International Gardens

As I mentioned it is an early spring in Eastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.  As a snow lover this saddens me, but I also love spring.  New life, flowers, rain, the list goes on and on!  Well, I finally made it to a park, just as spring was making its appearance!  I got in the big old truck, (my baby is in the shop).  I headed into La Crosse and went to Riverside Park.  I had planned to find a spot, draw some knots, take some pictures of the river and be done with it.  But alas that was not meant to be.

Come Hell or High Water!

View from Science Museum in St. Paul

So the Mississippi is rising!  Not that is anything new, but it is always an exciting, tense time along The River.  The Mississippi is amazing.  I don't know how to explain the hold it has.  It is fun to watch the cycles, how it lives and breathes.  The frozen winter fishermen, the eagles and ice chunks in the early spring, the flooding of spring and summer, the low water of the fall.  Never ending cycle.  Always fun to watch.

It was a wet summer, fall, and winter.  Needless to say this ended up with some massive flooding in the following spring.  Which came early (or so it seems).  But it is not fully here yet, there is still some possible snow a coming.  It kinda snuck up on me, the flooding did.  You expect the river to rise in the spring, you count on it, you comment and you move on.  But every 8 or so years you get a big one.  1993, 2001... and we've had some good ones for the last few summers.  This last set of pictures is crappy cell phone ones cause I hadn't planned on heading down to the river.

Riverside Park La Crosse Wi

The grade between La Crescent and La Crosse

 

Golden and Bald! The National Eagle Center

  Last Friday (the 18th) my cousin Susie and I, along with my mom's cousin Sylvia, went to the National Eagle Center.  The National Eagle Center is in Wabasha Minnesota.  Wabasha is a small town along the Mississippi River.  And Wabasha like many of the little river towns has a large eagle population.  La Crosse, Winona, Prairie Du Chien, Red Wing, you name one they all have loads of 'em. 

And Wabasha much like La Crosse has a large wintering population of eagles.  By the dams there is a large spot of open water.  They like this.  Literally hundreds at any given moment, trust me it is awesome to see.  Now while we were in Wabasha, there wasn't bunches of eagles flying around.  The warm weather had opened up much of the river and they were on the move.  But during the 60ish mile drive to Wabasha there were tons flying around, hanging out on the river and just being amazing! (I love Minnesota)

But at the Eagle Center I got closer to eagles than I ever thought possible.  They are so beautiful up close.  Hell, they are pretty darned awesome from a distance too.  There were 3 Bald Eagles and one Golden Eagle at the eagle center.  They aren't as big as I expected, I mean they are big and have a huge wingspans, but I figured they weighed lots more than the 8-12 pounds they do.  Got to watch one eat, and of course it decided to take a dump too (lovely I know).  But hey, I am not gonna share what I learned about that function...

None the less, I loved it, probably because I love eagles.

Wild Thing: Eagles--You Know the Bald Ones!

Ok, so my days are off, and I totally thought yesterday was Monday, at least in relation to having a blog post up and running.  This one is about Eagles.  You know the bald ones, they are an endangered species and the national bird and somewhat rare to see.  Well, where I live in South Eastern Minnesota they are really common, so much so that as a youngster I had to remind myself that they are endangered.  A good day on the river and you'll see 20 in the 30 miles between Winona and La Crosse... and if you go further down the river you can add about 20 more to that.



 

 
Now don't get me wrong, it is still really exciting to see them... hell, when I was in 1st grade we went to see the bridge removal in Wabasha (so about 1991ish) and everybody but me got distacted by a soaring eagle.  And most of them missed the bridge falling, but not me!  I knew what I was there to see.  I remember the eagle too, but the bridge was way cooler.  So they are common in some areas and my little corner of the world is one.

I have gotten really good at spotting them over the years.  You'd think that bright white head would stick out like a sore thumb, it does, sometimes.  Sometimes it is the lack of a head that you notice, like when the sky is all gray and cloudy.  They have honkin' nests, and last count was something like 12-16 nests between Winona and La Crosse (on the MN side).... WOW!!!!  They like to hang out at the dams come winter time, it is the broken ice that brings them in.  Many eagles winter in the La Crosse area.

