McGregor IA to Blanding Landing IL

McGregor IA to Blanding Landing IL

October 5, 2011

We were up early – Jane walked around all the campground roads at 7 AM – so peaceful. 

 Our Campsite at Pikes Peak

We did not realize how close we were to the bluff overlooking the river so we hiked that way before leaving the park. There were some Indian mounds near the bluff and there were also some really great views. We were able to see where the Wisconsin River comes into the Mississippi. Fog hanging over some of the river was an interesting view.

 Mississippi from Pikes Peak

We left the park thinking we could retrace the detour back to McGregor – no such luck. The road we had come on last night was now CLOSED!  We went the opposite way because there was no choice. A few miles down the road we stopped where we saw two farmers harvesting soybeans. One of the guys came over quickly as he must have been having lots of lost souls come by his farm!  He wanted to know if we could drive on a gravel road?  Ben said yes so he gave us the shortest way back to McGregor.

According to what the farmer said everyone was angry with the road contractor. They have had the contract all summer and are just now getting the work done. Children can’t get to school and folks can’t get to work.  He was angry because he had rented a combine for his harvesting and now can’t get it returned.  The people never know from one day to the next which roads will be closed! The route must have been 15 miles and it was crooked and if I had not known where I was I would have believed east TN not eastern Iowa. Iowa is supposed to be flat!  Beautiful trip but it was only 3 miles to the park from McGregor according to the sign in the town.   

 Ben gets directions

 Our detour

We found the post office to mail Dan’s post cards and were on our way a few miles north to Effigy Mounds National Monument. At the National Monument we watched an interesting film with about 60 4^th or 5^th graders and looked around their museum. The shortest hike to see the Effigy (resembling animal shapes) Mounds was 2 hours and it was half uphill. Jane’s back is feeling much better but not up to uphill hikes yet. We passed this by and headed on down the GRR. We took our own detour so we could avoid the road closure that prevented us getting to the park last night. The GRR was what was closed for some unknown reason. 

In Guttenberg we stopped Lock  at # 10 and were lucky enough to arrive just as a tow (this is the combination of barges and the tug boat or pusher that is guiding them up or down the river) was going through the lock.  The 15 barges and tug is too many for the lock. They put as many barges in the lock – raise the water level and then open the doors and they are pulled out by a cable and wench. Then they wait while the same thing happens all over again for the remaining barges and tug or pusher.  The lock here raises or lowers the water level 9 feet.  At each of the locks that are placed strategically along the river they locks change approximately 8 feet.  There was a beautiful park along the river in Guttenburg and we parked and enjoyed lunch on the riverbank. Fantastic weather in the 70’s.

 Barges in lock, Tug outside waiting with 2 more barges

We continued on down the GRR which primarily ran along the crest of the bluffs – maybe a mile or two back with very neat and prosperous looking farms along the way. Everyone in a while we would drive down to river level for a small town and then back up to the bluffs. There were some beautiful views to but photos could not do the landscapes of fields of brown corn interspersed with green cover crops justice.

 

The GRR ran us right into down town Dubuque IA – the first large city since Minneapolis-St Paul.  There were old buildings and then beautiful new hotels and casinos. Many of the homes are up on a much higher level than the city center. Mr. Brit took us to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium where we planned to learn lots about the river and we hoped the GRR…nothing about the GRR. We did enjoy information and displays on the fish and wildlife of the river, about the barge traffic, about the steamboats and paddle wheelers of the past.

 Jane visits with  Mark Twain at Museum

 Ben tries his hand at Driving a tow

About 4PM we decided to head to the Corp of Engineer Park – Blandings Landing near Hanover IL. Supposedly 23 miles from the Aquarium. It was supposedly right on the river near lock 12 and had everything we had to have – showers, flush toilets, and electricity.  We did fine getting to Galena – stopped at a grocery and picked up chicken and some salads for a picnic supper as Jane did not want to cook and we were going to be 8-10 miles from a town.  We drove and drove – finally got down to a one lane paved road….Ben said – think I want to go back to Galena and get gas if we are going out into this remote an area!  So back we went to Galena – bought gas and retraced our way to the one lane road…we went about 2 miles further than we had gone the first time and what did a sign say – ROAD CLOSED – no not again!  We continued on a ways until the road was no longer paved, had trees down on both sides and was barely wide enough for one car with NO shoulder and water not too far away. We turned around and went back a few miles.  We later discovered the damage was from the spring flooding.

