Up the Mighty Mississippi

The Mighty Mississippi
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The rain had cleared out by morning and after discussing which way we would go we left and headed North on Wisconsin Route 35 “The Great River Road”. This road winds along the Mississippi River through several quaint towns along some high bluffs. There are many wildflowers and rolling hills with loads of trees. So different from California where everything is brown. In Trempealeau, WI we took a side trip through Perrot State Park which was quite lovely. There were so many pretty spots but no places to stop in a big rig. We finally did find some turn outs to take pictures. I was three eagles soaring high above – there are many here and they are beautiful and massive. Ended up for the night at St. Croix Bluff’s State Park. It is so nice here – we will stay two nights. Tomorrow we will tour St. Paul and Minneapolis. After we got set up we drove to a nearby Apple orchard that was all spiffed up (much like our Apple Hill). We bought the best apples I have ever had! They are called Zestar’s. They also grow Honey Crisps (a local favorite here that I have heard about) but they are a couple of weeks away from picking. The owner of the orchard did go pick one that was fairly close for me and I am letting it chill to taste tomorrow. After the apple orchard we drove into Hastings, Minnesota. We are right at the junction of the Mississippi and the St. Croix Rivers so Minnesota and Wisconsin are just across the bridge from each other. They were having the “Hastings Cruise-In” which was lots of fun – lots of vintage cars lining the streets. We stopped for a quick bite at a darling place right on the river and sat outside. It was heaven. What a great day!

Pipen Lake - Along Mississippi
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9/7/2008

"The Great River Road" and "Mall of America"

We awoke to a cloudy day so we decided to head out to Minneapolis and the Mall of America, which is about 25 miles from our camp site. This Mall is the largest in the world and we could not believe its size. It is four stories high with a huge amusement park in the center. The entire complex is under one roof and they have every store you can imagine. There are movie theaters, restaurants, junk food stands and I don’t know what – even a Marshall’s and a Dollar Tree. It was quite an experience. Believe it or not, we didn’t buy anything except early dinner at Bubba Gump’s (which was wonderful). We did, however, make a few purchases at the IKEA store just outside the Mall.  While we were there we took the train into Minneapolis. It is a light rail system much like Sacramento has. When we got downtown it was raining fairly hard so we decided not to stay. While waiting for the next train I realized I didn’t have my camera. I felt sure I had left it on the train and I was sick. I had already purchased a new camera since my Canon had to be sent in for repairs. Mike was really great about it and said it was OK we would just buy another one. I went through my purse a hundred times with no luck. When we got back to the Mall of America, which was the end of the line, I noticed that an employee was wandering through the car checking for things left behind. I motioned to him and asked him where I could go to see if someone had by chance turned in my camera. Believe it or not we were on the same train we rode into Minneapolis and he had found the camera. All I had to do was describe it. What a lucky break!! We could not believe it.