The Mississippi River has dominated proceedings today. I have never been far away from it, and I have crossed it twice: first into Wisconsin in the morning and then back over to Minnesota late afternoon. Actually, strictly speaking, I crossed from Hastings this morning without leaving Minnesota, because just across from Hastings, at the town of Prescott, Wisconsin, is the place where the impressively large St Croix River joins the Mississippi. From here to the north, Wisconsin and Minnesota are separated by the St Croix River, and from here to the south, by the Mississippi River. Anyway, it was all lovely and I arrived in Prescott ready for breakfast after watching all kinds of water craft messing about in the sunshine on both broad stretches of water.
Hastings
Little Prescott, with its clock tower and large, lifting bridges for both road and rail, was a busy place this morning. I found a cafe on the Main Street and enjoyed their loaded hash browns and a cup of tea, while I watched large numbers of ageing motorbikers come and go on their Harley Davidsons. Today was the Saturday of Labour Day weekend, and it must have been a special day for the local bikers, because they were everywhere, all day long. Here in Prescott they seemed to gather under a huge American flag just over the road from me. As well as the more traditional bikes, quite a few riders were on 3 wheel versions, some with 2 wheels at the front, others at the back. Route 34, which hugged the Mississippi on the Wisconsin side, appeared to be a draw for them. It is a designated Scenic Byway, as well forming part of the Mississippi River Trail cycle route. I didn’t mind them. More importantly there were absolutely no trucks out today. The bikers often waved to me. Most of them had a pillion rider, generally their female partner, and hardly any wore helmets or leathers. They were all enjoying the warm breeze in their faces, and very warm it was, too. The high was about 97F, although mercifully the sky clouded over later on, which helped.
The Mississippi River was a fine companion today. I couldn’t always see it; but it was never too far away. It is a huge expanse of water, even this far north in its journey. For about twenty two miles today it took the form of an even larger, natural lake, Lake Pepin. This was created behind the natural dam made by glacial deposits from the adjoining Chippewa River. It is up to two and a half miles wide and a haven for boats of many kinds.
Along this stretch I passed through a series of delightful small towns. I especially liked Stockholm, decorated in Swedish yellow and blue, and home to several enticing small cafés and live music. I stopped at the “General Store and Pie”, and enjoyed a slice of blackberry and raspberry pie with ice cream. It was very good. That kept me going until it was time to cross back over the Big river to Wabasha, which was decked out in German flags. As I rode over the high bridge, an enormous procession of conjoined barges passed beneath me. This is very much a working river and each barge is huge on its own. Tied together three abreast and four long, it created a vessel about a quarter of a mile in length. All this was being pushed slowly from the back by a tug-like boat. It seemed quite a feat to me to steer and manoeuvre all of that with any degree of close control. You needed a lot of space!
Back in Minnesota, I thought Wabasha was quite lovely, even though its Main Street was completely dug up. I still managed to find a place to buy myself a delicious Rhubarb crumble ice cream to fuel up for the remaining 30 plus miles down the river to Winona, today’s biggest town. I arrived at my motel just as the sun was setting over the miles of lagoons and lily ponds stretching across the Mississippi River valley, filing the wide space between the rocky bluffs on either side.
I will spend all of tomorrow following the Big River further down stream and then cross it one last time. The heat and the constantly chirping crickets make it feel more like the steamy lower reaches in the American South. A quick look at the map shows I am much closer to Canada. Either way, I am coping with the heat, drinking huge amounts and taking regular breaks. In this part of the country, it seems I’m never too far from the next place to pause and recover. Which, on balance, I am only too happy to do!
Fabulous stuff. *Now* I’m thinking how much I’d like to do this!