Winona was my last stop during my six week stay in Minnesota. This small city with a population of about 26,000 is right on the Mississippi River and the Great River Road in the far southeast of the state. This land was once home to the Mdewakanton Band of Lakota Indians and is named for the first-born daughter of Chief Wabasha III. Originally settled in 1851, Winona grew to be a major rail and steamboat town with wheat and lumber playing a major role as well. Today, there are some great old buildings lining the streets and the St. Stanislaus Basilica is one of the most beautiful churches in the state if not the country. I also enjoyed a stop in the Historic Society museum located in the old armory and the beautiful stained glass windows at Merchants National Bank. I wasn’t in Winona long as it was time for me to be heading on down the road, but I hope you enjoy these few photos from my stay.
When Europeans first made their way up the Mississippi River, these lands were occupied by the Mdewakanton Dakota people who were led by Chief Wa-pa-shaw. The area was settled in 1826 and officially recognized after the Treaty of Prairie du Chien was signed in 1830. The fledgling town was named after the Chief as “Wabasha” and is now one of the oldest towns on the Upper Mississippi River. The early town’s economy was based on shipping, trading, lumber and flour and there was also a clamming industry and a button factory which utilized the discarded clam shells. Today, Wabasha is still undeniably a river town, but has made tourism a major economic interest - especially with the addition of the National Eagle Center. It’s probably most famous in recent times as the setting, though not the filming location, of the movie Grumpy Old Men. All of that being said, it would be easy to just blow on past Wabasha as it is just a small town of 2,500 or so people, but you’d be missing a real gem on Minnesota’s stretch of the mighty Mississippi. The historic buildings, the awesome statue of Chief Wabasha and the beautiful river setting combine with friendly people and some wonderful small businesses to make Wabasha a charming destination. Be sure you stop by Hoppy Girl Brewing Company while you’re there to taste some of the state’s best microbrews in one of its smallest and friendliest breweries. I had a wonderful visit to Wabasha even though the winter skies were definitely telling me it was time to head south. The next time I find myself in Minnesota, though, it will definitely be on my list of places to return. I hope you enjoy these photos from tiny Wabasha, Minnesota - a true hidden gem on the Mississippi River.
Red Wing was definitely one of the nicest towns I visited during my entire stay in Minnesota. It’s a beautiful historic city of about 16.000 right on the Mississippi River and the Great River Road. Before European settlement, this was Dakota territory and the town takes its name from Mdewakanton Dakota leader Tatankamani, whom Europeans referred to as “Red Wing”. As settlers came west, the Mississippi River was a major transportation corridor, and many people disembarked at Red Wing to begin their new lives on the frontier. A town sprang up and early industries included mills and tanneries. In 1905, Charles Beckman began crafting leather work shoes for the miners, loggers and farmers in the region, and Red Wing Shoes was born. Red Wing Shoes is still headquartered in the town and many of their brands are still produced there, contributing heavily to the local economy. Red Wing has some beautiful, historic architecture and many wonderful art displays around town. While I was there on an overcast, fall day I still found the city to be charming and extremely photogenic. It’s definitely a town I will return to in the future. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Red Wing, Minnesota, an historic town on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.
Hello Everyone! It’s been a beautiful week out here in central Minnesota. The skies have been clear and blue and the lakes have been flat and calm. I’ve seen some beautiful small towns this week and spent a day in Itasca State Park, my favorite stop in the state so far. I’ve also had some company this week as I’ve caught up with the families of some old friends of mine which has been really wonderful. The fall colors have been hanging on pretty well for me and this week brought me into tamarack country – those beautiful pine-like trees which turn a beautiful orange this time of year before they drop their needles for the winter. A lot of sites and museums I wanted to see have been closed for the season which continues to be disappointing – especially those at the state level. In my opinion, any site you deem important enough to designate a State Historic Site should be open year-round. Most of these places are staffed by local volunteers anyway and I can’t imagine they wouldn’t make enough money to keep the lights and heat on. It just seems strange to me that these sites are closed the vast majority of the year. I did get into a couple of great museums this week, though, including the wonderful history museums in Grand Rapids and St. Cloud. I’ve also noticed this week that most public restrooms I’ve encountered in the north of the state don’t have locks on the doors to the stalls which seems very strange to me. Not that anyone has barged in on me while I was using one, but I’ve never really seen that as a rule anywhere else. Regardless, it’s been another interesting week on the road, so let’s get into it.
