Trempelau

Today I went to Trempelau National Wildlife Refuge. This is a 15 minute drive from my house and across the Mississippi into Wisconsin. Black locust trees were in bloom and the air smelled so sweet.

I saw sandhill cranes, Baltimore Orioles, Northern mockingbird, Northern Waterthrush, common yelowthroat, scarlet tanager, yellow warblers, gray catbirds, house wrens, song sparrow, field sparrow, red-eyed vireos, Canadian geese, American robins, blue jays, red winged black birds, tree sparrows and great blue herons. Someone else reported seeing a nighthawk here yesterday but I didn't see any.

This is spiderwort.

This is white campion. I loved pulling these flowers apart when I was young.

Slender leafy spurge

Yellow salsify

Driving on the wildlife loop I saw more lupine than I have ever seen before. These are native lupine. Some hills were covered in beautiful purple lupine.

I would have guessed false Solomon seal but my phone app says it is Solomon's plume.

I like the name of this one - mouse eared chickweeds.

I walked out on an isthmus on the Pine Creek nature trail. Minnesota is far is the distance. I only got 3 woodticks today. I found two of them crawling up my leg while I was parked with the door open reading on my phone.

 

Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge

Yesterday I spent the day in Wisconsin at Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.
 

Laura

Today we met in Pepin at the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum which is right downtown on Highway 35. Inside they had a gift shop with her books and other books, prairie style dresses and hats, mugs, cups, postcards and old time candy. They had tools and implements, stoves and cookware, spinning wheels, furs, information about the school and Laura's teacher, information about Laura's family and where they lived. We spent a couple of hours in there.

Afterward we had lunch at the Pickle Factory. From there we drove 8 miles in land to the site of the cabin where Laura was born.

Here is the inside of the cabin where Laura lived. Behind me is the bedroom where all five family members slept. The other room is a pantry.

 

Madison

I spent 5 days in Madison, Wisconsin. This is a bike friendly town with Culver's restaurants every couple of miles. I went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens where I saw this bird of paradise.

This canary was in the garden too.

Last year they had a wood carvers convention. This is one of the three carved statues. The carvers were from Poland, Germany and Switzerland.

This is an actual Thai temple with real gold.

One warm day I went to the Aldo Leopold nature center where I saw these sandhill cranes walking by. I also walked downtown Madison to see the capitol building and visit a modern art museum with a rooftop garden.

 

Three States Per Day

Saw this neon sign at a Mexican restaurant in Youngstown, Ohio.

 Yesterday I drove from Minnesota, through Wisconsin, and into the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Today I left Illinois, drove through Indiana, and into the suburbs of Youngstown, Ohio. I left early because Chicago was expecting a 3 inch snow storm. I didn't see any snow but for the last hour of my drive I experienced a light rain. In my hurry to get through the 460 mile trip I took the turnpike which cost me nearly thirty dollars in tolls. Tomorrow I am only going in two states and the mileage should be only 270 miles.

Leave The Driving To Us

During my cruise vacation I used a variety of modes of transportation]. I got a ride to the airport in a Subaru. I took a plane, a bus, a cruise ship, a bus, another bus, a van, a glass bottomed kayak, another bus, several tourist boats with fabric covers, a ferry, a rented SUV, and more buses. When the vacation was over I was not interested in flying from Miami to Minneapolis. So I took the Greyhound back. Greyhounds are not like as depicted in old films. They do not pull up to small town diners where you can get coffee, a cheese burger and a slice of cherry pie. The Greyhound stations have vending machines that often don't work. Some won't take cash. Some won't take cards. Some won't take bills; only coins. Healthy choices are not available in vending machines. Some Greyhound stations have bathrooms. The station in Miami had an operable men's room but the women's restroom was locked most of the time. The bathrooms vary in cleanliness. Some of the buses had WiFi and electrical plug-ins and some did not. I arrived at the Miami airport Greyhound station a little after midnight. My bus left at 9 a.m. I was planning to sleep in a metal chair. At 3 a.m. it was announced the station was closing until 4 a.m. I was advised to wait in the airport rental car lobby. I tried that. Between the noise of other customers, the floor cleaning machine and the floor waxing machine (which was as loud as a Harley with loud pipes), I barely got any sleep. I went back to the Greyhound station. Nine a.m. came and went with no Greyhound. I double checked my ticket. My ticket was for the next day. I could not do this another 24 hours so I changed my ticket to this day. The Greyhound desk staff was friendly and helpful. Now my bus left at 3 p.m. I had lunch (a salad) from a food truck parked down the block. Chickens were everywhere in Key West. Chickens were also in Miami. This handsome rooster was expecting a hand out but got nothing from me. 

