On the morning of Day 9 we departed Minneapolis and began traveling to Dubuque, Iowa. The initial purpose of our trip was to traverse one of America's most iconic road systems known as the Great River Road. This collection of rural and state roadways follows both sides of the Mississippi River from its origins in Lake Itasca, Minnesota (near the border of Canada) all the way south to where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Venice, Louisiana. It was recently voted the most scenic roadway in America. Essentially, our trip had two components; the first part was driving from South Florida all the way up to Minneapolis, and the second part was the return trip home along the Great River Road. Our first night's stop along the Great River Road was at the Hilton Garden Inn in the city of Dubuque. The entire day was overcast, with intermittent light rain, but that did not distract from the sheer natural beauty of the drive. It took us five and a half hours to cover the distance from Minneapolis to Dubuque (over 250 miles) on a series of two-lane rural roads that took us mainly along the eastern banks of the Mississippi River through portions of three different states. Heading south out of St. Paul we drove on rural Highway-35 across the St Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin and entered a portion of the glacial plain area that accounts for an important part of the country's breadbasket (I'm talking corn, people). Fertile soil in this region, as throughout the Midwestern grain belt, is the result of pulverized soil (drift) left over from receding ice sheets millions of years ago. Further south, we entered a different kind of landscape called the Driftless Region, a section of limestone bluffs and rocky uplands, providing some dramatic views. Along this portion of the Great River Road we passed many small towns (with populations numbering only into the hundreds). We saw river barges making their way up the Mississippi River. We drove through national parks and wildlife refuge centers. Near Prairie du Chien, Missouri we had to take a detour inland that led us through forested hills and farmlands. Although we didn't make any prolonged stops -- not certain how long the drive to Dubuque would take on a two-lane roadway -- we did see some incredibly beautiful natural scenery. The photos below were all taken on the drive. We reached Dubuque in the early evening and had dinner next to our hotel. The following morning we continued on the Great River Road to St. Louis for a two-night stay.