When I left you last week, I was in Moorhead on the Red River and the North Dakota border. After I finished up my newsletter, I headed over to Murphy’s Pub for a songwriters’ round which I really enjoyed. The four people playing that night, all local to the Fargo-Moorhead area, did a great job and I loved seeing some live local music. I woke up nice and early on Thursday morning and headed back to the Stave Church Replica at the Hjemkomst Center near the river. The sun was just coming up and while it was definitely cold out there, it was really beautiful at that time of day. I took a lot of photos and then had some breakfast and headed into the museum. I spent some time checking out the incredible Hjemkomst Viking Ship which is quite a sight to behold. It is a scale replica of an old Viking ship which was built by high school guidance counselor Robert Asp in the 1970s. His plan was to sail the ship to his ancestral homeland of Norway, and while he died in 1980 before he could make that journey, his children took up this dream and made the trip over the course of a month in 1982. It’s a phenomenally inspiring story all around and I loved seeing the ship and the video about the voyage. I also got a tour of the interior of the Stave Church which was also very cool. There were other exhibits in the museum as well, including one about the Native Ojibwe and Dakota People in the area and a “healing through art” exhibit of military veteran artwork. It was a wonderful morning and definitely one of the must-see places stops on any trip to Minnesota. From there, I headed back to the Sons of Norway Lodge since it was Pie Day and had a local specialty of Tater Tot hotdish (a mix of veggies and cream of something soup topped with Tater Tots and baked) and a slice of coconut cream pie. I hit the gym to try and work that off a little bit and then got on the road to Detroit Lakes, a beautiful little historic town on its namesake lake. The town used to be called Detroit, but too many postal errors caused them to add the “Lakes” part in the 1920s to help rectify the problem. It was a beautiful afternoon and I enjoyed wandering the downtown area and then strolling along the lakefront until sunset. The sunset was really beautiful that afternoon, and the beautiful clouds were perfectly reflected in the lake. I hadn’t planned on eating out that night, but the smell of pizza wafting from Zorba’s on the Lake drew me in. Their pizza was quite good and I washed it down with some local beer before calling it a night.
I was up early again the next morning and on my way to Itasca State Park further into the central part of the state. This is where I really started to see the orange tamarack trees which have been so phenomenal this week. I passed by some beautiful mirror-like lakes and got out and took some awesome photos (if I do say so myself). I pulled into the historic Douglas Lodge around 11am and took a nice 3 mile hike down the Deer Park Trail and back up the Ozawindib Trail. I also detoured to the Aiton Heights Fire Tower which had amazing views out over the park from the top. The hike took me through some beautiful forest and past several phenomenal lakes and was one of the better hikes I’ve made in a while. The day was a perfect day to be there and I really enjoyed this hike despite my knee still giving me some trouble from last week. I finished my hike, had some lunch and then headed to the highlight of the park – the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River which begins its 2,552 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico right there in central Minnesota. There was a pretty big crowd at the headwaters, waiting to take their photo with the sign and to walk across the rocks where the lake empties into the river. It’s probably about 15’ wide at that point and while you can’t quite jump across it (well maybe you can, but I certainly couldn’t), it was only about 8 stepping stones across. Seeing the Mississippi at its humble beginning was like visiting an old friend as a child – you know what they’re going to grow into and you can marvel at how small they once were. In the nearby museum I learned that the lake and the park took their name from combing the Latin words Veritas (truth) and Caput (head) which was coined by Henry Schoolcraft when his Ojibwe friends led him to the source of the great river. Others before and after claimed different sources, but this one seemed to be the “true head” to Schoolcraft and is generally agreed upon today. There are small creeks that feed into Lake Itasca, but none is really big enough to be considered a river.
