The End of The Road

Well, it's not exactly the end of The Great River Road, but it is for us.  Our memorable road trip will terminate tonight in Minneapolis, but before it does, I have plans to make three stops, all very different from one another.  But then that's the way our two weeks on The Road have been.  Tim and I have seen a wide variety of attractions, amazingly so considering that most of the river towns we've passed through have been small and rural in nature.  We've visited everything from nature centers to historic sites to wineries to factories to locks and dams.  Today would be no different.

The quilts and doily owned by the Wilder family and the first edition of Little House in the Big Woods are the museum's prizes.

First and most important on my list was the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Pepin, Wisconsin.  When I was a child, I devoured Wilder's Little House series drawn from events of her childhood and adolescence in the pioneer days of Midwest.  "Once upon a time...a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs," read the opening lines of her first book, Little House in the Big Woods.  

I wanted to see the cabin where her parents homesteaded near Pepin so when the museum docent gave me directions for the next best thing, its replica seven miles northeast of town, I persuaded Tim to take me there.

The Little House Wayside was charming.  Its two rooms with an outdoor water pump nearby were almost exactly as I'd pictured it.

The only disparity was that the woods, not surprisingly, have been replaced by fields of corn.

Villa Bellezza Winery

As a reward for Tim's patient detour to the Wayside, we added two unscheduled stops to the day's itinerary: two wine tastings on the Great River Road Wine Trail.  The trail's map lists eleven wineries along The Road in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  I'd never heard of ice wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine, but I had the chance to try a sip at Villa Bellezza Winery.

In the tasting room which was once a former bank, Debbie, our server, explained that the water within the grapes freezes and is pressed away, leaving more concentrated sugary grape juice for fermentation.

The result is a sweet dessert wine that is delectable and worthy of storage in the winery's vault.

Next up was the Maiden Rock Winery & Cidery.  Their specialty are the hard ciders made from apples grown in their orchards.  Their HoneyCrisp Hard is a semi-dry concoction that I found to my liking.

Stockholm Pie & General Store

Two stops on the Wine Trail were our limit.  We needed some food to soak up the alcohol's effects.

A stop at the Stockholm Pie & General Store was just the ticket.

Oh, my!  The pie!  I chose a slice of Blackberry Custard from their extensive list of fruit pies, nut pies, custard pies and seasonally available pies and it did not disappoint.  Delicious!

Back in the car and once again on The Road, we crossed the Mississippi one final time into Minnesota, our ultimate destination--Minneapolis.  But there was one more stop on my list--Red Wing, MN, where 5000 boots a day are made with pride at the Red Wing Shoe Factory.

At the turn of the 20th century, Charles Beckman, a local shoe merchant, saw a need for footwear that would hold up better for area farmers, loggers and miners.

Advertisement on display at Red Wing Shoe Museum

He closed his store and founded the Red Wing Shoe Company in 1905.  Today Red Wing shoes are shipped to 110 countries around the world.

A display behind glass shows the steps production of a shoe takes from cutting the leather pieces to stitching its trademark triple-stitch seams to the bottoming when a liquid is injected into a mold that fastens the upper to the sole.

All of those same techniques went into producing Red Wing's largest workboot ever witnessed by the civilized public, a boot that is 20 feet long, 16 feet tall and seven feet wide.  Its eyelets each weigh four pounds while its shoelace is 100 and four feet long.  Created to celebrate the company's centennial and officially recorded by Guinness World Records in 2005, this shoe is a photo opportunity worthy of any visitor.

So that's it!  I'd hoped we could follow The Road all the way to the Mississippi's source in Itasca State Park, but that's 220 miles north and a little west of Minneapolis.  Too far to fit into this trip!  Maybe next time!

Eagles From Art to Aerie

A shelf of toy bald eagles at the National Eagle Center

Tim and I planned this trip along The Great River Road more or less on the fly.  When I picked up the map in Memphis for this National Scenic Byway, I knew I'd have to spend some time each evening deciding how far to go, which attractions to visit the next day and where we'd sleep tomorrow night.  There was no opportunity for a day of downtime devoted to trip planning.  Since we needed to be in Minneapolis by July 13th, we had to make a concerted push to meet that deadline.

So I sighed with relief when I realized we could spread the last 170 miles over two easy days of travel, giving us a chance to arrive by check-in time at our final motel and sleep late the next morning.

