Three more visits before leaving La Crosse

La Crosse must be a vortex for the Catholic religion. One of the most impressive structures in the downtown area is the Chapel of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This order began in Milwaukee in 1849 by six Franciscan immigrants from Germany. The Sisters petitioned the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Milwaukee to allow them to build a convent from which to spread the gospel among the growing German immigrant population. The Bishop apparently did not believe this was a good use of limited resources in the diocese and declined them permission. The then Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse was open to their mission, and the order relocated there in 1871.

In 1878 the order had the inspiration to build a chapel to further their work. Starting on August 1, they prayed to the Lord for the means to build such a chapel, and made a commitment that they would engage in perpetual adoration in search of such means. The sisters of the order would take turns in their small adoration chapel, two of them always praying for the world, the church, people and the community. This practice has continued unbroken, and today the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have been praying 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the past 137 years.

One of the senior Sisters gave us a personal tour of the Maria Angelorum Chapel. After many years of continuous praying, the order had amassed both the funding and the following to commence the construction of their inspired chapel. Completed in 1906, the chapel is massive in size, and contains unbelievable beauty. The old world stained glass takes your breath away. The woodworking, gold, inlaid tile and marble make you feel like you might be in church in Spain or Italy rather than La Crosse Wisconsin. Sister Madeline told us that somehow the Lord has always provided for the order in miraculous ways – when they found that they needed to have major repairs made to the old world stained glass, they discovered that one of only a handful of companies that do that work was housed in Onalaska Wisconsin – just miles away.

Of all the art treasures the order had been blessed with, Sister Madeline’s favorite was the harp they had found in the attic. Apparently the harp was moved to the attic when it became in disrepair and the order did not have the funds to mend it. Sister Madeline convinced the order that if they would see to its repair, she would learn to play it for them. So the order found the funds and the artisan capable, and at 80, Sister Madeline learned to play the harp. She even played a bit for us while we were there, and lets us put our hands on the harps wooden core to feel the sound as well – it was moving.

We actually were allowed a moment to sit at the back of the adoration chapel and listen to the two sisters who were on duty praying. We were lucky enough to pay witness to a shift change (pardon my crassness) – as we observed the two sisters, two more came in and kneeled on either side of them. After the 4 of them prayed for a minute or two, a large bell chimed, and the original two got up and left. The two who had taken their places then slid to the center and continued praying.

A more recent Bishop of La Crosse, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, had the inspiration to establish a place of lasting worship for Roman Catholics to go on pilgrimage in the Diocese of La Crosse. In 1999, he petitioned the Vatican and received permission for the construction of a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The shrine is just a few miles from Goose Island Campground.

This is far different from the grounds of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Dedicated in 2008, the complex is set on 100 acres of rolling Mississippi River valley and includes the Shrine Church, rosary and Stations of the Cross walks, and a votive candle chapel. Walking the heavily wooded grounds, you do get the feeling that you are a pilgrim on a pilgrimage as you make your way.

The votive chapel seemed special. I lit one of the candles commemorating the reuniting of my mom and dad after having been apart for more than 40 years. The caretaker of the chapel told me he would see to it that the candle stayed lit for a week, and would also see to it that a prayer for Phyllis and Leon Bougie would be part of the daily mass services held in the Shrine Church.

Our final venture was to Sparta Wisconsin. Sparta is the self-proclaimed biking capital of the world. Several state maintained biking trails that have been reclaimed from abandoned rail beds converge on Sparta, making a great location to head out.

We parked at the old Sparta depot building, now the local chamber of commerce HQ. We asked for a recommendation on which way to head out if we were only likely to be able to do one trail. Without hesitation she said the old Sparta spur. There are a series of 3 tunnels on this line that she says are fun to discover. She asks if we have a flashlight as the first tunnel is a mile in length – surprisingly my headlamp on my bike is still working – so we head off.

As soon as we start, the Woman is grousing a bit that it must be uphill. It does seem to me like a little effort is involved, but I say I think it is just because we are used to paved trails and this one is unpaved. Since it is an old rail bed, it must be essentially flat. I am thinking we will have no problem hitting all three tunnels – tunnel 1 is 8 miles out, tunnel 2 is at 10, and tunnel 3 is at 13. Since we did 30 miles our last biking day in Winona, I’m thinking this is a no-brainer.

We get about 4 miles in and the Woman is griping more – wanting to stop and rest now and then. The effort seems to be increasing, but I am just thinking it is because it is unpaved, and now I am getting tired to think it is getting harder. I think the Woman is about ready to concede and turn around, and someone coming the other way says it’s only about ¾ mile to tunnel 1. That reinvigorates her, and we press on.

