When we woke up in Dubuque, Iowa I have to admit I was wondering what in the world we are doing here but we had heard about the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium so…
I mean there was been cold, but now it’s just bitter cold. The museum was really well done, super hands on, and I’m pretty sure we had the whole to ourselves along with 5 other people.
Rivers have been pathways for exploration, trade, and culture. Have inspired writers, artists, and musicians. And also serve as major waterways for industry.
32 states are a part of the Mississippi River watershed basin.
The Mississippi river starts at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and empties into the Gulf of Mexico 100 miles from New Orleans.
The Mississippi River is the 2nd longest river in the country at 2,202 miles. (The Missouri River is the longest river at 2,341 miles). The Missouri River flows into the Mississippi river in St. Louis, Missouri. The Ohio River also flows into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois.
The Mississippi river is divided into three parts. The Upper Mississippi, from it’s origin down to the Missouri River. The Middle Mississippi is from the Missouri River to the Ohio River. The Lower Mississippi is from the Ohio River down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Where the Mississippi river goes in to the golf of Mexico has created a Dead Zone. A dead zone in the ocean is because there is no oxygen available to support life. This is due to the amount of sediment and the levels of nitrogen from fertilizers that make its way into the water. There are 42 locks and dams along the Mississippi River to accommodate the industrial need if the Mississippi as a waterway. But there are things that we can do to restore to remove the dead zone from the Gulf of Mexico. Some include reducing amount of fertilizers at farmers use, restoring wetlands that can help absorb the sediment and nitrogen, planting within in the wetlands, reconnecting the wetlands to the Mississippi River system
The aquarium aspect was also pretty neat. The girls got to pet sting rays which is always super fun. But the highlight for sure was the 14 month otter, the girls named Oscar. He was simply the cutest and super social. The girls would run back and forth and Oscar would follow them. If they stopped, he stopped. He was highly entertaining.
We went to East to Wisconsin to see in Edwin’s fishing buddies in Madison. On the way to Madison we stopped at Taliesin, which was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first rural home/workspace/artists collective set on land purchased for him by his mother next to her family’s land.
Then we went to specks to feed the animals before we went to Ruth’s Christ’s Steakhouse. I had never been there before nor heard of it and it was a really nice evening.