And if you cross the grade from La Crescent to La Crosse at the right time you can sometimes see over 100 eagles at once.  Many are adults but there are some juveniles.  Even with out the white head, the babies still have that eagle shape.  Which is where all the pictures came from.

Down River to Iowa

Dubuque Iowa

So while I avoid studying for business law and accounting principles 1, I thought I'd blog a bit.  It's ok, the test is not for a few days...  So I have two started blog posts, but I am not sure it is the time for them. Or the lack of inspiration.  Maybe I will continue on the walk through the fall, by heading back a few years...

                                                ...Picture it, Iowa, Fall 2008...The Mississippi River Museum!  Sadly, I don't have an of the pictures from the Field of Dreams.  Those are with my sister, but I might be able to get my hands of a copy or two for a future post!

Yippie! Casino Boats!

 Dubuque is awesome, probably my favorite place in Iowa.  It is an awesome little city.  They have some wonderful casinos, and museums.  Oh, and the field of dreams is only about a half an hour away.

albino 'gater

Spent a lot of time at the Mississippi River Aquarium.  It is a wonderful place.  I am a big fan of aquariums in the sense that there is so much about the world that can be learned in them.  They are a great place and the things you see there are totally awesome.  And things that you don't see anywhere else!  But don't mind me, I am a nerd...

Not only was it cool for the river life, but the boat museum was kinda cool too.  It was a dredger, and if you live on a river and see them in action or grew up with my father, you'd probably find that cool. (apparently I like the word cool right now...)

And this was just cool!

I Think I Like the World Better in the Fall

Fall comes early in the Tetons

Apparently it is fall.  I think it snuck up on me.  Just last week it was ridiculously hot here in southern Minnesota and then one day it rained and it has been lovely ever since.  I am a fan of fall.  It is a great season.  The leaves are achangin' and it is jeans and long-sleeve shirt weather.  That and fall means hockey season is just around the corner and that means winter is in the coming.  Winter means skiing!  And this year, if we get the snow we should, I plan on doing lots of skiing -of both varieties.

Moose Falls YNP

I think autumn is as lovely as the spring.  It is just a different loveliness.  Spring is green and bright colors, new life.  Fall is rich, and bold colors, crisp weather.  I think I have some waiting to do before the leaves start turning, but it is always worth the wait.  If I am lucky, I might be able to head north for a few days in the fall, and catch the color up there first and then down here in my corner of the state.

North Ridge overlooking The Mississippi

Having worked seasonally for several years, until I returned home and eventually found myself back in school, I gained an appreciation for the month of October.  It is the best month to travel in.  You lose the crowds, the weather is usually pleasant.  Yeah, sometimes things are not open or the hours are shortened.  But in the grand scheme of things, you still can travel well.   No place is ever the same, it is true that you can't go back.  But if you go somewhere in the spring and then some later fall, you are going to two different places. 

Wolf Pass Colorado

 The world changes in the fall.  And I fall in love with it every year.  Big fan of blustery days, it reminds me of Winnie the Pooh.  Maybe it is the kid in me, the one that likes puddle jumping and leaf piles, and dancing in the rain.

Red Rock Canyon Kentucky

 Autumn rocks!  It is time for pumpkin flavored cheesecakes!  Icky pumpkin flavored cappuccino-not a fan!  Seriously it is gross, you do not need pumpkin flavored everything.  But heck it comes with the season!  With sunset happening earlier, you get way more time to look at the stars.  Which is probably one  of the things I miss the most from living in Yellowstone.  You can see a ridiculous amount of stars, especially in the winter! 

Sunset at the bus barn house, La Crescent

 So YAY for fall.  I am going to celebrate the heck out of you.  I got plans for you.  So let me know when the color changes.  And hell, if I remember my camera someday at school, I might use my ungodly long break between classes to walk to the park.  I look forward to your best blustery day!  After all they are my favorite!!!