Now the unique thing we saw here along a one lane road near the Mississippi was the bottom of a ski slope with 3 lifts. The slopes were approximately 250-300 feet to the top as we could see the top where a lodge was located. Certainly not something we had expected to see!  Later Jane read it was Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort.  

Chestnut Mountain

 When we got back to the last intersection Mr. Brit tried another road – this one had signs to Blandings Landings!  Progress!  We drove on about 7 more miles to find the campground. There are two camping units here. It is on the banks of the Mississippi. Jane caught a photo of the sunset just as we drove in at 6:30. 

We had been on an adventure to find this place for 2 ½ hours!  It is certainly peacefu with one exception.. It is now 9:30 and we have had 8 trains pass by on tracks not very far to our east.  They always blow their whistles so it may be a LONG night.  There are bright lights on the locks and dam that are quite pretty at night.  Things do not always go as planned and I guess that is part of the fun of this trip. (note next day - Ben says there were at least 24 trains while we were there  but neither of us were kept awake by the trains all night so there were probably many more).

Trempealeau WI to McGregor IA

Trempealeau WI to McGregor IA

October 4, 2011

We got up a little early and left camp about 8:30. Our plan was to be in La Cross to make arrangements for a sightseeing cruise on the Mississippi. We were unable to call for quite some distance due to poor phone service. Really strange how it could be 3G last night - then E – and then off and on no service. We finally got through and had plenty of time to get there for the 11 o’clock cruise.  We walked around the riverfront park for about 30 minutes. It was a very nice park – even had a small Japanese Friendship Garden that was very well done. 

 entrance to Friendship Garden in La Cross IA

The boat was not large but was a real paddle wheeler. They had diesel engines that ran the paddle wheels but they were the only mode of propulsion for the boat.. We left at 11:00 and traveled north for about an hour and then returned. We experienced a train crossing the railroad bridge – we had to wait for it to cross – then a section of the bridge rotated horizontally to let us pass underneath.. We continued north until we came to a lock and dam and turned around to return. Some of the tours go through the lock but this one did not. We would have been waiting a long time as a tug with a long line of barges was passing through.  Along the river on the MN side were many homes. The WI side was a national wildlife refuge. We were surprised that we saw very little river traffic – mostly fishing and touring boats and the one tug and barges in the lock.  In fact so far on our travels down the Mississippi we have seen less than 5 tugs with barges. It seems the town where we stayed near Minneapolis (Savage) is the largest grain port along the Mississippi. We had noticed many grain elevators along the Minnesota River but did not realize the significance.

 Bridge opens to allow us to pass

The paddle wheel boat held about 150 people and was built specifically for the touring. The upper deck was for viewing and the lower deck was set up for dining. A tour later in the day had lunch but we wanted to be down the road so took the earlier tour. The weather was perfect for this outing.

Ben on top deck

Paddle Wheel as seen from inside Dining Area

We stopped at a Festival Food Market and did a little shopping before we left La Cross. One claim to fame for La Cross is a brewery and they have the largest beer cans around!

We continued on down the GRR towards Prairie du Chien WI. We drove around and went in the Visitor Center at Villa Louis, a Victorian home built by a family who made their fortune in the fur trade. With only 30 minutes before it closed we were satisfied to just view from afar.

Crossing the river into IA we were planning to spend the night at Pikes Peak State Park which was high on the bluffs above the Mississippi.  The tiny town on Marquette was at the end of the bridge set against some of the most vivid colors on the trees we have seen.

A few miles down the road was McGregor where the park was located. We came to a ROAD CLOSED sign and took about 30 minutes to finally find the park. It took the GPS, 2 maps, and 3 phone calls before a truck driver stopped and told us the park was about half a mile from where we were. It is beautiful – indeed high above the riverside town of McGregor.  All of Iowa the I had experienced was mostly flat with corn and more corn. This was a different Iowa with hills, crooked roads and fall colors!

