Program begins at 4:45 p.m. with important announcements, welcome dinner and orientation.

Afternoon: Independent Arrivals. Free shuttle service provided from the MSP airport to our hotel. Hotel rooms are ready by 3:00 p.m. Check in a the front desk for your hotel room key. Meeting room opens 4:45 p.m. to pick up materials and select a seat. Program begins at 5:00 p.m. in our hotel's meeting room with important announcements and program orientation.

Dinner: Dinner is served at 6:00, followed by introductions.

Evening:

Lodging: Homewood Suites by Hilton - Mall of America

Meals Included: Dinner

A fun day! Historic Wabasha, MN provides "nose-to-beak" encounters with bald eagles at the National Eagle Center, followed by a personal visit inside the Mississippi Research Center in LaCrosse, WI.

Breakfast: Breakfast in our hotel.

Morning: We follow the Mississippi by chartered coach, stopping at interesting small towns, including Wabasha, Minnesota - home of the new National Eagle Center and movie site of "Grumpy Old Men".

Lunch: Lunch is included.

Afternoon: We visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota and learn "nose-to-beak" about the American Bald Eagle. Then we cross the river into Wisconsin, to the Mississippi Research Center in La Crosse, WI, before continuing to our hotel in Onalaska, WI.

Dinner: Dinner is served in a popular local restaurant near our hotel.

Evening: Hotel check in.

Lodging: Stoney Creek Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Our first river day! A special half day river excursion exclusively for our group travels through locks and the National Wildlife Refuge, narrated the tow boat captain who is featured in the Smithsonian's new national river exhibit.

Breakfast: Breakfast in our hotel.

Morning: Let's get a close look at the river! Today we board the "Mississippi Explorer". Our river pilot narrators serve as experts for many organizations, including the Smithsonian, and their river knowledge is extensive. Our half day cruise from Lansing, Iowa to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, provides an in-depth exploration of the Mississippi River's ecosystem, navigation, and history. Our day will include 'Locking thru' Lock and Dam #9 at Lynxville, Wisconsin, and bald eagle watching along the remote scenic bluffs of Effigy Mounds National Monument. The "Mississippi Explorer" is a 60-passenger boat, which can be closed and heated on chilly days. It has a toilet on board and benches with padded seats and backs -- or you can go outside for open bench seating right up front if you prefer! This cruise is chartered exclusively for our Road Scholar group.

Lunch: We enjoy a box lunch during our river expedition.

Afternoon: Our coach travels the Great River Road through Iowa to our evening destination. AAA magazine declares this section of The Great River Road to have some of the "best vistas of the Mississippi River in America". We continue to Dubuque, Iowa for hotel check in.

Dinner: Dinner at local restaurant.

Evening: Optional Evening Activity (no additional charge): Ride the "shortest and steepest cable car in the country" to the top of a river bluff for an evening view of the city of Dubuque.

Lodging: Hotel Julien Dubuque

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Enjoy a seven-hour excursion on the type of riverboat Mark Twain called a "floating palace", with live entertainment and river lore. Our morning's visit to charming Galena, IL offers an hour of free time to sites of your choice.

Breakfast: Breakfast provided.

Morning: We visit historical Galena, Illinois, a city filled with very interesting things to see and do.

Lunch: Lunch is prepared and served during our river cruise down the Mississippi.

Afternoon: What a day this is! We board a historical gingerbread "floating palace" riverboat for a 7-hour cruise from Dubuque to Le Claire, Iowa. This boat offers three deck levels, lounge or upright chairs, indoor or outdoor seating and full restrooms. During our voyage, we will enjoy captain narrations, live music, navigate through locks, and enjoy the scenery along this beautiful stretch of the river. You may even climb up to the pilot house to visit with our captain and try your hand at the wheel!

Dinner: Prime Rib dinner prepared and served during our river excursion.

Evening: Our coach meets us in Le Claire (near the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois) and brings us back to our Dubuque hotel.

Lodging: Hotel Julien Dubuque

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We're guided through the Mississippi's backwaters on a special chartered excursion with a clammer on his pontoon boat; plus, we experience an amazing bluff overlook of the river; and learn about the ancient mound builders of this region.

Breakfast: Breakfast provided

Morning: We visit the marvelous National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium; then with our bus, we scale to the top of Pikes Peak bluff in Iowa for a majestic view of the river and visit to an effigy (bear shaped) mound. Your Study Leader travels with you throughout the entire program, providing history and insights about every place we visit.

Lunch: Lunch provided.

Afternoon: Back on the river! We hear the personal story of a former local commercial clammer, as he takes us into Mississippi backwaters on a large covered (open sides) pontoon boat. The boat seats up to 29 passengers in plastic deck chairs and has a small restroom with a chemical toilet on board. This river excursion is chartered exclusively for our Road Scholar group to gain a local personal story and river perspective, and to view backwaters not accessible by larger vessels. In contrast to a plush commercial cruise, this excursion offers a close up experience with the river and its backwaters ecology, and insights into local personal connections with the river.

Dinner: Dinner provided.

Evening: Onalaska hotel check in.

Lodging: Stoney Creek Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Explore interesting sites as our coach returns towards the Twin Cities. Stop for lunch in charming Red Wing, MN, home of Red Wing pottery and shoes. Then travel down St Paul's Summit Ave of mansions and visit the Mill City Museum in downtown Minneapolis.

Breakfast: Breakfast provided in our hotel.

Morning: Our exploration of this area includes interesting stops of this region and final views of the river.

Lunch: Lunch provided in charming downtown Red Wing, Minnesota, which is home of Red Wing pottery and shoes.

Afternoon: As our coach returns us towards our program's starting point in the Twin Cities, we travel down St Paul's famous Summit Avenue of mansions and we visit the interesting Mill City Museum in downtown Minneapolis.

Dinner: Farewell dinner in local restaurant.

Evening: We return to our Twin Cities hotel for our final night and farewell dinner together.

Lodging: Homewood Suites by Hilton - Mall of America

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in our hotel.

Morning: Our program ends following breakfast in our hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast