Meandering Mississippi
via bicycle from New Orleans to Itasca, Minnesota
with WomanTours
May 10 - June 18, 2007
Day 1 - June 8, 2007
LaCrosse, Wisconsin - rest day
Today was another rest day. We are in the lovely city of LaCrosse, Wisconsin. It has a population of 51,000+ and 3 rivers merge here--the Mississippi, Black, and LaCrosse Rivers. I have a view of the Mississippi out of my window in the Courtyard Marriott. I slept in until 8 o'clock this morning and then spent some time on my computer. This afternoon about 15 of us went on a 1 1/2 hour ride on the LaCrosse Queen which is a modern-day replica of the grand riverboats which roamed the Mississippi River in the late 19th Century. She is one of the few authentic Mississippi River paddlewheel riverboats still in operation in the country today. In keeping with early traditions, she was built with sternwheels which are her only means of propulsion. The La Crosse Queen has a split sternwheel and each is run by a twin diesel engine that powers hydraulic motors which turn the paddles. This is in contrast to most Mississippi River paddlewheelers in operation today which have a "free wheeling" paddlewheel at the stern of the boat for visual effect, but have traditional screw-type engines hidden for their real means of propulsion. The guide explained facts and trivia of the historical and present day river, along with local points of interest. We saw one bald eagle when it flew very close to the boat. It even turned around and flew back to give us another view. The LaCrosse Rail Bridge swung open for us as we went up river and again when we returned. The rail bridge spans the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin just as the road bridge does. It was designed and built in 1876 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The swing span has a humpback truss, while the two adjoining spans are flat-top fixed through trusses. Amtrak's Empire Builder crosses this bridge. Then as we neared Lock & Dam No.7 at Dresbach, MN the captain explained the purpose of the dams and the locking process to us. There needs to be a minimum of 9 feet of water between the channel buoys because some of the barges go 9 feet below the water line. When the river goes below 9 feet they have to either open the upstream dams and let some water flow downstream or they have to dredge the channel. There are 26 locks and dams on the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri River that were built to control the water level. I then wondered through Riverside Park taking some pictures of the International Friendship Gardens and the statues in the park. Eventually the Friendship Garden will have sections for each of LaCrosse's sister sisters--Epinal, Fance; Luoyang, China; Friedberg, Germany; and Dubna, Russia. However, the Chinese garden is the only one that is finished at this time.
this statue of Hiawatha stands in Riverside Park where the Mississippi, Black, & LaCrose Rivers meet
LaCrosse Queen is the paddlewheel boat we took a sightseeing cruise on
the bridge between LaCrosse and LaCrescent as viewed from the river
there were hundreds of turtles laying on logs sunning themselves
the railroad bridge as we approach it from down river
No. 7 Lock & Dam
the railroad bridge swinging open as we approach it from up river
the split sternwheel of the LaCrosse Queen
entrance to Luoyang, China Friendship Garden
inside the Chinese garden
an eagle statue in the Riverside Park
a statue of a young boy and girl waving to the boats on the river
Day 2 - June 9, 2007
LaCrosse, WI to Wabasha, MN - 59.8 miles
The route today included two bike trails in Wisconsin, and I rode the longer of the two in 2005 on the Habitat 500 River Ride. It uses crushed limestone for the surface, and I didn't like riding on it. Therefore, I asked Laurie if I could ride on Highway 35 instead for the Wisconsin part of the route, and she said she would check it on our day off. Later she talked to me and said she didn't recommend riding on the first part of Hwy 35, but it was OK after a few miles. Thus, I rode in the van with Linda until we got past the bad sections of the road, then Linda got my bike off the van and I started riding. I rode 55.3 miles so the original mileage on the route sheet must have been wrong. Everyone else was on the road by 8 o'clock, and I didn't get started until 9:20 and never saw anyone so I thought I was coming in last. However, I was the first one into the AmericInn, and Laurie even called the Inn to check on me since no one ever saw me. One problem was that many of the riders got confused by the directions and rode around in circles for a while. I think one thing that saved me was that I didn't follow the directions when it said turn right onto CR18 and go through the village. I had checked the route on Mapquest since I was not using the bike trail and because I didn't like the idea of riding on US 61 for 27 miles after we entered Minnesota, and I found that the AmericInn was located at the intersection of US 61 and 60. When I found out that 61 had a good shoulder and the traffic wasn't too bad I decided to just go all the way in on 61.
This was our 2nd AmericInn and they have both been great. We all had apples, bananas, and bottled water waiting for us in our room, and the breakfast the next morning was VERY good.
Onalaska is the next city north of LaCrosse
I thought this bike on top of the hotel sign though old was quite appropriate since we are on a bike tour
US 61 for the portion we were on today is part of the Great River Road in Minnesota
this sign welcomes you to Wabasha - the city where Grumpy Old Men was filmed
Wabasha was named after a Sioux chief named Wa-pa-shaw
these are 2 of 4 benches in front of the AmericInn
this little bear stands in the lobby of the AmericInn welcoming you with a plate of assorted cookies
this little bear welcomes you inside the side entrance with a bottle of water
Day 3 - June 10, 2007
Wabasha to Red Wing, MN - 33.8 miles
This was our shortest day and I took advantage of it to stay in Wabasha until the National Eagle Center opened at 10 o'clock as I wanted to see the eagles and the exhibits. They have 3 bald eagles at the center, but one makes a lot of public appearances, and she was out today on a visit so I saw Angel and Columbia. After making the 2-mile round trip into town on Route 60, I returned to Route 61 and turned north. Today that was the only turn we had to make until we got to Red Wing as we followed 61 all the way. It was only a 2 lane road today, but it still had a great shoulder and almost no truck traffic. In Red Wing we turned onto Old West Main as we neared the northern edge of the city. As it turned out we did that to circle around and come in the back way as the AmericInn sits right beside US 61, but there is no exit/entrance there.
