Monday, September 8, 2014: from Lock & Dam #9, (north of Prairie du Chien, WI) to Marshland, WI

It was a beautiful day for bike riding – a cool tail wind.  Any hills were just low rolling hills - there were no serious climbs today.  By noon Cal had ridden 50 miles, and he stopped after 78 miles at 4:00.  We did fairly well finding our way through La Crosse on back streets or streets with bike lanes (wasn’t the most direct way, but the best).  We decided to continue north of La Crosse and he rode another 32 miles.  It was about 1:30 when we found a bike trail (old rail road bed) that ran for 20 miles.  The surface was not smooth so it cut down on his speed, but he was away from any traffic. 

Great River State Trail

One of 20 Bridges on the Trail



A Marsh area with Wild Rice - From the Trail

Cal Finishing the Trail

I found lodging in a village of Trempealeau, at the “Inn on the River”.  We literally are along the river. It is the river, rail tracks, street and the Inn.  As I have been writing this, a Tugboat with an empty barge came past, traveling north.  From our room we can also see Lock & Dam #6, which the barge and tugboat just came through.  It is great to see life on the river.  The owner of the Inn told me, “People come here just to watch the water moving”!!    

Our Lodging for the Night

View of the river from our room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mississippi River was in our sights most of the day - to our left side as we travel north.  I took a lot of photos of this majestic river. Also there were pull-outs where historical markers were posted, recalling important historic events along the river.  There are not a lot of bridges that cross the Mississippi, so each one is important.  Today we were completely away from the cornfields, with their millions of bushels of corn. Instead it was the river, marshes, and backwaters.  We are now north of the Iowa border, so the bluffs on the western side of the river are in Minnesota. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we saw 4 Locks and Dams - #9 is just north of Prairie du Chien, #8 is at Genoa, #7 is at Onalaska, and #6 is here at Trempealeau.  As we travel north we will see # 5A, #5, #4, & #3, before we follow the St Croix River north to Duluth, MN.

Bridge Across the Mississippi to Lansing, Iowa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I said before, a double set of rail tracks run between the road and the river.  This morning driving/riding north of Prairie du Chien we saw at least 7 trains in queue to travel south before I stopped counting.  Trains were traveling north, so we don’t know if there are certain hours when they travel in their designated direction.  Since our lodging is so close to the tracks it will be interesting how much the train disturbs us tonight - there should be no whistles, as there are no crossings.

Bluffs along the River

Going Fishing





The Road we are Following

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great use of an old Gas Station - Computer Store and Chiropractor's Office

 

Tomorrow we plan to continue traveling north until mid-afternoon before we load up the bike to drive south, back to La Crosse, for the conference we will be attending on Wednesday and Thursday.  Cal will need some rest by that time!!   

South of Prairie Du Chien to north of town - Sunday, September 7, 2014: (45 Miles)

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, a little crisp, but warming up by the time Cal started riding.  He had more hills to climb and cruise down.  There continued to be motorcycle and other recreational traffic.  The campgrounds along the Mississippi looked full.  In fact some said, “No vacancy”! There was a moderate amount of boat traffic on the river by afternoon.  Autumn is here and warm days on the river are limited.  

Along the Mississippi River it depends on how close the bluffs are to the river as to where the road is located. The railroad tracks are always at river level, graded high enough in case there is flooding, but there is not always space for a road, so therefore the road climbs around the bluff.  There are little towns along the river that were vibrant “in their day”, but now they are in pretty sad shape.

It has been interesting to see cemeteries (currently used ones) in the middle of cornfields.  We somewhat do that in southeast Iowa too, but some of these are bare of trees.

Rural Cemetery in the Corn Field

Contour Farming

Goldenrod

Wild Sun Flowers

I continue to enjoy the contour of the farming.  The farmers are cutting the final crop of hay for this growing season and they are beginning to cut corn for silage to feed their dairy or feeder cattle (cattle to be fatten for beef processing) this winter.     

Along the river I saw this crane in a backwater lagoon.  I have not seen any 4-legged wildlife but I have seen some birdlife.  The main flower that is blooming along the roadsides is goldenrod with a few miniature sunflowers.

Railroad Along the River



Railroad and Highway

Fishing on the Mississippi River

Blue Herring

Cal rode 45 miles today.  Part of his ride today was a 2 1/2 mile out of the Mississippi river flood plain.  He rode north of Prairie du Chien, but we had to return to Prairie due Chien for a motel. There is not much in the way of towns with services between these two cities. Even cell phones do not work well.  We hope to get to LaCrosse, WI tomorrow. The paved shoulder along the road is not in good condition, but Cal had to use it due to the amount of traffic today.  If all goes well we may go a little farther north of Lacrosse, returning to LaCrosse for the night.  We just hope there are not too many hills tomorrow!!   

Western Dubuque, IA to near Praririe du Chien, WI - Saturday, September 6, 2014:

As predicted for this morning, the day was bright and clear, but it was definitely chilly – in the mid 50’s!!  We also realized again that it is nice to live in southeast Iowa where it is warmer!! It was cool enough this morning for a fleece jacket and socks. 

Uniquely Shaped Barn

Iowa Countryside - Entering Fall



An Appropriately Named Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we knew, the hills just kept coming at us!!  Every time you go down a hill, there is another “UP”!! You can be on a ridge for a while, but then you go down to the river bottom, and after you go down, up you go again!!  Cal climbed out of three river bottoms today, including the Mississippi.  Two climbs went on for a length of 2 miles. Cal takes these hills at a slower pace than a regular two wheeled bike, but he climbs everyone!  Today he was only able to ride 55 miles due to the hills. 