Tonight was filled with walking, cooking a simple dinner, and sorting another couple days of photos. Ben is very pleased his entertainment plan has worked well. He has a fairly large number of TV programs on a hard drive so he can run them through his computer onto the TV and watch old shows to fill his evening. Jane is keeping busy with blog writing (even without posting), sorting and naming photos, and reading on the Nook.  The Nook is growing on me. I still think I prefer a real book but we shall see.

Minneapolis MN to Trempealeau WI

Minneapolis MN to Trempealeau WI

Monday October 3, 2011

We took our time breaking camp this morning and left about 9:30 headed for the Great River Road Visitor Center in Prescott WI….it was great to leave the Twin Cities traffic behind. We crossed the Mississippi and found the Visitor Center – CLOSED ON MONDAY!!  Not a good thing.  We got some great views of the river but no information or passport stamps.

View from Great River Road Visitor Center

We headed south down the Wisconsin GRR which was US35. We passed through small towns along the river and when we got to US63 we crossed back into MN to visit Red Wing. This was a very prosperous small town. Red Wing shoes are still made here and we toured the museum showing their shoes made from 1800’s until today. Examples showed the boots worn by soldiers in WW2 and many others. They still have shoes made 100% in the USA. The company has bought out some additional brands and makes some of them in China but you can still buy 100% USA shoes in Red Wing Stores across the country. I did not realize they made many styles besides work boots. Interesting to me they market to numerous professions – not just miners, hunters, and firemen etc. They have an entire line made for professional chefs (so they won’t slip in kitchens when the floors get wet)!  They also have a complete line of running and walking shoes!

In the lobby is a huge boot – 2 stories high – leather with laces and sole.  They had a very nice retail outlet with work and hunting clothes – all of which would have been too warm in our part of the country. They of course had any type shoes you could want. They also had an outlet in the basement – so I had to go look around. I found a really nice pair of walking shoes-normally $109 for $55…just could not pass up the bargain!  

 Giant Shoe at Red Wing

Red Wing was getting ready for their Arts and Crafts Festival this next weekend and was decorated already. We walked around the main street a little and visited the Hotel St. James – built in the late 1800’s and still doing business today.  It was a very nice hotel with a beautiful pipe organ in the lobby. 

 Red Wing Prepares for their Festival

We went back across the river to Wisconsin and headed south again. We passed through numerous small river towns – Stockholm (pop 66); Pepin (pop 837) and Nelson (pop 374) to name a few. In Nelson we stopped for lunch at the Nelson Creamery.  On the banks of the Mississippi with small tables outside they had cheese, sandwiches, wine, and other foods to purchase. We had great sandwiches outside in the sunshine enjoying the temperatures in the 70’s. Then we looked around in the store and bought some more Wisconsin cheese. This time we got white cheddar and 4 year old cheddar. Tomorrow we will buy some apples and bread and have lunch for several days!

The landscape has changed – the river is much wider – it varies with the placement of the locks and dams. We have passed locks 3-4-5 and 6 today.   The small towns are wedged between the river bank and the bluffs that rise to the east of the road. The railroad follows the road between the road and the river. Often there are farms or orchards along the road as well. We are beginning to see barges of goods going up and down the river. 

Our choices for camping were Perrot State Park and a private park in La Crosse.  When we reached Trempealeau we drove into town and looked for the park. It was a very small town – again right on the river bank – with a couple old hotels with bar and grill, a bank, and a couple 7-11 type store/gas stations.  The park however was very nice with lots of hiking trails. The ranger gave us a map and said go pick out your site and come back – so we did. Set up camp, took a 1 ½ mile hike, and sorted through all the information on the river for the next couple days.  

Small town of Trempealeau and Relaxing at Perrot State Park

 There is no internet here – the 3G on the I-phone is interesting as it comes and goes. Here one minute and gone the next.  My main job tonight has been numbering and naming photos.  I did not start this trip with my usual system and if I don’t get a handle on it now I am lost!  I got about half finished…another evening should get me caught up.

