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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