Therefore, I persuaded Tim that we had time to stop at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, Minnesota right on the bank of the Mississippi River.  Every work of art in this small museum focuses on the artist's relationship with water.  I was surprised to find world-class artists and paintings such as

Homer Winslow, Winding Line [Oil on canvas], 1874, Private collection

Claude Monet, La Siene à Vétheuil [Oil on canvas], 1881, Private collection

Pablo Picasso, Homme Addis, [Watercolor and Ink on paper], 1933, Private collection

One of only two existing autographed versions of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze is also on display here, purchased by the museum's founders, Mary Burrichter and her husband, Bob Kierlin, owner of Fastenal, a Winona-based hardware-supply company.  The other larger version hangs in New York's Museum of Metropolitan Art.

Very cool, don't you think?

Andy Warhol, Bald Eagle, from Endangered Species F. & S. II 296 [Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board],  1983, Ronald Feldman Gallery

Also very cool was the museum's current exhibition called Eagles Over Water featuring eagle related art and ephemera that ranged from works by John James Audubon to Andy Warhol.

Yet, it was the exhibit of paintings by Thomas Paquette that filled me with delight.  His three-year odyssey along the same roads we had just traveled culminated in his America's River Re-Explored: Paintings of the Mississippi from Source to Gulf, a monumental work of 46 paintings.  Seeing the river through his eyes was like revisiting an old friend.

Thomas Paquette, Alma's Buena Vista [Oil on linen], 2017, Minnesota Marine Art Museum

Trying to find an image of one of Paquette's Mississippi works to post here, I could only find the above on the museum's web site, but Tim and I had not yet driven as far as Alma, Wisconsin.  Checking the map, I saw that it was only 25 miles farther up the road so back in the car we climbed.

However, this prospect was not an easy location to find.  When we arrived in Alma, Wisconsin, a tiny town that clings to the overhanging bluffs, there was a small signpost to Buena Vista park that pointed up a very steep hill.  I'd read that you have to drive up a narrow, winding road and this looked like the one.  So Tim put the Jeep in second gear to grind up to the top the ridge.  From there, we circled around an additional two miles past several prosperous-looking farms to reach to this park with a big view.

Walking over to the edge of the bluff was like stepping out on a balcony of a very tall hotel.  We had a stunning panoramic view of the river, Lock and Dam #4 and the tiny town of Alma directly below.

I could have stayed there all day to watch the shifting light of the clouds upon the landscape, but hunger forced us back to the car.

The Nelson Creamery was just ten miles up the Great River Road in Nelson, Wisconsin.  The place was bustling even at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Tim pushed his way past all the customers gawking at the wide variety of ice cream flavors to place our order at the sandwich counter.  Ah!  A bean sprout-laden veggie on multi-grain bread paired with a cup of Loaded Baked Potato soup was just the fare to appease my appetite.  Afterwards, we browsed the well-stocked shelves of cheese, wishing we were traveling in a vehicle with a refrigerator.  Alas, that was not the case so sadly we left without making a purchase.

The last stop of the day was in Wabasha, Minnesota at the National Eagle Center, an interpretive center devoted to protecting bald eagles.  Bald eagles congregate along the shorelines of the Upper Mississippi River, migrating here from the frozen areas of Canada to nest and lay their eggs.  Even when bald eagles were endangered, we learned that Wabasha was one of the few places you could still find them.  Due to the fast current here, the Mississippi rarely freezes during the winter.  That means there is abundant food for the eagles.

A child-size eagle's nest, an aerie, was a big hit with small human visitors.  Children and adults alike were enthralled by Angel, Columbia and Was'aka, rescued bald eagles and now ambassadors in the center's daily programs and special events.  We arrived too late to see the eagles in action, but our visit did bring back memories of a night-time program about raptors we'd seen at the Badlands National Park.

When we checked into the motel that afternoon, the owner mentioned a concert was scheduled down at the river next to the National Eagle Center that evening.  We meant to go, but Tim fell asleep.  I didn't wake him, preferring to have some quiet time to work on my blog.  I was so far behind in posting what we'd seen.  I knew my memories would fade if I didn't make an effort to catch up.  Looking back on this day, I realized we'd begun by viewing art inspired by eagles and finished at the center devoted to education and preservation of eagles.  That's serendipity, because I certainly didn't plan it!

