration to Chesapeake Bay.”

I was also curious as to what he saw in the scope. “Any gray cignets (juveniles)?” He said, yes, a few, but indeed most were adults and most were not family groups. The first drop of migrating swans is normally the single swans rather than swans traveling with juveniles.

Finally, make a grand journey THIS WEEKEND along the Great River Road between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Dubuque, Ia.  In addition to Swans in the pools north of Genoa, American Bald Eagles are migrating and we are flush with both our resident eagles and the eagles moving down from the north (more on this in a later piece). Remember to visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN.

BEST Fall color on the AQRichardFall Color will be in its waning weekend the next several days. Oaks are a rich rust color and some of the late coloring trees are still coming into color (it’s all in the genes!)

So hit the road!! There is lots to see! and don’t forget your copy of Discover! America’s Great River Road by River Author, Pat Middleton... your guide to eagle watching, regional history, Treasure Hunting, commercial fishing, and more!!! Order your copy of each of the four volumes which lead travelers from St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico by CLICKING HERE!

Discover America's Great River Road, Vol 1 - St.Paul Minnesota to Dubuque Iowa By Pat Middleton

 

 

 

 

White Phase Turkeys

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white phase turkeyHere’s a nice discovery for November! Wild Turkeys quite commonly appear in their white phase. Again the white version is not a mutation, or “half domestic”, it is simply a white phase of our familiar turkey.  Use the SEARCH button to see more of our “white phase” collection!  We saw these too at HIDDEN HILLS off Hwy K, near Goose Island. Our toddlers enjoyed seeing the pigs, goats, turkeys, calves, and all!

 

Plan ahead for Map Gift Giving! Textiles, Fine Art Prints, Home Decor

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Our Historic Map Collection is Growing by Leaps and Bounds! More than 350 hand painted Historic, Retro, and Custom Designed Maps are now available, many on our Mississippi River-focused Great River Shopping Cart !

Now is the time to order your historic map ART for Christmas/Holiday gifting.  

Our 1887 Mississippi River Historic Ribbon Map can now be artisan matted, framed and shipped nation-wide for $220. Need a custom map of YOUR estate or favorite destination? Please PHONE 888-255-7726  Hand painted originals available now! Usual wait period is 1 month! So order now for a gift to be available by Christmas. Four matting choices!

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH our Map shopping site by any KEYWORD… date, cartographer, locale, state, etc. If you don’t find it, Call us! 888-255-7726

Custom Framing Services   

Old Time Railroad Stories in three volumes

Steamboating on America’s Rivers!

Phone 406-471-756 with Questions, or
visit our MAP Shopping Cart to order online!

For Mississippi River BOOKS and More, visit click links above, or enter BOOKS in the Search Box.

 

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, Kindle Version, Free on Amazon!

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You never know what you might find on Amazon, and today I discovered they are offering a FREE promotional Kindle version of Michael Gillespie’s COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, A Lively History of Steamboating on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. That seldom happens, to my knowledge, so I am happy to share this brief opportunity with you. If you enjoy this excellent Kindle version Steamboat Anthology, please be sure to review it! 

Here is the link, the Kindle version is normally $9.99! Now available in Kindle Format.   $9.99  

Come Hell or High Water, Volume 1 (Kindle Edition): True Tales of Steamboating on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers (The Era of Steam) by [Gillespie, Michael]You can also purchase the perfect bound paperback of 300 pages direct from the publisher HERE.

True Stories of Steamboating on the Missouri River from one of our favorite steam era authors! In Come Hell or High Water, Gillespie invites the reader to experience the challenge that was steamboating in the nineteenth century–as recorded firsthand by passengers, crew members and journalists. Dozens of historic photos, charts, maps and Illustrations.

“For one brief moment in history, it was possible to slide down a muddy bank, board a steamboat, and travel anywhere within a 16,0000-mile system of inland waterways known as the Western Rivers. They included the incomparable Mississippi River…”

300 pages, 6×9″, ISBN 0-9620823-2-5   $19.99

Also available in Kindle Format.   $9.99    

 

USGS Reports Earthquake Swarms in Missouri

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      Is the big one about to hit the central United States? Maybe not, but a recent swarm of medium-sized earthquakes in Missouri’s New Madrid region has residents on edge.        nmblog_NewMadrid

 The area of the New Madrid fault is the site of the nation’s most powerful earthquakes ever east of the Rocky Mountains which occurred in 1811–12 and caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards. This same area experienced six quakes on Monday, September 30, 2019, according to officials with the United States Geological Survey.

 

Two larger quakes were originally reported as 2.8 in magnitude each. They were later each downgraded to 2.7 magnitude. The third large quake was originally reported as a 2.7 magnitude. It was later downgraded to a 2.6 magnitude.  A sixth was recorded later in the day.

All six recorded earthquakes on Sept 30, 2019 include:

According to the USGS, there have been 12 earthquakes in the past seven days in the Heartland. Click on the blue links for detailed info from the USGS.

New Madrid If an earthquake the size of the 1811-12 earthquake hit today, cities from St. Lto Memphis would see extensive damage in the hundreds of Billions with a loss of possibly thousands of lives. Midwestern cities typically do not have building codes that account for earthquakes because of their relatively rare occurrence.

–Dwight Widaman, Metrovoicenews.com 

 

Fall Colors Just Around the Bend!

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Fall Foliage Hot Lines from greatriver.com  Try this new Prediction Map for the entire US! It says Smoky Mountains, but it is actually the whole country!   https://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/

Treasure Hunting is a perfect outdoor activity for cool and colorful days. Our beginner's guide to Treasure Hunting is a favorite among our readers! Available now from AMAZON Books for just $2.99.

Treasure Hunting is a perfect outdoor activity for cool and colorful days. Our beginner’s guide to Treasure Hunting along the Mississippi River is a favorite among our readers! Available now from AMAZON Books for just $2.99.

While mid-October seems to be the time when Fall Foliage really POPS along the Upper Mississippi River, we on the Upper River are certainly already seeing brilliant red sumacs. Softwoods are starting to yellow up. You can follow the southward march of Fall Color with the contacts below. Weather is perfect, enjoy the drive!

Arkansas.  https://www.arkansas.com/arkansas-seasons/fall (late October to early November)

Illinois.  800-226-6632; www.enjoyillinois.com (early October)

Kentucky. 800-225-8747;  (late October)

Minnesota. 800-657-3700; www.exploreminnesota.com (late September to mid-October)

Missouri. 800-778-1234; www.missouritourism.org (mid-to-late October)

Tennessee. 800-697-4200; Fall Folliage Predition Map (early November)

Wisconsin. 800-432-8747; www.travelwisconsin.com (early through mid-October)


And don’t leave home without the indispensable guides to Mississippi River and Great River Road travel! Every volume of DISCOVER! America’s Great River Road is filled with a variety of fascinating Mississippi River fact and lore.  Photos, maps, charts!  All Volumes contain info on birding, wildlife viewing hotspots. Each highlights Geography, interpretive history and natural history attractions along the Great River Road.  SAVE $10!!!  

 

Click HERE to Purchase Discover! America’s Great River Road… St. Paul, Minnesota,  Discovr! Guides are available in four volumes from St. Paul to Venice, Louisiana, individually signed by the author.  Available on Amazon as paperback ($22) or KINDLE guide (9.99).  Or phone 888-255-7726 and we will send you your copy TODAY.