Minneapolis and St. Paul

Minneapolis – Saint Paul MN

October 2, 2011

Lazy Sunday morning – well sort of – laundry and cleaning up the Sprinter. After a week on the road things are settling into their places and we needed to reorganize a little. Mostly we really needed to wash clothes. With two large washers and dryers it was not a bad job at all. We visited with several of the other campers and ate a late breakfast. We have a nice site near the laundry room. This campground has a couple fire pits with fires in the evening; nice bathhouse; great playground; and something I have NEVER seen in a campground – a storm shelter!  It is the basement of the older farmhouse that is the home of the family owning the campground but it is a labeled storm shelter…you know me and disasters – I was impressed.

 Ben relaxing at our campsite at Town & Country Campground

About 11:30 we packed up and started out on our day of exploration in the Twin Cities. We started at the National Park Service Headquarters visitor center for the Mississippi River National Recreation Area. Unique idea for National Parks – they are partnering with 10 parks, museums, etc in the area to present the history and natural resources of the area in a consolidated way. The ranger told us they offer tours, materials, and of course passport stamps…we managed to collect 3 today. 

 View of Mississippi from St. Paul Science Museum

Yesterday we had investigated taking the light rail into Minneapolis to avoid driving. Today, since it was Sunday (hoping for lighter traffic) and we wanted to go to both Minneapolis and St. Paul;  Ben decided to drive. It was not bad until we got into St. Paul. There was a huge marathon today and it was just finishing! There were runners and people everywhere.  We found the National Park Service Visitor Center and got lots of great information and ideas for the rest of our day.  Getting out of St. Paul was not much fun but we managed to get back across the Mississippi on the infamous bridge that collapsed in 2007 I believe.  The new bridge is beautiful and was completed in only a little over a year. We have a photo to share later. All I can say is good thing we did not try to drive earlier while most of the runners were still running!

Our next stop was the Mill City area. We found parking easily and after eating a snack lunch we walked around the Mill Area. The entire riverfront in Minneapolis has been cleaned up with the 2 lane GRR, and a 2 lane biking and hiking trail. The old flour mills are being restored as lofts, businesses, and restaurants.  The Gold Medal building has become a museum telling the history of the mills and the city.  Next door was the new Guthrie Theater –relocated here about two years ago.  The old stone bridge crosses the Mississippi here and is now a pedestrian bridge. The people of Minneapolis were out in force today – walking, biking, skateboarding, etc.  The temperature was 80 degrees and beautiful.  We walked out on the bridge to get some photos and observed a tour boat going through a lock at the St. Anthony Falls. This is the only falls on the entire Mississippi.

 Gold Medal Flour Building

After hiking out the bridge we went into the Guthrie and up to the 5^th floor to the endless bridge.  We rode up a 5 story escalator – Jane managed by holding on tightly with both hands. Ben ventured all the way to the end of the cantilevered observation deck.  The photos that show the entire river – north to the falls and south to the newly built interstate bridge were taken by him…Jane only went as far as the section with walls!

 Guthrie Theater with Cantilevered Deck - Photos below taken from there

 Looking North - Old Stone Bridge and St.Anthony Falls

 Looking South - the bridge in distance is the newly rebuilt bridge that collapsed

Next we followed the GRR through Minneapolis along the river – nice park with stops along the way for parking. The bikers and walkers were out in force along this road as well. The banks of the river are high here with bluffs on both sides – the trees were in their fall colors – beautiful.  As we left the downtown area, there were many nice homes along the river road.  We stopped at Historic Fort Snelling for a few photos and called it a day.  

 Great River Road through residential area of Minneapolis

It was a nice day with a quiet supper and finally some time to get the blog posted for the last several days.  Tonight we will study Wisconsin and Minnesota as we begin to make choices - which side of the river to take south. There is a GRR on both sides of the river!  We knew that and had some idea where we would go but now we are more familiar with the area and the choices will be hard.

Little Falls MN to Minneapolis MN

Little Falls to Minneapolis

Saturday October 1, 2011

Another beautiful crisp autumn morning -and crisp it was at 35 degrees! Two things we bought that have paid for themselves over and over again are our electric heater and Mr. Brit our GPS.  After another great breakfast of toast with bread cheese and strawberry jam we headed south on the Great River Road (GRR).  Our first stop was to look at the Charles Lindbergh home. He grew up here. This was his parents' home.  He flew his plane “Jenny” here several times after his famous first solo transatlantic flight. The home was locked up  for winter so we could only view from the gate.  The Mississippi is right below the bluff and very wide here due to dams along the river. We drove along MN 21 to St. Cloud. The GRR follows very closely the river through rolling farmland.

