Experience the beauty and culture of the United States

The tradition of brewing beer in the American Midwest can largely be credited to 19th-century European immigrants that brought their brewing techniques from their home countries, particularly Germany. Some of the most popular styles included Pilsner, Kölsch, Lager and Weissbier.

As German immigrants began to settle in cities like Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee during the Industrial Revolution, mass production of beer soon followed. Adolphus Busch, who immigrated to St. Louis in 1857 from Germany, became the first American brewer to use pasteurization to keep beer fresh. In 1861, he married Lily Anheuser, daughter of pharmacist and brewer Eberhard Anheuser. This fortuitous union led to the creation of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879. After learning of new brewing methods while traveling in Germany, Busch used the name Budweiser—after Budweis, Germany—for his newest pilsner beer. The Anheuser-Busch company’s ability to transport bottled beer soon made Budweiser the most popular beer in the US.

Milwaukee’s proud brewing tradition began around the same time. Three Welsh immigrants opened the city’s first brewery in 1840, initiating a beer boom. Between 1840 and 1860, 35 breweries sprung up throughout the city, including Best Brewery, which would later become the famous Pabst. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, another notable Milwaukee beer producer, was founded in 1849. It pioneered many brewing innovations, including the use of brown glass bottles, which has since become standard across the industry.

Today, while the large beer companies remain a staple of the Midwest, microbreweries also dot the landscape, providing more diverse choices for beer lovers. Many blend Old-World brewing styles with new innovations, like Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. in Decorah, Iowa, which is known for its award-winning IPAs and stouts. Larger Midwestern cities like Chicago, St. Paul and Detroit also boast vibrant craft beer scenes, and many local breweries feature taprooms where visitors can sample a selection of fresh, local brews.

The blues is a genre of secular folk music founded on expressing the experiences and emotions of Black Americans. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, it is believed that formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants created blues music while working on the grounds of historic homes in the South.

Certain qualities distinguish the blues from region to region, but in all its myriad forms, the genre is characterized by a somber, melancholy tone. To create a poignant mood, singers use vocal techniques like melisma, in which they sustain a single syllable across several pitches. Musicians also use instrumental techniques like choking or bending their guitar strings to create a whining, voice-like sound. Syncopation, a technique that emphasizes offbeats to create a variety of rhythms, adds variety and excitement to many blues songs as well.

The earliest references to the blues date from the 1890s and early 1900s. The rural blues developed primarily in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Mississippi before shifting north to cities like Chicago and Detroit during the Great Migration, when many African Americans moved out of the South. The blues also had a profound impact on the Harlem Renaissance, a revival of African American art, music and literature that took place in New York from 1918 to 1937. Influential writers like Langston Hughes valued the blues and its meaning for Black Americans.

Not long after the dawn of the 20th century, jazz was born—ushering in an exciting new era of American music. Riffing on the swinging notes of blues music, jazz offered a more free-flowing approach to musical expression. Its distinctive distortions of pitch and timbre and rhythmic syncopation encouraged instrumentalists to improvise solos based on their immediate feelings. Only certain parts of the songs were memorized. Not only was this style of music compelling and fresh; it required great talent, skill and a deep familiarity with blues and jazz scales.

A talented New Orleans cornet player named Charles “Buddy” Bolden is generally recognized as the first jazz musician—although many others also claimed this distinction. Playing in New Orleans parades and dances, Bolden's band members included several important musicians, like Bunk Johnson and Sidney Bechet.

New Orleans rightly claims a significant place in jazz history, but it was far from the only place that the music took hold. Early forms of jazz were also practiced in places as far-flung as Los Angeles, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore and New York City. During the late 1910s and early 1920s, many Southern jazz musicians, including the famous trumpeter Louis Armstrong, moved to urban centers like Chicago and New York City, where they continued to popularize and develop the genre.

By the 1960s, blues and jazz had become some of the largest influences on popular music, including rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, country, and Motown—named after the soulful music produced by Detroit’s famous Motown Record Corporation.

Today, music lovers can visit some of the famous jazz clubs, legendary recording studios and history-rich museums that continue to preserve the legacy of these iconic American genres. For example, the National Blues Museum in St. Louis celebrates this remarkable genre, its historic significance and the musicians that shaped it. And, in Detroit, visitors can see The Blue Bird Inn, a historic jazz venue, and tour the Motown Museum, located in the studio where greats such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes recorded their hit songs.

Native to North America, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is one of the largest birds in the US. Males reach about 36 in (90 cm) in length with a wingspan of 6 ft (2 m) and the larger females grow to 43 in (108 cm) in length with an impressive 8 ft (2.5 m) wingspan. Both males and females have dark brown, feathered bodies with yellow beaks, eyes and feet.

The bald eagle is not actually bald but instead gets its name from its round, white-feathered head, which stands out starkly against the rest of its plumage. Most commonly, bald eagles are found by rivers and large lakes. They primarily feed by plucking fish out of the water with their talons. They also prey on small mammals, reptiles and other birds.

Sometimes, the bald eagle is referred to as “the comeback bird.” Its population has made a strong recovery since becoming endangered in the mid-20th century, primarily due to the use of the now-banned pesticide DDT, which caused thin eggshells and reproductive failure. In their breeding grounds, these resourceful creatures use sticks and branches to build impressive nests on top of large trees or rock pinnacles near the water, which can be as wide as 5 ft (1.5 m). The nests are reused for several years and grow larger with each season. The longest-known occupied nest was used continuously for 34 years.

As the national bird of the United States, it may come as little surprise that these majestic creatures can be found in 49 US states (all except Hawaii). Visitors to Alaska can keep watch for bald eagles at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, which serves as a refuge for several hundred of these magnificent birds. Minnesota is another popular destination for travelers eager to encounter this remarkable species. The National Eagle Center in Red Wing allows visitors to see American bald eagles and golden eagles up close, while also learning about ecology, biology and natural history.

Most bald eagles establish breeding grounds in the Northern US and Canada and migrate along the Mississippi River, especially near the locks and dams, during the winter for feeding. In fact, the middle Mississippi has the second-largest overwintering bald eagle population in the continental US.

Tens of thousands of nature lovers visit the Mississippi River each year to participate in “Bald Eagle Watches” with hopes of witnessing this avian species in action. Using binoculars or spotting scopes allows bird watchers to see them in stunning detail. Depending on the weather, the best time of year to catch a glimpse of bald eagles along the Mississippi is January and February. However, they have been seen in December and March as well. Whether spotted soaring overhead, perched on trees or swooping down into the open waters to catch fish, these incredible raptors are a joy to watch.