We are coming around a bend and literally, it feels like someone has left a meat locker door open – literally a wind that could have ice crystals in it. As we get around the bend, the gaping mouth of tunnel 1 is the culprit – I can’t believe the cold blast spewing forth. We start seeing signs that say if you have been in an underground mine in the last 6 months you are prohibited by law from entering tunnel 1 – oh boy! Bats live here!

As soon as we enter tunnel 1, it is really dark, standing water, and you can hear the bats flying around and squeaking. The Woman is out of here now! I continue under the light of my bike headlamp. All is see is pure black and a pin prick of faint light in the distance – must be the other end of tunnel 1 a mile off. Even I tire of this after a bit. I know I didn’t make it half way, and I know that means good-bye to tunnels 2 and 3, but head back to find the Woman.

At the entrance to the tunnel is a residence that butts up against the state trail. The owner has a hand-painted sign out saying “Ice Cream – Water”. I tell the Woman as a celebration of at least reaching and exploring (somewhat) tunnel 1, and since we burned off a bunch of calories getting here, maybe an ice cream is in order, and she agrees. The owner is a friendly 67 year old gentleman, sitting with his 88 year old dad. He asks us if we are locals, and when we tell him we used to live in the Twin Cities, but now live in Vegas, his eyes light up. He says “You guys are smart! It’s too cold and harsh here in the winter. I have decided I need to sell this place and move somewhere warm like you guys!” I ask him what he is thinking about – Florida, Arizona, California or what? He says “I’m thinking La Crosse.” I can’t help but think “Dude! You gotta start thinkin outside of the box!”

After ice cream and some nice chatting, we start to head back. Immediately I can’t keep the speed of my bike down – I actually have to pretty much constantly use the breaks a bit. I guess the Woman was right – it really was a full 3% uphill grade on the way here. I stand corrected!

Talk to you soon!                                                                                                                   

Back in the swing of things

When the Woman shattered her wrist in Palm Springs, it seemed like it would be a long time, if ever, that she would be back doing the things that she used to do. And it has been a long recovery. She shattered it in March, and by the end of June, all was still tentative.

But she impressed me today. I suggested since our RV Park had a 9 hole course on it that we just go out and give it a swing (no pun intended – well maybe!). She surprised me and said yes. So for the first time in about 4 months, we took a shot at doing 9 holes of golf. While the course was short, it was not an executive course. There were 4 par 3 holes, and 5 par 4 holes. And since we were on the banks of the Mississippi, there was plenty of water to boot.

The Woman managed 8 of the 9 before the pain put an end to the day. You can see the sincere look of concern for her wrist on my face. But 8 holes aint bad, and she hit the ball really well. She had to clear water in front of the tee box on 3 holes, and each time she managed to reach dry fairway with her drive. I didn’t do too badly either, paring 5 of the 9, and having had 3 legitimate birdie attempts – not bad with all the down time.

Now here is something you don’t see that often. A massive diesel tow boat sitting on the grass next to the green on a golf course. I don’t have any idea what the story is on this tow boat, but I can tell you she was at least 4 stories tall. I am sure the story would be great! (I need to get better at these selfies!)

Talk to you soon!

La Crosse Wisconsin

When we asked someone where we should go to see the city’s fireworks display, they told us that Grand Dad Bluff would be the best spot. We decided to check it out in the daytime just to get our bearings and we are glad we did. There is a narrow, winding 3 mile road up the backside of the bluff to a parking area that could maybe hold 10 cars. I am pretty sure if we tried this tonight it would have been a disaster!

But it was great during the day. Apparently this is the site of the first ever complete Christian divine worship service in La Crosse – conducted by the Reverend Father James Lloyd Breck on the morning of June 23, 1850. The city has erected a very nice park with spectacular overlooks of the Mississippi River valley. Hovering right over town, the views are to die for!

In the nearby town of Pickwick we found the Pickwick Mill. Built in 1854-58 by Thomas Grant and Wilson Davis, it was one of the first commercial business enterprises in the State of Minnesota. During the civil war era, the mill claims to have consistently produced 100 barrels of wheat flour to feed the Union army. While no longer in commercial operation, all the equipment in the mill is in working order, and we visited all 6 floors of the mill as we listened to the constant thrum of the massive water wheel that would have provided the power back in the day. Having recently visited the massive Gold Medal Mill at St. Anthony Falls built at the turn of the century, it was fun and interesting to see this precursor to those more state of the art facilities.

