The 100-Mile Tour

Monday, April 30, 2012

Having gotten everything ready for travel set out to do the great circle

tour of Lake Pepin. The west side being in Minnesota; the east,

Wisconsin. The Red Wing, MN airport is in Wisconsin mind you. The day

dawned foggy and remained so until the sun broke out around 5:30 PM when

I got back in camp. Sound familiar?

As the route progressed the roads became narrower, hillier, and rougher

though it was all paved. Beginning as a four-lane divided highway 61

becomes a two lane until one heads out of Red Wing toward the Twin

Cities. On the Wisconsin side the road becomes quite hilly, winding, and

uneven though when it follows the river, more scenic. I took few

pictures as the haze obscured the view.

My first stop was in Lake City where I visited the Chamber of Commerce

and a helpful lady chatted me up and offered assistance. I walked the

downtown and visited the one gift shop that was open. Driving on I

pulled into the village of Frontenac home to a few remaining Antebellum

homes left over from the days when slave owners from the 'low country'

sent their families up-river to escape the unhealthy hot weather. I had

no idea they made it this far. This summer 10-story wooden

paddlewheelers will again ply these waters drawing 9 feet under their

flat-bottomed hulls. Dredges are at work as we speak pumping muck out of

the channel.

Red Wing is a major urban centre. I drove through downtown and stopped

at Perkins Restaurant North of town. After a mid-priced brunch and hot

half decent coffee drove up and found the Hobgobblin Centre. It combines

a harp/dulcimer factory on the frist floor, with a sales centre for a

cornucopia of instruments on the second, and a performance space on the

third of an old barn with a growing vineyard out back. On my way back to

town stopped for a few groceries though fresh produce is hard to find here.

Took the bridge across Ole Man River and started down the Wisconsin

side. Actually I started gaining altitude rather quickly and didn't

catch another view of the river for a few miles. I passed through a few

villages that rated speed zones but stopped in the town of Stockholm,

the Dalla horses confirming its background. The corner bakery sold

homemade ice cream and their own pies at $18.00 each. Not prepared to

spend quite that much for just I, picked up a mini pie for $7.00. Next

door ABODE sold furniture, handmade local works of art, Wisconsin

Cheese, locally brewed beer and cider, and hand picked morels along with

maple syrup, coffee and tea--you get the drift. I picked up some

well-hopped Glarus Brewing Company Beer which has a flowery flavour

without the usual bitterness. Wish I could buy more. Walked the four

corners watching the train roll by and noting the two bike racks with

bikes for the borrowing--simply return. What a concept!

Took in the rest of the drive back to the bridge to Wabasha again

regretting the continued haze. In Wabasha finally found the National

Eagle Centre and decided to visit. Without the 3:00 PM presentation it

would have been a bore but a large family from Switzerland whose

offspring became part of the demonstration added greatly to the show

with their stunningly handsome eldest son and his three younger male

siblings, one actively snogging with a girlfriend. The third in leather

pants. Father was presented with a bedpan to catch any fecal matter that

might be squirted toward the audience. A female eagle outweighs her

husband by 2 pounds at about 12 but both have a wingspn of c. 7½ ft.

They get their white head feathers and tails at about 5 years. In the

wild they live about 20 years, the oldest here is 31--known from the

band placed on her talon in the nest. The birds here are injured

specimens that cannot live in the wild. Those brought in for show were

fed raw turkey bits which they swallow whole. Eagles can digest bones

but regurgitate a pellet of fur, feathers, and scales. It was claimed

that birds are faithful to their nest sites more than to each other and

nests can be added to until they weigh 3 tons--capable of supporting an

elephant. Do you suppose they paint their toenails red?

Walked down to the river after supper that night and spent some time

talking with one of the neighbours--Matt, who works at the Mayo Clinic

in Rochester. I have certainly heard of the Mayo Clinic but I had no

idea it was 35 miles distant. According to my partner it employs 3600

people and is accounted a top ten employer in the US.