Day 32 (Thurs, July 21st) Crossing the Mississippi River at LaCrosse, WI

Today we crossed the Mississippi River, a major milestone in our journey.   After 5 days in Minnesota, we were looking forward to seeing the Mighty Mississippi which has it's headwaters in Minnesota and also forms the boundary between much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.   We had a great ride today in the eastern hills of Minnesota, including the famous Rushmore bicycle trail.   At the end of the day we dropped down from the Minnesota hills into the Mississippi Valley and crossed the Mississippi into La Crosse, Wisconsin after some 88 miles of cycling.

This was a great ride today.  We took lots of pictures.  Here are some of them:


Starting the Day in Rochester, MN - Horse Trainer at the Diamond D Ranch, Rochester, MN
It was much cooler today as we left Rochester, MN at 6:30 am.   Here is our first picture as we passed the Diamond Ranch and met the horse trainer who was working out a champion quarterhorse.   We chatted about the our cross country ride group (many of whom had already passed).   He was amazed that we are biking across country.   We were amazed at his riding skills.   It was a nice way to start the day.


Checking out a Pig Farm east of Rochester, MN.  (Adrienne joins Barry with Camera)
Here we encountered a pig farm, one of many in Minnesota.   In fact, I think Minnesota may lead the nation in Hog production.   Barry and I have been wanting to look in on these large pig units where they fatten hogs for market.   Here we are checking it out.


No surprise.   Lots of Pigs inside!


Look atall the hungry pigs.   Lots of squealing, snorting, oinking and generally pushing each other around.   These hungry pigs were eyeing us.  Interestingly, the pigs are placed on wood floors with drainage slots.   These are periodically hosed down to keep the pens clean.   The pigs make a real clatter as they run around the pens.  Pigs in Heaven?


Belgium Cattle!  What are they doing in Minnesota?  Here are some interesting cattle.   This breed with the "mid-section stripe" is from Holland.   The herds we have seen there may have fifty or more cattle with perfectly formed, white mid-drift "girdles", just like you see here, the result of many years of precision breeding.


The #1 name in Tractors - John Deere!  On yesterday's blog, we showed a bright red CASE tractor (a nice one).   Here is the favorite of most Minnesota farmers, the big John Deere, with mower attached.   Deere himself came from Vermont, where he achieved some fame making a single blade horse-drawn plow that would revolutionize farming.   He later moved to the midwest where he founded the John Deere Company, a top name in farm equipment for the last 100 years.   Don't you like this big green and yellow tractor with the air conditioned cab?


Nancy stops to see a Minnesota Totem Poles (looks like Paul Bunyan to me)

Time to get moving!   We are enroute to Wisconsin.   Here are our tour leaders (Karen Bauer and Mike Munk) riding with us today!


We stop with Mike and Karen at a Minnesota turkey farm to take a look.


So what would you expect to see on a Turkey farm??  Yep, Turkeys!


Here is a close-up of the Turkeys.   The farmer reported to us that, after 5 days of record 95 degree temperatures,  he lost over 2,000 (of some 6,000) turkeys to the heat, nearly one in three.    These survivors still look pretty wet and wilted.


So we are off to the first SAG stop of the day


The SAG stop was set in a little park with a waterfall.   Here are Barry and I cooling off.


Here is a John Deere Tractor on a mailbox, Barry in background speeding by....


The we encountered two beautiful Lutheran Churches, both less than a mile apart in the country side near the town of Chatfield, MI.  Here is the first church on the left.


Here is the Lutheran Church on the right.  Looks a lot like the Lutheran Church on the left.   We couldn't understand how these two large churches of the same denomination could survive in such close proximity to one another (less than a mile apart) in this sparsely populated Minnesota farm country.   How would one decide which church to attend?  Democrats on the left, Republicans on the right?   Could keep the peace in Church (Ha!)


We are watching the corn grow on this trip.....now more than twice as tall as the Black Rocket


Two corny guys coming out of the Corn


Riding the Bike Trail from Rushford to Houston, MN.  This is a 10 mile bicycle trail that connects the town of Rushford to the town of Houston.  This was once an old railroad bed.  It is now part of the Rails to Trails Conservatory and is a famous bike trail in Minnesota.   I felt at home on this trail as it reminded me of the W&OD bike path in Reston where I trained since January for this ride.


An old railroad bridge on the Rushford Trail.


The Rushford Trail follows the old tracks as they wind along the Root River wildlife area


Karen Bauer on an old tractor marking the trail


Birdhouses on the trail (each one is numbered, over 100 of them)


We stop for lunch at trails end (a raspberry smoothie)


Wildflowers decorate the trail

We are now in the hills just West of the Mississippi River.   See the contour farming


And more contour farming just down the road


Here we are entering La Crosse, Wisconsin, just before crossing the Mississippi


An official welcome at the Wisconsin State Line.   We have now been in 6 States (Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota and now Wisconsin).   We are celebrating at the Wisconsin State Line.



House Boats on the La Crosse River


and now we cross the Mississippi River (pics of Russell Goins)


And Barry Lucas crossing the bridge


Houseboats on the Mississippi River





And a view of the Mighty Mississippi River

In the mid-1980's, I had a college friend named Bill McLinn, who later in life was a Mark Twain impersonator.   Bill travelled widely, entertaining many with wit and wisdom memorized from some 40 volumes of Mark Twain material, including the tales of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  in 1987, Bill made a trip to the Soviet Union in costume as Mark Twain.   Of course, the Russians appreciate great writers and Mark Twain is considered one of the most popular of writers in Russia.   Prior to departing for Russia, Bill filled a mason jar with Mississippi River Water to take with him.   In a ceremony in Russia, Bill (as Mark Twain) poured the Mississippi river water into the Volga River as a gesture of good will between our two countries.   He also offered that a little Mississippi River water, coming from the heart of America, infused in the mighty Volga, would go a long way to thaw the cold war relations that had existed between our nations.   In just a little over a year, Mr Gorbachev took down the wall that had separated us for so long.   Many credit Ronald Reagan for the diplomacy that ended the cold war.   I rather think that it was the Mississippi River water that my friend Bill McLinn mixed in with the Volga that did more to unite our two countries than any of us know.   The photo above captures some of the power of that Mighty Mississippi that Mark Twain wrote about and my friend Bill McLinn had the sense to take with him to the Soviet Union.    Bill is not with us now, but will be long remembered for his deeds as a modern day Mark Twain.


Welcome to La Crosse (on the Mississippi River....Wisconsin's West Coast)

This is our first real view of La Crosse Wisconsin.   La Crosse sits at the junction of the La Crosse, the Black and the Mississippi Rivers.


Here is Old Glory flying over the Mississippi in La Crosse


Checking into our Hotel after a long (and great day) in the Saddle

Our long day ended about 5:30 pm when we checked into our hotel right on the Mississippi River.   It is hard to believe all the things we did and all the sights we saw in just this one day of biking.   There are enough pictures of this day left in the camera for another full blog.   We had a great dinner in the hotel (Walleye for me again) and got to bed early for another big day in the saddle.

Tomorrow we journey from La Crosse to Wisconsin Dells.
More Later,
Love to All,
ME