We learned that the massive stone grinding wheels back in those days were basically puzzles of blocks of stone assembled into a circular ring. Grooves radiated out from the center of the wheel, which allowed the nearly powdered flour to sift out after it was ground. The reason that they were puzzles of blocks is that there were no longer quarries even in the mid-1800’s that could produce a single stone wheel five feet in diameter and maybe a half foot thick. This French quarried one piece millstone on display in Pickwick is believed to be one of the last of its kind in actual use. This stone was likely the bottom stone of a two stone, stacked grinding process as you can see the grooves for the flour to flow out.

Just down the road a bit in Homer Minnesota is the Bunnell House. In 1849, Chief Wapasha granted permission for Willard Bradley and Matilda Desnoyer Bunnell to build a homestead on this land. Bradley, naming the town he founded after his home town in New York, built this 3 story home, using lumber that had been brought in by steamboat from Iowa. The home has never been painted, and still looks like it probably did when gazed upon by Chief Wapasha.

Well, I finally had to decommission my favorite cargo shorts. I bought 3 pair at Kohls 5 years ago – two pair had bitten it over the years, but this last pair seemed to be hanging in. Sadly, when I put them on this morning and slid my foot into the leg, I could hear this “rippppppppppppp” sound that was agonizing. Yes, indeed, I had ripped a gaping hole in one leg. It made me sad, but I moved them onto a better place.

We did have a pretty spectacular end to our visit to La Crosse. Apparently there is a massive fire in Canada just North of us. The smoke in the air from the fire, while not welcome to Canadians, is resulting in pretty spectacular sunsets in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We can certainly vouch for that.

Also, apparently it is the custom of the Goose Island County Park to have entertainment in the park on the Fourth of July Weekend. A local La Crosse band came into the picnic shelter and played for over 4 hours. They finished the night with a very excellent rendition of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. I was in heaven!

 

Talk to you soon!                   

River wisdom

So when you pull a vehicle behind a motor home, it is called towing the vehicle. Makes sense right – a tow truck pulls a vehicle. I don’t know if you can really “tow” an original Massey Fergusson behind a motor home – will have to ask these folks if it is possible. But on the river, it is different. A tow boat is a powered vehicle that pushes barges. And the tied together barges that the tow boat is pushing are called a tow. Go figure!

We have observed, as we did in St. Paul East RV Park, that classic car collecting and motor homing seem to go together. There was a classic car show at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds one weekend during our stay in the Twin Cities. Most of the vintage vehicles were either on flat trailers or were driven separately behind the coach. But, apparently if you think small enough, you can actually tow (not push) your RV behind a vintage vehicle – nice!

La Crosse Wisconsin boasts the biggest six pack in the world. Of course it is not an actual six pack of beer, but the grain elevators at the original 1858 G Heilman Brewing House that sport some festive wrapping. But if this icon was an actual six pack of beer, it would hold enough beer to give a person an actual six pack a day for 3,351 years!

So, Hiawatha is a figure in history that is steeped in tradition. However, it turns out that Hiawatha is not a historical character – just an imaginary character in Longfellow’s epic writings. However, mythical or not, Hiawatha is pretty prominent all along the Great River Road in parks.

You can find anything kitsch in rural America. Even enormous Sierra Mist cans that are actively spouting the “mist” that the brand attempts to tout in their advertising and imagery.

And how could America be any more perfect! On a barge on the mother of all rivers, the Mississippi, we uncover this competition. Hot women pole vaulting. It is either only in my imagination, or only in America!

And even trailer trash need to get a break now and then. While this might not be the most elegant form of travel known to man, I think the deck is spectacular. This could be the thousand dollar a seat location for tonight’s fireworks!

And then as we settled down for the July 4^th fireworks display at Riverside Park in La Crosse Wisconsin – right on the river – who could not be overwhelmed by the symbolism honoring our country, its founders, and those that have sacrificed to protect it!

 

Talk to you soon!       

Winona

Colectiva was parked at Prairie Island Campground, which is part of the Winona City Park system. Because of that, it was only about 3 miles or so from the Downtown Historic District, which was easily biked many times during our stay. We drove all over the Historic District many times, taking in all the 1800’s era buildings. The original Winona City Hall was built in 1885, and now houses many of the city’s service departments.

