driving the length of the mississippi?

[--]

I'd love to take a camera and a stack of mark twain books and just do this...

1. does highway 61 actually skirt the river the entire way? I've only been on it up in MN, have no idea what it's like farther south.

2. could this be done comfortably in 10-14 days?

3. does anyone reccomend any must-sees along the river?

While the Great River Road runs roughly parallel to U.S. 61, there are vast streches where 61 is quite a few miles from the river. Even in Minnesota, less than half of the River Road is U.S. 61 - Only from St. Paul to LaCrescent - from there 61 jumps over to Wisconsin and stays a good 20 miles from the river almost all the way to the Quad Cities except where it cuts back across to the Iowa side at Dubuque.

Two weeks seems like enough time to make the trip, as far as your must sees, that would depend upon what sort of things you enjoy doing on a roadtrip.

[Robert Schaller]

If you're interested in those things, I'd poke around Nauvoo, IL and Hannibal, MO (of course!). The Gateway Arch and Westward Expansion Museum (at the Arch) are on my list almost every time I go through St Louis, and west of St Louis along the Missouri River you'll find some great wineries!

[Boston Wrangler]

We'll be traveling from Memphis to St. Louis in late May/early June. What tips do you have for us in terms of scenic river roads to take and stops to make?

Thanks!