La Crosse Wisconsin: October 15-16

Woodchuck in the park on the La Crosse riverfront

 La Crosse Wisconsin was the destination for our last 2014 Corvette overnight. Perfect midwestern fall weather graced our sunny ride along the Mississippi River.  After some debate, we chose the Minnesota side of the river for the outbound trip and returned home through Wisconsin.


View from Grandad Park, La Crosse

We went right to the river after arriving in La Crosse. People were walking along the shore, and a couple of little woodchucks foraged in the park. Our Holiday Inn hotel room wasn't ready when we checked in, so we had a drink at the bar where the bartender suggested we visit Grandad Park for a great view. Spectacular is more like it: the Mississippi River and vistas that include Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, though I -- geographically challenged -- wasn't sure which was which.

We weren't really hungry enough for our dinner at the Freight House: sirloin steak for Bob, prime rib for me; salad bar and baked potato for each of us. The evening was still warm when we left the restaurant.

After a swim the next morning, we waited a little for the heavy fog to lift and were surprised that the temperature was already about 60F. Bob took the roof off the Vette at Lake Pepin in front of the Pickle Factory, so we rode the rest of the way home in an "open" vehicle.

Sandhill crane: that's my story and I'm stickin' to it

My favorite stop was at Rieck's Park, where an observant birdwatcher claimed to have seen green winged teal, which I think I saw myself, though I couldn't be sure. I took few photos, including several of what may have been a sandhill crane in the marsh. Later, I learned sandhill cranes had been observed a few weeks earlier at Anderson Berry Farm in Isanti, 125 miles NW of Alma, so the speculation seemed reasonable.

By the time we walked in the door in late afternoon, it was summer on the deck and we opened the windows to let in the day's heat.

Perfect Fall Day

A little slice of Minnesota and Wisconsin

We stored the boat on Saturday. This is usually a quick "allez-retour" because we usually take the Corvette at the same time. However, the weather has been so lovely this fall that we decided to keep the little Vette for another week and do a little day trip after dropping off the boat.

Kanabec County farmland (I think)

Isanti is a kind of gateway to the north, so we had a few choices for the day's ride. We settled on St. Croix State Park, where we once spent many weekends in the long ago motorhome days of the nineties.

The drive to Hinckley on Highways 47 and 23 was unfamiliar to us, rolling in Kanabec county past colorful trees and farmland. Cattle grazed in apparent contentment as temperatures rose rapidly to the fifties. We reached St. Croix State Park before noon. The air was filled with the scent of pine, dried leaves and sensory memories of camping days.

St. Croix State Park landscape

We walked along the still familiar St. Croix River bluff trail and rode over to the old swimming beach, where I could still, in my mind's eye, see kids playing and a little fawn lying quietly beside the water on the other side. A couple of cyclists were resting on an empty bench.

We reluctantly left the park and crossed to the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix. By now we were getting hungry and happy to stop at the Pour House in Siren for a BLT lunch. Traffic was much heavier as we rode into the sun began its evening descent in the west.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes and enjoyed the delicious luxury of sleeping in the car as Bob drove toward home. The gloriously perfect fall day was total gift.