Pumpkin Patch ready to be picked

Beautiful Farm House



The topography remains the same with beautiful homestead along the road, on the distance hills and in the valleys.  I keep seeing Grant Wood’s Iowa everywhere.  Northeast Iowa has more dairy and beef herds than southeast Iowa.  Due to the dairy, the farmers raise lots of alfalfa hay.  There is nothing like the smell of newly mowed hay, plus the designs of the cut hay are interesting.   When you are going the pace that I am driving, you notice all of these things, plus the smells “of money”!   Some farmers mow all of the waterways and road ditches - keeping the weeds in check, but it also looks so much neater. 

In every little village/town in this part of northeast Iowa there is a Catholic church.  After taking several photos I began to realize that they look alike or at least very similar - must have used the same architect. I did not take the time to see if you could enter them - it would have been interesting if their interiors were different. You can see their lovely steeples miles away. 

Upon entering one town you see two steeples - one is now a gift shop as the two congregations combined, but for years there was an Irish Catholic congregation and a German Catholic congregation in this town.  

Iowa Calves in a Feedlot

Iowa Barn Quilt

Cattle being fed

Holy Cross Catholic Church

We arrived at the ferry landing a few minutes after the ferry left our side of the river, so we had to wait the full cycle until it returned.  There was only one other vehicles on the ferry with us, but on the other side numerous motorcycles were waiting to cross. 

Luxemburg, Iowa Catholic Church

Barge on the Mississippi River

Approaching Cassville, Wisconsin

Cassville Ferry Dock

We did not ride the whole way into Prairie Du Chien tonight, so tomorrow we will have to drive back to where were stopped this afternoon.

Freshly Mowed Hay showing the contour



The last hill of the day

For dinner tonight we ate at the Jones’ Supper Club.  It reminded us of the Iris Restaurant in Mt Pleasant.  The food was great.  The Prime Ribs were to die for!! They were 1 ½ inches thick! Unreal!!!  Cal & I split a steak dinner and there was enough food for another person!! 

Mt Pleasant to near Cascade, Iowa: September 4 & 5, 2014

Yesterday morning, Thursday, Cal left Mt Pleasant at approximately 7:30.  He was pleased with the direction of the 10-15 mph wind - at his back – perfect for a biker!  He rode north and a little northeast on country roads that were familiar to him.  Due to the wind he average higher than normal speed.  I caught up with him in the town of Nichols, but there was no place for lunch so we continued to West Liberty where we found a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch. – Great food, but way too much food!!  Cal continued riding north, crossing over Interstate 80. South of I-80 the topography is relatively flat, however north of 80 that changed!! Hills, Hills and more Hills!  Plus, by now the temperature was 90 degrees!  He had 15 more miles to go to the town of Tipton, IA where we planned to spend the night with friends.  He made all 83 miles today, but he was one hot tired guy! 

Leaving Home for the Ride to Canada

Meeting a Seed Corn Picker

Loading Corn on Trucks out of a Corn Bin

Our friends in Tipton were part of the group on our first trip to New Zealand in 1996.  Another team member from Iowa City in that same group joined us for dinner.  It was great spending the evening together, catching up and of course they wanted to know about our recent trip ‘down under’. 

This morning, Friday, the wind changed!  It was coming out of the north/northwest!  Cal did not get on the road until 8:30 due to us lingering over breakfast!  However the wind and hills slowed him down so that by 11:45 when we stopped in the town of Wyoming, IA for lunch he had only gone 30 miles.  This afternoon the hills continued, one after another, and then another!!  We are in the northeast part of Iowa which is hilly!

Corn Fields starting to Mature for Fall

Freshly cut hay - What a unique smell



The Beauty of Farmsteads

However, hilly topography allows for better photos.  I told Cal that when we were traveling in flat Illinois, it was hard to get photos, as the corn was right there beside you.  Here in northeastern Iowa, when on a ridge, I have great views for photos of the area.

Around 2:00 this afternoon I had gone approximately 4 miles ahead of Cal, stopped and was reading a magazine when I heard thunder in the distance.  A storm was rapidly approaching, so I drove back to find him.  He wasn’t ready to stop riding until it began raining, and when it started, it poured!  We sat waiting for a while, but the radar showed more was on the way, so we decided to call it quits for the day, after only 43 miles.

More Hay being cut - Just before the rain

The Road Ahead

Wyoming, Iowa Fire Station

Tonight we are in a motel west of Dubuque, Iowa.  Cal needed a new battery for his bike computer, so we were able to go into Dubuque where we found a great bike shop.  Also, the positive thing tonight was the beautiful red/orange sunset, “red skies at night, sailors delight”!  We look forward to a clear day tomorrow, however there will be more hills and they predicted a north wind!!! 

Tomorrow we hope to get to the Mississippi River, at Millville, Iowa. At Millville there is a ferry that crosses the Mississippi River to Cassville, Wisconsin.  

Preparation for the Ride: September 1, 2014

We are in the process of preparing to be gone for several weeks. Our plans are to leave on Thursday morning, September 4, 2014.  The first leg of our northbound journey will take us to Lacrosse, WI where we will stop for a Rotary meeting.  After the meeting we will resume our northbound ride.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014: Ft Madison to Mt Pleasant

It is a beautiful morning!  Our daughter who is in the States for a visit drove Cal back to Ft Madison to start where he stopped riding last week.  Cal rode into Mt Pleasant by mid-afternoon completing this part of the journey. 

Stay tuned, we will resume the bike ride in early September.