On our way into downtown we got to ride on a portion of the Mississippi River Trail. The MRT is a bicycle byway that runs from the headwaters of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca about 3,000 miles down to the Gulf of Mexico. While some of the sections are a bit busy – in this area, most of the sections run along US Highway 61, a four lane divided high speed highway – so may not be that much fun to ride. But some of the sections are on quiet rural roads, or are even paved paths.

In our campground was a guy who was tenting, and only had a bike with him. It turns out he had left Itasca in June after he was sure the harsh winter weather would have passed. He still had a long way to go to get to the Gulf, but he was bound and determined to get there.

On one of our trips downtown we stopped at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Much of their collection focused on art with a marine theme – either ships or fishing towns or the like – mostly painted by artists in the last half of the 1800’s. But they also had a nice collection of masterpieces. Imagine walking into a small art museum in Winona Minnesota to see art by Van Gough, Matisse, Rembrandt, Picasso, Homer Winslow, Gaugin, Monet – we were stunned and really had a great time here.

It turns out that almost none of the art on display here is owned by the museum. It makes sense if you think about it (but you wouldn’t think about it without this stimulus), but there is much more really good historic art out there than there is space to display it. The philanthropists of Winona didn’t have to pony up all the money needed to buy a bunch of masterpiece art – they just had to pony up enough money to build a state of the art building with climate controlled galleries which could be locked up at night using bank caliber vault doors. Since most art museums or collectors don’t have sufficient space to display, most of their collections are in storage, which costs money. So, if you can provide a safe and protective environment to display their art, they will gladly put it on loan to you, in many cases on essentially a permanent basis. The philanthropists in Winona are pretty smart dudes!

Just North of Winona is the Lark Toy Company. Apparently Lark has been in business here since the late 1800’s making classic wooden toys from the abundant pine forests of the area. Their factory here has an extensive toy store, a toy museum, and a bunch of amusements to the point it almost felt like an amusement park. The whimsical carousel inside the museum area makes it worth the visit alone.

Real estate on the Mississippi River goes for big bucks. As is happening in larger cities, the cost of the land is resulting in developers resorting to condominiums to make the views affordable. These condo’s must cost their inhabitants a bunch!

We visited the Watkins Company factory in the heart of downtown Winona. Watkins was founded in the 1890’s – they said they didn’t sell Snake Oil, but that is what their early ads looked like. They made lotions and liniments and sold them exclusively through direct sale – essentially door to door salesmen. By 1931, Watkins was so successful at what they did that they were the largest direct sale manufacturing company in the world.

The company has survived until 2015 by reinventing itself several times. Unlike the early 1900’s, today their sales are 85% through established retail stores that display and sell their product. Their sole factory is still in Winona, along with a museum and company store that sells their entire line of products. We had fun walking around the museum and seeing all the old materials which brought back visions of an earlier, simpler time. It turns out that our next crockpot of chili, our next dinner of tacos and the Woman’s next batch of cookies are all on Watkins. Before we left the company store we bought seasoning packets for chili and tacos, and a bottle of their original double vanilla, made exclusively from Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans – no Mexican or Guatemalan vanilla beans for this luxury product.

I may have mentioned that our allergies were raging again. As I look along the river pathways we are riding, I think I get an idea why.

 

Talk to you soon!

More road

Our drive miles in Colectiva are not much – looks like averaging 100 miles per move. But our miles on the Saturn are considerable because there is so much to see and do.

Before we left Wabasha we visited the National Eagle Center. A non-profit rehab and research facility, the Center provides a permanent home for a handful of eagles that have been so damaged that they cannot be reintroduced into life in the wild. Most had wing injuries that prevented them from being able to fly anymore, eliminating their ability to survive.

Right on the river in downtown Wabasha, we absolutely loved this place .We learned about eagles, their lives and their habits. We learned that Bald Eagles were on the verge of extinction in the 60’s due to the impacts of DDT. However the banning of DDT along with other conservation measures have resulted in the species rebounding tremendously, to the point where eagle conflicts occur now frequently due to population density and fights for terrain.

We learned that Bald Eagles in the wild maybe live to their mid-20’s, but those in captivity may live to their 40’s or even 50’s. We also learned that Bald Eagles don’t have a strong bond with their mate, but do have a strong bond with their nesting location. So Bald Eagle couples may stay together for life, but it would mostly be because they both like the house!

As we moseyed our way South, we stopped in Alma Wisconsin and grabbed a quick lunch at the Pier 4 café. This small café overlooks the lock and dam No. 4, so it is a fun place to visit. Plus, they have pretty spectacular barbecue – according to them, it’s “The Best Barbeque by a Dam Site”!

