July 25, 2016 Wisconsin to Minnesota to Iowa

Monday, July 25

Beth wakes early and takes a few sunrise photos before being chased back to the Trek by mosquitos.

We decide to head out and after an hour or so on 70, we decide to drop south and check out 13S.  Lots of woods, and lakes everywhere.  Some surrounded by cabins/homes, some not developed at all.

We stop for breakfast at McDonald's and gas (not necessarily related :)) in Ladysmith.  Cute little town.  Come across a beautiful field of sunflowers and  this unique mailbox stand.

 Beginning to see more agriculture - mostly soybeans and corn.

We try to head south on 93, but don't get far before we hit a detour - bridge out.  We are back on local roads which are identified by letters....so we travel on HH to W to B. Here we are at the intersection of WW and W.

We take 25S across the Mississippi at Wabasha and now we are in Minnesota.

Getting tired, so we decide to stop and re-visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, named for an Indian chief whose statue is just outside.

 One of the eagles we saw 2 years ago, Harriet, the matriarch, has passed, but we recognize three others

. Chat with one of the trainers for a bit and check out some new displays (and some old).

It is a beautiful day, so we have lunch outside and walk along the Mississippi a bit, watching a tug and some other traffic.

There just happens to be an ice cream shop near where we parked, so we go for a cone on the way out. YUM.  I have a vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate bits and coconut and almonds.  de-lish!

About six miles further on, we do another re-visit at Lark Toys in Kellogg.

 Fun place with a hand-carved carousel and tons of toys, old and new, some in displays and many for sale.

 And now we can shop for our granddaughter :)  so we find a sweet rabbit hand puppet.

We are heading south again and have another detour - guess they are doing lots of bridge repair/replacement!  We talked with Greg's Mom and wandered into Iowa.  We found Bremer County Alcock Park in Frederika in one of our books.  It turns out to be quite nice - and empty.  The far end of the campground is a bit flooded by the Wapsipinicon River,  but the near end is fine and even has clean restrooms with showers! ($10)

 

  The bugs aren't bad, so we walk and sit outside,  and then we have a nice salad and chicken on the grill.  A few cars come by, but it seems they are just checking out the river because they just drive through and wave. Warm night, but it finally cools down to about 65.