Columbia was hatched in 2001 and was found in a National Refuge near Dunbar, WI with an open fracture next to her shoulder. She failed to regain her ability to fly. She came to the National Eagle Center in 2003.
Angel was hatched in 1999 and was found in Grantsburg, WI with an old healed fracture of the left wing. An attempt was made to reset the crooked wing, but the fracture has ended her ability to fly properly.
this picture shows the wide wingspan of an eagle
an explanation of the Blufflands or Paleozoic Plateau
an explanation of the early people of the Wabasha area
At Lake City the river is so wide that they call it Lake Pepin and Lake Pepin is the widest point in the Mississippi
look real close at the Mississippi River above the red dot for Lake Pepin and you will see that the River is wider here
this map shows how the river gets wider above Wabasha and stays wide almost all the way to Red Wing
Lake City, which is in the middle of the Lake Pepin area, is the birthplace of water skiing
an aerial picture of Lake City
an aerial picture of Lake City and the marina - you can see US 61 running along the edge of the river in both pictures
two of my pictures of Lake Pepin
Day 4 - June 11, 2007
Red Wing to Stillwater, MN - 48.7 miles
Today was a short day and there was hardly any wind but there were hills--not bad ones but constant ones. We started out by returning to Wisconsin and returned to our old standby--35N for 22 miles. Then we returned to Minnesota and took the St. Croix Trail and Stagecoach Trail, but these were roads not trails. We went through the town of Afton and Bayport and ended up at another AmericInn in Oak Park Hts. which is a bedroom community for Minneapolis/St. Paul.
I didn't get a welcome to Minnesota sign the first time we entered Minnesota but I did today
we saw these 3 beautiful llamas today and stopped and talked with the owner--the two on the right in the first picture are female and the young one is a male
Day 5 - June 12, 2007
Stillwater to Cambridge, MN - 58.5 miles
WomanTours swapped a day with us for evening meals, and instead of having a meal cooked by Linda last night we were on our own then on our free day in Itasca we will have our final banquet. Thus, we didn't get our route maps until 7 o'clock this morning at breakfast. There was only 50.7 miles on it, and 28.5 of those were on a paved bike trail so it looked good. And it was good! Only gentle hills, not much traffic, wind in our favor most of the day, and good roads most of the day. There was an error on the route sheet, however, but it was one we didn't mind very much except we had a little trouble with the directions--the trail portion was about 8.5 miles longer than stated on the route. This mileage error rippled through the route, and it ended up being almost 8 miles longer than originally stated. I still got in by 2:30 pm, and after a shower walked downtown to the local bike shop. I was looking for a tail light to put on the back of my helmet, but didn't find one.
Day 6 - June 13, 2007
Cambridge to Little Falls, MN - 88.2 miles
Today
was a long day that became longer due to map errors and a road closure.
The route sheet listed 77.5 miles, but my computer said 88.2 when I
pulled into the Comfort Inn. It was cool (70 degrees) when we started,
and the SSE wind was only 4-5 mph. However, both the temperature and the
wind climbed during the day. The temperature was over 90, and on hot
reflecting pavement it probably came close to 100. I rode with Pat,
Janice, Dusty and Edith yesterday and rode with Dusty and Edith today
for the first 54 miles, but when we stopped for lunch, I was still
eating when they finished, and they didn’t wait for me.
When
we saw Stephanie at the first sag stop we learned that a large dog had
jumped on Vicky’s bike causing her to fall down. The owner came out
and got the dog, and the people riding with Vicky got the bike back in
working order and checked Vicky, who quite naturally had some road rash.
However, she got back on her bike and continued to ride. Later at the
second sag stop we learned that her jaw swelled up from a reaction to
some of the weeds that she fell in, and Stephanie got some ice from a
pub and Vicky applied the ice to her jaw for a while. That evening at
dinner she looked better, and tomorrow is a rest day.
at a sag stop Janice and Edith went over to pet and feed two horses some apple
this pelt of a coyote was hanging on a fence post beside a garden I don't know if they were just drying it or trying to keep predators out of the garden
this mural was painted on the side of a barn
this tibetan yak was in a field beside the road
Day 7 - June 14, 2007
Little Falls, MN - rest day
May 11 - May 17
New Orleans to Vicksburg, MS
361.0 miles
May 18 - May 24
Vicksburg to Charleston, MO
444.6 miles
May 25 - May 31
Charleston to Keokuk, Iowa
383.7 miles
June 1 - June 7
Burlington, IA to LaCrosse, WI
346.1 miles
June 15 - June 18
Little Falls to Itasca, MN
151.4 miles
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