The Driftless Region of Wisconsin is the area below the furthest advance of the glaciers during the last Ice Age and covers most of the southwest portion of the state.. It is home to wonderful, ancient sandstone formations, beautiful parks and great little towns. This area is definitely hillier than much of the rest of the state and ends (at least as far as Wisconsin is concerned) at the Mississippi River on its western border. I had a great time exploring the Driftless, boating through the Wisconsin Dells, walking the State Park trails, driving the Great River Road and exploring the towns I found along the way. I encountered many different European-American traditions along the way including two of Wisconsin’s most famous: beer and cheese. I visited Wisconsin’s first Capital at Belmont, it’s biggest tourist attraction at House on the Rock and some of the state’s mining history at Mineral Point The Driftless is a sprawling region with a diverse culture and a fascinating history. I hope you enjoy these photos from Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, a unique place which I really enjoyed visiting.
Hello Everyone! It’s been a little quieter out here on the road this week than the last few weeks. I’ve tried to slow down a little and get some fishing in while I’m here and the warm weather is too. Unfortunately, I’ve also managed to catch a cold this week which has only slowed me down further. I’ve caught this cold even with all the hand-washing and masking and being careful which just goes to show how easy it is to pass things along. I’ll be laying low for a couple of days, hydrating and getting some sleep and hopefully it’ll pass on through sooner rather than later. This week brought me from the middle of Wisconsin’s section of the Great River Road to the heart of the Northwoods, and it’s been a really wonderful week which I can’t wait to tell you about.
When I left you last week, I was in La Crosse which really is quite a nice little city. There are lots of old buildings and corner bars and with a reasonable sized student population it felt very vibrant and alive. Last Wednesday night I went for a cruise on the La Crosse Princess, a sternwheel paddleboat that does several different tours on the Mississippi River. I went on a short 90 minute beer and pizza cruise which was definitely a bargain at $21. It was nice to be out on the river, and that length of time was just about perfect for my attention span. The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed it. After the cruise I went and saw some live music at Big Al’s downtown which was great and sat with a wonderful older lady who was very into the live-music scene. It was very kind of her to ask me to join her. We had a nice chat and enjoyed some good music and she invited me out the following night to a different venue.
Thursday I spent a good chunk of time in the library, trying to get a jump on some work for this week. In the afternoon I drove up Grandad’s Bluff, La Crosse’s most well-known geologic feature. The road took me right to the top for wonderful views out over the city and the Mississippi River. It was cool and quiet up there and I stayed up on top for quite some time. Later that evening I went for a stroll along the Mississippi and then to a wonderful night of live music at the amphitheater right there on the river. It’s getting a little cooler out and it was nice to just sit outside and have a beer and enjoy the music. The band was good and I stayed right up until the end. Afterwards I joined my friend from the previous evening at the old train station for a really good grandfather-grandson duo and met her boyfriend and granddaughter. When the band finished up, I took one last stroll around town and then called it a night.
Friday morning I was up and off and headed north along the Great River Road. I stopped in the small and charming river towns of Trampealeau and Alma for a while and found a nice apple orchard along the way to pick up some fresh apples which are just coming into season up here. Then I headed on to Nelson for lunch under the Twin Bluffs and an ice cream at their wonderful creamery. From there, I moved on to Pepin which is best known as the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Hello Everyone. Greetings from La Crosse, the biggest town on Wisconsin’s stretch of The Great River Road. It’s definitely cooled down a bit this week and the first hints of fall are starting to show up on the edges of the leaves and in the products in the stores. Pumpkins are popping up on farm stands and apple orchards are starting to open. I will hold on to summer as long as I can, but I’m really looking forward to the fall as well. It’s been an excellent and busy week out here on the road, taking me from the middle of the state out across the Driftless Region and finally up along the Mississippi River to La Crosse. I’ve explored some of Wisconsin’s early history and even learned one story about the state’s badger connection. It’s been such a busy week so I better get right to it.
