From Minneapolis to La Crosse, WI

10 5 09

From Minneapolis we crossed the St.Croix River to Wisconsin and drove south along the river to Prescott. The weather was cloudy. We knew that Mississippi and St. Croix converge there and we were looking for that point. I turned to three men nearby. They firmly stated that it would be further south. They were from Lodi and Modesto,CA! So we continued south and found a visitor center with information that the two rivers converged just south of the railroad bridge in Prescott. Sooo, we turned back and checked out the railroad bridge just when a train crossed. We could see the Mississippi a little to the south but it was difficult to see because the Prescott Island was blocking it. What made us sure was a boat entering behind the island and we never saw it again.

Time for lunch - portabello sandwich, chickenwrap and earl grey tea in a teapot! They offered a California burger - with tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise! For dessert they offered lingonberry bars. I was too full but I bought some for later. I hope I will remember to bake some, when I return home. Remind me, somebody!

The Mississippi River is a flyway for birds flying south to the Gulf of Mexico for the winter.

We continued south and stopped in Stockholm, WI - a little hamlet with many Swedish flags, cute stores, etc. We checked out the Stockholm Pie Company. The owner/baker Janet Garretson was not Swedish but she could bake like a Swedish woman. She had recently lost her husband and had moved to Stockholm, where her brother lives. She said that she bakes like she does at home with real ingredients. I went a little over board there. It is so nice to have something delicious in the evening with our tea in Jalil's teapot. The apple dumpling was fantastic - not too sweet - the same for the cinnamon roll! There were very few people in town, so I wondered about that. She explained that this is normally a very busy time as people on the east side of Wisconsin come here to see the fall colors along the river. There are not many people living there as most of the population is on the east side. Did not get why.

In Stockholm, there was a rack with old bicycles that you could borrow - just like in Stockholm, Sweden, and painted the same blue color!

The Mississippi gets wide like a lake at Pepin. It gets dammed up by another river. Here was a little town and we went looking for a grocery store which we found on a little street. We needed some fruit, bell pepper, and two beers. They did not have local apples even though Minnesota is apple country. They were from Argentina, etc.

The sky was now getting really dark and heavy looking and it started to rain heavily.
By the time we got to La Crosse (pop. 51,000) we stayed for the night.