Discovering La Crosse from the America Queen
Lynn and I woke up to another beautiful day on the Mississippi River. We had lucked out with this late summer weather in the Midwest. We were ready to explore La Crosse, Wisconsin, after having breakfast and lattes at the Front Porch Café on the American Queen. I loved being on a small boat. There was never a wait for the elevator and we never saw a crowd anywhere. It made traveling in a scooter so much easier. This was the first time in La Crosse for both of us. We didn’t know much about it, but were ready to learn. The pier was welcoming, with beautiful sculptures and manicured grass and flowers. We got onto the hop on, hop off tour bus, complimentary to all American Queen guests. The bus guides, including Tour Director Lucy from our ship, told us about La Crosse. When settlers came over to the U.S., this land was already occupied by Native Americans, specifically the Sioux, Ojibwa, and Ho-Chunk tribes. It became one of Wisconsin’s largest cities by the second half of the 19 th ce...