When I left you last week I was on my way out to Devil’s Lake State Park, which was a beautiful lake and a great little park. I enjoyed going for a swim and found a place to recycle my recyclables. I really love State Parks, and Wisconsin’s have been pretty good so far. I spent the night in Baraboo and got up early Thursday morning and went for a delicious breakfast at the Broadway Diner. Then I enjoyed a little walk around Baraboo’s downtown area. As I mentioned last week, Baraboo was the birthplace of the Ringling Brothers Circus and its home for many years. I was happy to see the town has embraced that part of its history without taking it to the weird extreme some towns would have. The Ringlings’ father was a harness maker in Baraboo and he and his family lived above the harness shop downtown. He and his wife had ten children – eight of whom would live to adulthood. Five of those children would found the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1894. They would eventually bring their other two brothers on board and go on to buy Barnum and Bailey’s Circus in 1907 and build one of the largest entertainment dynasties America would ever know. Baraboo’s opulent downtown theater is named for Al Ringling and there are subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the famous family all over town. The centerpiece of Baraboo’s Ringling connecting is Circus World, a museum located on what was once the circus’ winter quarters. I love the thought of elephants being walked through downtown Baraboo streets to get some exercise (and saw the pictures to prove it). This is a good circus museum which I had been to before and houses the largest collection of old circus wagons in the world. They do have live performances throughout the summer, but I arrived just days too late to catch one. It was still fun and when I finished there I headed on south to Dodge State Park. Named for the first governor of Wisconsin, this is a pleasant state park surrounding two little lakes. I went on a nice 4 mile hike through the park and was really taken aback by the incredible fields of goldenrod that were there. It was nice to get out on the trail for a while and I enjoyed my hike and then headed down to Dodgeville for the night.
Friday morning I got up and went back north to check out the infamous House on the Rock. I had heard of the House on the Rock for years, and although I never really understood what was so appealing about it from the descriptions I read (especially at the steep admission cost of $30), I decided to give it a look while I was there. I realized within minutes of my arrival that this place defied description and was a truly magical place. The actual house on the rock was built by Alex Jordan Jr. beginning in 1945. He designed and built the house himself using local materials atop a huge rock formation called Deer Shelter Rock. Working around the natural rock formations and trees, Jordan built room after room in incredibly eclectic fashion with Japanese influences and windows looking down at the forest below. After a write-up in a local Madison paper, people started dropping by to try and get a look at this House on the Rock, and after enough people came, Jordan decided to start charging them admission. He brought in $15 that day, $5,000 that year and $34,000 the next. From there, he was off and running, collecting things, building things and constructing new buildings to house it all. It’s resulted in a world class collection of kitsch, but one displayed in such a brilliant and whimsical way that it’s an immersive experience I can only liken to Alice wandering into Wonderland. The lights and sounds and music are all overwhelmingly fun and so over-the-top that I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying themselves there. The centerpiece is definitely the “World’s Largest Carousel”, featuring 269 characters collected from around the world and refurbished in their workshops. None of the final selection is a horse. I could have sat and watched it for hours. I had a smile from ear to ear for the whole six hours I was at House on the Rock and would definitely go back in a heartbeat. It’s by far the greatest roadside attraction I’ve ever seen. I left feeling overwhelmed and giddy and definitely knew there was no way to follow it up that day. I stopped in Mount Horeb for a quick beer and then boogied on back to Madison. I had a delicious Friday Night Fish Fry at Reverend Jim’s Roadhouse out by the casino and then called it an early night.
I was up early on Saturday and went for a morning workout before heading into downtown Madison. I had tickets to the Penn State-Wisconsin game and wanted to give myself plenty of time to park and get to the stadium. I parked near the Capitol and then wandered down State Street, stopping for a beer or two along the way.