Driftless

After two nights in Prairie du Chien's Motel Six (Oh, boy!  Do we ever miss the bed in the RV!  But we've got to stay within our budget even if it means a couple nights in less than desirable accommodations.  Did I mention the police who knocked on our door in the middle of the night?  They were responding to a 911 call made from the motel.  Such an adventure!  But back to my point), we crossed the bridge to its sister city, Marquette, Iowa, to travel through the Driftless Area in the northeast corner of that state.

The Driftless Education and Visitors Center where we stopped in Lansing describes the terrain this way:  "Can you imagine this landscape at the bottom of an ocean?  Or as the only dry land surrounded by a sea of ice?  These geologic events shaped the Driftless Area long ago, and each dramatic epoch left its mark on the land.  Their legacy is this hilly landscape built from soluble rocks like limestone.  Geologists call this karst topography.  In Iowa, we call it The Driftless."

Up early due to a less than restful night, Tim and I arrived at the center at 8 a.m. just as the wildlife ranger was unlocking the door.

His assistant was absorbed in feeding the amphibians and snakes in their terrariums so we spent a quiet hour there learning about the ecology of the area, especially the conservation efforts of the wildlife service to replenish the freshwater fish and mussel populations.

Photo on display at the Driftless Education & Visitors Center

I was also interested in the exhibit about local farming techniques.  To keep harmful pesticides and sediment from washing into local waterways that drain into the Mississippi, farmers have left natural buffers, small tracts of land with permanent vegetation, to serve as filters.  We saw these as we drove to Lansing.  Such buffers reduce the migration of pesticides and herbicides by half.

After climbing Mount Hosmer to another scenic view of the Mississippi, we drove across the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing into Wisconsin.

A visit at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, another Great River Road interpretive center, gave us a first-rate introduction to more than two dozen species of freshwater fish the hatchery is attempting to save.

I found it impossible to capture the many ponds where the hatchery is raising the fish.

Photo courtesy of the Great Road Interpretive Center near Genoa, WI

This aerial view of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery on display at the center gives a much better view of the scope of the hatchery.

 Some of the fish they ship considerable distances.  For example, the lake sturgeon they raise here are sent to stock streams from New York to Tennessee while the Higgins' Eye Pearlymussels (isn't that a great name?) go as far south as Gainesville, Florida.

Charles Bird King, Sauk Chief Makataimeshekiakiah or Black Hawk, 1837, Public Domain

Besides its obvious mission to educate the public about aquatic wildlife, it also has an excellent exhibit regarding the Battle of Bad Axe, the final battle of the Black Hawk War fought in 1832.

Map courtesy of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery Interpretive Center

This battle, if you can call it that, occurred just south of the hatchery.  It's another tale of broken treaties that led to the wholesale slaughter of almost all Black Hawk's band.

Then it was on to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where our attention shifted from the environment and the Black Hawk War to Catholicism.  At the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we joined other visitors in a pilgrimage to the Shrine Church which was constructed in 2004.

Along the way, we stepped into the Mother of Good Counsel Chapel.

Beautiful stained glass windows on three sides of the chapel formed a semi-circle around this pyramid of lit votive candles.

Statues like this one of Saint Joseph the Workman, a tribute to the earthly carpenter father of Jesus, drew our notice as we continued to climb.

When we reached the Shrine Church, we learned that a celebration of mass was in process so we hiked up to the Stations of the Cross.

The bronze relief sculptures like this one of Pontius Pilate washing his hands after questioning Jesus were especially moving to me.

The Shrine Church of Our Lady of Guadalope

By the time we returned to the church, the service had ended and a tour guide welcomed us to join him for a closer look at its architecture and ornamentation.

That was not the only church we visited in La Crosse.  Later in the day, we stopped at the beautiful Mary of the Angels Chapel on the grounds of St. Rose Convent, the motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Mary of the Angels Chapel

Since August 1, 1878, at least two sisters have maintained a 24-hour vigil here to pray for the Church, the community and the world.  This group of nuns have contributed so much to the city in the arenas of health care, social welfare and education.

The order opened St. Francis Hospital in 1883, now the Mayo Clinic Health System--Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse.

In 1890 the sisters began St. Rose Normal School to prepare sisters to teach in elementary schools.  Today it's known as Viterbo University, a Catholic liberal arts university.

So in less than eight hours we went from being driftless in Iowa to examining the roots of Catholicism in La Crosse, all in a day's trip on The Great River Road.