Wabasha to Lansing
Leaving Wabasha
Wabasha was still impressive today. I went to a nice coffee shop in the morning (Eagle's Nest Coffee House), which had a good wireless connection and was the gathering place for the local cycling club. I would say about 30 people showed up, and they even had a bus to take them back from where they were going to ride. And someone had his 81st birthday, so they gave him an extra-special Schwinn electric bike, apparently one-of-a-kind. Nice. Beats a used San Lorenzo, doesn't it? Oh, and the breakfast burrito was excellent, too.
I left Wabasha on Highway 61 that took me all the way to Winona. The wind that had been rather gentle yesterday, had picked up to be extremely strong again. Luckily, it had turned back into exactly the right direction, so it was once again time for the big ring. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and use the big ring, even on a touring bike.
Highway 61 took me past Lock and Dam No. 5 (No. 1 is in Minneapolis). These Lock and Dams are part of the Army Corps of Engineers' 9-foot project, which allows barge traffic all the way up the Mississippi to Minneapolis. They are also the reason why the Mississippi is often wider than it would naturally be.
Lock and Dam No. 5
The Lock opens under a beautiful street of clouds that is once again going my way
Captain Nemo not quite sure about the waves
Mississippi South of Lock and Dam No. 5
The Showdown: Minneapolis versus Winona
Someone here, who goes by the name "anonymous," claimed a few posts back that Winona is more beautiful than Minneapolis. Well, the evidence has been gathered and examined closely, and the verdict is: wrong! He or she was probably of that opinion because he or she was from Winona and therefore biased. Since I am from Minneapolis and unbiased, I can easily call it for Minneapolis. Here is where it gets gritty, though: my camera crapped out as I was in Winona, and the only picture I could take was that of Lake Winona. It claimed that its battery was low, although about an hour later everything seemed to be working well again. I know, I know, you are probably thinking that I am cooking the evidence, but I wouldn't do that. I'm interested in the truth, and nothing but the truth. And the truth is: Winona is very nice, but nicer than Minneapolis it is not.
Lake Winona: you're one in ten thousand
The Great River State Trail in Wisconsin
After Winona, I waved Minnesota good-bye for the last time on this trip and went across the Mississippi again into Wisconsin, where, after a short ride along CR 35, I took the Great River State Trail, which runs as close to the Mississippi as the vast marshlands that line the Great River will permit. The trail itself runs over filled-in railroad beds, gravel, but nicely packed and very smooth, fitting even for 23mm tires, I would think. At first it goes through the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge that had a very confusing layout, which is reflected in the map up above. After I got out of that, though, it was smooth sailing all the way to Onalaska and on into La Crosse. Actually, I first visited a bike shop in Onalaska to have my bottom bracket, which was falling apart, greased and re-tightened (I forgot to bring my bottom bracket tool...). No problem. Here are some pictures from along the Great River State Trail:
The northern end of the Great River State Trail
The refuge: marshlands along the Mississippi
La Crosse
Not much to say about La Crosse, home of one of the University of Wisconsin Campi. It has a very nice waterfront and cute downtown area. Not bad.
The Mississippi by La Crosse
On towards Lansing
Lansing was to be the final destination of the day, so I rode on CR 35 from La Crosse to just past De Soto and crossed the River into Iowa. There is another Lock and Dam, No. 8, just north of De Soto, by Genua with its coal-fired power plant. Downstream of the dams, the Mississippi reveals its more natural character, which is much less wide (and nicer, in my opinion) than the areas upstream of the dams would have you believe. Here's a picture:
The Mississippi without a dam nearby
Crossing the Mississippi around here is not just crossing the Mississippi. With it comes a large area of marshes and smaller side arms. In fact, the Mississippi basin is about 2.5 miles wide here, even though only a small part of that is actually designated as such. But from leaving CR 35 and crossing the first arm to arriving on the other side of the Mississippi was, in fact, 2.5 miles. This area, with all its small rivers and islands is also exactly how I had always imagined the Mississippi after reading the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Wouldn't you agree?
Mississippi Marshland
The Mississippi of Tom and Huck
Finally, crossing the Mississippi into Iowa was not too easy, as iron grate bridges are not the most cycle-friendly bridges out there, but okay. Oh, and it was pretty steep, too, not that I want to complain.
Leaving Wisconsin is no easy task
Entering Iowa
So now I am at the only campground in Lansing, or rather 2 miles outside of Lansing. It is quite nice here. Time for dinner.
Campground outside of Lansing, IA
If you look the other way, however, it looks a little bit different:
Campground outside of Lansing, IA, looking the other way
which gets me to. . .
The economics of RV'ing
There is something about RVing that I have never quite understood. You go camping, but not really. You stay at home, but not really. You are at a vacation house, but not really. You are at a hotel, but not really. You can go anywhere you want, but not really. So what is it that is so very attractive about RVing? People genuinely seem to enjoy it, and I can kind of see where they are coming from. You are traveling around and you always have your "home away from home" with you, don't need to pack your things in the morning etc. But often I find that RVs are pretty much made stationary at campgrounds. They are built into the campground and become mobile homes instead. Then, I would have to think, they become nothing but cabins for people to visit occasionally, but cabins really close to lots of other people.
What are the alternatives? Well, if I wanted to buy myself a nice 2008 Winnebago Adventurer 35L"King Bed Option," I would have to plunk down about $155,000. This would open the door to travel anywhere in North America, although I would probably be reluctant to venture outside of the U.S. and Canada. On the other hand, let's say I am retired and usually go on month-long trips, I could fly and stay at a hotel. Suppose I choose a nice, but not too nice, hotel (much like the RV), then I might expect to pay $150 per night. Add to that a plane ticket for $300, and your monthly cost would be $4800. This means I could be on vacation for over 32 months for the price of the above RV. If I go on vacation for two months per year, I can do this for 16 years. And I would always have someone to clean up after me. None of these calculations included money spent on gas for the RV, which might be substantial, interest earned on the capital otherwise invested in the RV, storage fees for the unused RV, or the freedom to go anywhere in the world that airplane travel affords.
So why buy and RV?
Mississippi River Crossings
I goofed on this one. As I have already said, my camera was acting up, and perhaps I was not aggressive enough in making it work. Even though I did cross the Mississippi twice today, I only have pictures of the second crossing, near Lansing, Iowa. The Winona crossing into Wisconsin is missing. Too bad, it was nice, but Lansing was actually nicer, so here two pictures of that one, upstream and downstream.
Mississippi River Crossing 24 - Upstream
Mississippi River Crossing 24 - Downstream
Road Kill Tally
It was a busy day today, especially on Wisconsin county roads. Kind of like the mountain stage in the Tour, when the GC begins to shake down. What I find most amazing to this point, though, is that I have seen at least one dead cat every day. I would not have expected that.
- Racoon: 13
- Groundhog: 11
- Skunk: 10
- Deer: 10
- Cat: 6
- Squirrel: 6
- Mouse: 5
- Frog: 4
- Opossum: 4
- Snake: 3
- Turtle: 2
- Fox: 2
- Bunnywabbit: 2
- Porcupine: 1
- Bird: 21
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