 Example of Farms 

The farms are much as they have been before – cattle, corn, and hay.  At St Cloud we drove west to I 94 for a short period for Ben to buy gas.  The great news was we had driven 614 miles since last buying gas and the calculated miles per gallon was 27!  The best yet for the Sprinter! Oh, we are not big like most of the RV’s you see on the road but we sure get better mileage! Many times we get 23 or 34 MPG but this was the best – we had not driven any interstates so had driven a little slower. Many people could not manage in a 20 foot van – for us it works fine. We can go many places a large RV could not go and Ben drives it for his work trips.  There is plenty of room for all our activities – cooking and eating, lounging around, and sleeping – we just can’t do them all at once!  Living with the basics is really good for you – helps you learn what is essential for living. It also makes you segment your activities!  Anyway it works for us…

From St. Cloud we headed south on MN75 through Elk River. As we get closer to the Twin Cities there are many more subdivisions and urban sprawl. At one point we were clipping along watching for the GRR signs, viewing the rivers and farms and suddenly huge sign – BRIDGE OUT – Wow – we turned around and followed the detour signs for a few miles. This was not a bridge over the Mississippi but one of the smaller rivers flowing into it.

 Good thing we say this sign!

In Elk River we stopped at Von Hanson’s Meats. We have been seeing meat stores along the roads much as we had seen cheese shops in Wisconsin.  We felt it was part of our cultural experience to find out what they were selling!  They had all kinds of sausages, beef, pork, chicken, so many choices… we bought some maple sausage and special pretzels. Then we got a small container of cheese & pea salad to have with a sandwich for lunch. 

 Examples of Sausages

A little further south we stopped at a roadside park for lunch. The salad was made of small cubes of cheddar cheese, peas, and light colored cheese curd. It was quite tasty. The park was a great stop as Jane got in a mile walk and we also got to view the Mississippi. 

 View of Mississippi from our lunch stop - about 50 miles north of Minneapolis

We did a little research on the i-phone to locate a campground somewhat close to the Mall of America.  We found one and asked Mr. Brit to get us there. We stayed on the GRR until it went into downtown Minneapolis. At that point we let Mr. Brit take over and ended up at the Town and Country Campground in Savage MN. It was 9 miles to Mall of America.

Everything we needed for a two day stay – washing machines, WIFI, cable TV, electricity – we were set. 

We got settled in and thought – only 3 PM let’s just go to Mall of American this afternoon and eat dinner there.  So Mr. Brit took us there – only problem finding parking with 9ft clearance…a nice policeman directed us to the IKEA parking lot and it was full of RV’s, trucks, and other odd vehicles that could not get in the 7ft clearance lots.  Luck was with us – the one place we really wanted to go was near that entrance.  

 We certainly did not make it to every one of the 500+  stores by any means – there are 4 levels and we only were on 2.  Let’s see – the highlights for us were LEGO, Columbia, Barnes & Noble, Brookstone, Coldwater Creek and a wallet kiosk. The amusement park in the center of the mall was unbelievable. There was also an IMAX, an aquarium, theaters and over 25 restaurants. 

 These are for Daniel !

I believe this LEGO robot was 34 ft high

We ate dinner at the Rainforest Café. Ben had never been to one and it is an experience. We had salads and a huge plate of appetizers. For being a non-shopper Ben did the most buying! That mall is quite a place and certainly worth a visit.. The most interesting entertainment to me was the “Flying Dutchman Ghostly Gangplank” it was a ropes course – several stories high – tallest in the world with folks in safety harness climbing the ships mast and walking the plank! It sure would not be for me but it was fun to watch.

 These folks were having a great time on the ropes

 Tired shopper heading home!

We were both done in after eating and headed back to camp. We arrived back at camp by 7:15 and set up for a little TV, blog writing, and a good night’s sleep. The office gave us a password for the WIFI and at 10PM when I was ready to post the blog - we found out each computer needed a separate password so I could not get on!  First time for that!