La Crosse, Mississippi River

The river curves gently southward, carrying me past Bay City and Trempealeau in Wisconsin, while Wabasha and Winona in Minnesota appear across the water. As I watch the towns glide by, I think of the early settlers who came from far and wide, making their homes along the river’s edge and relying on its current to move their rafts and flatboats, heaped with furs, barrels of flour, and crates of pork. Downriver, the journey was almost effortless, a brief relief from the relentless toil of frontier life. But returning upriver against the river’s determined flow was another story. Men pressed long poles against the riverbed, sank them deep into silt and rock, or tied ropes to sturdy trees along the banks, straining every muscle to inch their boats forward. One misstep, one hidden rock, and the river could claim their cargo in an instant.

On either side of the river, bluffs rise sharply, a hallmark of the Driftless Region where glaciers never flattened the land. Trails wind along the heights, offering the vantage points early settlers and river pilots likely used to survey the river and plan their journeys. Small islands divide the river into ever-changing channels, and sandbars appear unexpectedly, threatening to strand or overturn a heavily laden boat. I picture logs tumbling from a raft rounding a corner too quickly, barrels of flour spilling into the current, and the crew scrambling to save their goods. Every journey was perilous, rife with tension, never knowing whether the river would be a friend or a foe.

Slowly, I draw closer to La Crosse, noting the mixture of red-brick buildings and wooden docks that hint at its history as a trading hub. Nathan Myrick, just 19 when he arrived from Prairie du Chien in 1841, established La Crosse by setting up a fur trading post and building the settlement’s first cabin. He later expanded into logging and real estate and, two years later, became the town’s first postmaster, helping lay the foundations of the growing community. Though he left in 1848 to settle permanently in Saint Paul, he is commemorated in Myrick Park today. As the town grew, waves of German immigrants arrived, layering their culture onto the riverfront city.

German heritage is most evident every October at the raucous, delightful Oktoberfest celebration. It is one of the largest in the United States. The festivities feature Bavarian music, dancing, and hearty foods like bratwurst and sauerkraut, alongside German pilsners served in litre-sized steins, with many attendees dressed in traditional dirndls and lederhosen.

Life on the Mississippi demanded patience, skill, and courage, balancing peril and freedom in equal measure. As I drift past La Crosse, I feel a quiet kinship with those who came before, aware that the river is more than water and current—it is a story of human determination and a living link between past and present.