I had forgotten about the benefits of living on the Mississippi River. If you live on the River, other than your annual boat registration, there are no housing costs whatsoever. So just like the casinos do all along the river, private citizens will also do with their “houseboats”. Apparently houseboat along the river means you take anything that can float, and you build a house on it!

Apparently I had also forgotten about what cars look like in Minnesota. Having lived in the West now for over 20 years, I can’t remember the last time I have seen a car or truck with any rust on it. But in Minnesota, with its harsh winters and the need for salt on the roads to combat the ice, this is what all cars look like. The cancerous rust is particularly situated around all the tire wells.

When we got to Prairie Island Campground, they had advertised that they had sites with both electricity and water. I naturally assumed that “water” meant that the campground was plumbed. Apparently I was too quick to jump to an assumption. Here is the extent of their “plumbing” – hundreds of white (drinking water grade) hoses run to all the sites and plastic Y connectors. I guess where there is a will, there is a way!

Talk to you soon!

The Great River Road

We set out to mosey down the Mississippi River’s Great River Road Scenic Byway. From its headwaters in Lake Itasca, the Mississippi travels through ten states as it meanders down to the Gulf of Mexico. We thought we would explore about two thirds of it as we head down toward Kentucky.

Not far outside of Woodbury is the familiar town of Prescott, just across the river in Wisconsin. While the town was familiar, we had never been to the Great River Road visitor center. Inside were displays on the history and people of the area, as well as the role of the federal government in making the Mississippi navigable for commerce all the way from Minneapolis to the Gulf.

The visitor center is on a bluff the overlooks the confluence of the St. Croix River into the Mississippi. I had seen the many times while we would boat down the Mississippi and then up the St. Croix with our classic 1949 Chris Craft inboard flat head six, but had never seen it from the bluffs – impressive. Outside the center is this abstract sculpture of a deer and an egret and other wildlife common to the river valley. The artist stressed a point by making the sculpture from litter she had personally collected along the river banks.

We knew that our meandering would uncover lots of little humorous discoveries, but we didn’t expect it to be so fast and furious (sorry Vin Diesel). You can’t help but chuckle at the name of this bar along the banks of the mighty Mrs. Sippi!

And for some reason, folk in the Midwest are just fascinated by bathroom humor, especially when it involves little kids. This rural farmstead along the Great River Road is no exception.

At the advice of the Woman’s sister Barbie we stopped in Stockholm Wisconsin. The town signage boasts a permanent population of 66, but there were several dozen buildings and homes in this burg, so I suspect the sign may be a bit outdated. The town is full of craft stores, Amish furniture stores and cute boutiques with lots of hats for the Woman to look at – hats are one of her many passions. Pies, ice cream and cafes fill the other half of the storefronts here. We left town with several more possessions than we had arrived with.

Next we drove through Maiden Rock. While none of our guidebooks mentioned it, I knew that the town had to have been named for an ancient lover’s suicide, and it was just a matter of finding it. Turned out I was spot on. Around 1700, a young Sioux maiden was in love with a brave, but her parents would not approve of the match and forced her to marry a brave that they had chosen. Within an hour of the marriage ceremony the maiden could not be found. They found her body the next morning at the base of this bluff. Both the bluff and the town are now named Maiden Rock.

Today’s journey wrapped up in what claims to be the oldest town in the state of Minnesota. The chief of the Dakota in the early 1700’s was Wapasha I. Wapasha began a practice of entering into treaties with the white Europeans rushing into the area, and his heirs, Wapasha II and II continued the practice. As a result, the Midwest was reasonably quiet for much of its history. We just parked Colectiva with the Vue attached, and rode our bikes all over town to bring back the memories of the town where Grumpy Old Men was filmed.

Over 20 years ago we had visited Wabasha at Christmas time to stay at the historic Anderson House Hotel. Even 20 years ago the hotel was old. The steam fueled radiators would manage to keep the temperature within a range of maybe 30 or 40 degrees – we were pretty sure that room was maybe 40 degrees one moment and then pushing 80 the next – not a lot of sleep was had, but the festive decoration of both the hotel and the town made it almost worthwhile.

The hotel was all locked up when we walked by, but we could see that tables were set and the gift shop was full. We inquired in town and learned that the hotel was only open on some weekends now, and maybe only in the summer. Based on our experience it makes sense unless they wanted to invest a bunch to update the environmental systems.

Talk to you soon!