 My bus left at 3 p.m. We stopped at Orlando and some other towns in Florida. All was going well until midnight. We were outside Gainesville, Florida when someone in the back yelled at the driver that a man was having a seizure. The driver, unwilling to stop, asked if he had seizures before. The two women asking her for help got frustrated. One woman said, "You don't understand. This is a 911/emergency type of situation here." The driver sent her assistant back. The assistant was an older man. He returned to the front and told her, "He seems okay, I don't know." The ladies in the back protested. The driver pulled over and dialed 911. She spoke to the 911 operator.

Using her microphone she asked the sick man, "Have you ever had seizures before?" 

He said, "No."

Next the driver asked him, using the microphone, "Have you ever had a heart attack, stroke, or transischematic attack?"

In my head I am thinking this is a major HIPPA violation. The man, wisely, did not answer. The Greyhound driver announced that she was calling 911. I can see why she made that decision. We waited ten minutes. Another passenger said she had first aid experience and would check on him. She checked on him. She said he seemed okay but he was warm. Someone else in the bus said, "We are all warm. Please turn the AC back on." An ambulance arrived. Two paramedics came on board and went to the back of the bus. Two more paramedics arrived and walked to the back of the bus. A total of seven paramedics arrived and walked to the back of the bus. Five of them left. Two of them stayed. They asked reality orientation questions. He answered them. Who is the vice-president of the United States? He refused to ride in the ambulance. The paramedics left and we proceeded. This took about 45 minutes.

Twenty miles down the Florida highway we come upon flashing lights. The time is after 1 a.m. and I am still awake. We see smoke. We smell smoke. The young couple across from the aisle across from me quit making out. The young man says, "This smells like a wood fire. This does not smell like an electrical fire. This does not smell like a machinery fire. This smells like a wood fire. Someone is having a wood fire along the highway."

 I look at him and ask, "Are you a fire fighter?"

He answers, "Yes, I am a fire fighter."

 Makes sense to me. We continue our Greyhound journey.

We arrived in Atlanta at 10 a.m. My connection to Chicago left at 10 a.m. I missed my bus. I got another ticket that left at 3 p.m. Another guy on my bus named Mike also got another ticket but his wasn't until 10:30 p.m. We spoke about our troubles. Mike is thin. He smokes KOOL cigarettes. He has a smoker's cough. His hands tremble. All his luggage fits in one shopping bag. I watch his bag while he goes outside to use the internet WiFi from the Greyhound bus and smoke a cigarette. He watches my stuff while I walk around the block at the Atlanta Greyhound station. I come back. He asks, "Did any of those guys hassle you?"

I answer, "No, they left me alone but this is a sketchy area." I wish him well on his journey.

When it is time for me to go I show my ticket to the Greyhound employee. We are actually boarding a Flex bus, not a Greyhound bus. I ask the employee if my luggage should go under the bus. He indicates it can go under the bus or above the bus, it does not matter. My luggage goes under the bus. This Flex bus has no Internet. I try to conserve the battery on my phone but the link between Atlanta and Chicago is a long one. I was smart to bring my crochet hook and some yarn. We stop at a gas station for 15 minutes. I am back on time. We are all back on time except for one chubby black guy. He is hanging with the staff from another Greyhound bus. Our driver honks. Our driver starts driving away without him. Finally he quits talking and runs to the bus. Our driver scolds him saying he made us all wait. The guy says, "My apologies!"

 Later the chubby black guy orders chicken at a gas station. He is not quick enough. The driver makes him leave without his chicken dinner. The chubby black guy is not happy. Magically, at the next stop, a chicken dinner is delivered to the bus stop for him. How did he do that? I don't know.

We drive through Georgia. We pick up people in Indiana. Chicago has two Greyhound stations. I get off but it is the wrong one. I'm glad I asked. I would hate to be stranded in the south side of Chicago.Inactivity can lead to swelling of the feet and legs. My feet and legs started swelling yesterday. Now my legs are really swollen. I could not find the jeans in my suitcase so I am still wearing shorts with yoga pants underneath. My swollen legs are stretching my socks and yoga pants. My driver says, "You need more clothes. It's cold in Chicago."

 We arrive. I thank the driver for getting us here on time. My next bus is already boarding. I don't even have time to urinate much less charge my phone. My next driver is tall and handsome. He is scolding a man for not having patience. I show my ticket. He says I am in seat 8B. The people he is scolding tell me, "You have a seat! Get on the bus!" 

I say, "Okay, I will get on the bus. I am new at this so I need assistance." I find my seat. I am seated next to a man spreader. His foot is on my side. From Chicago to Saint Paul I am in contact with his foot, his thigh, and his elbows. I find him to be very irritating. Also I am grumpy so maybe it's me not him.

I ask, "Is there electricity?" The electricity is on his side. He plugs in my phone. I am so tired I try to sleep. After an hour I hear a thud and I hear the man spreader say, "Shit." That was the sound of my phone falling to the floor. I know that but I don't care. I stay semi-asleep. When I wake up my phone is missing. My white charging cord is there but no phone.

I wake him up. "Where is my phone?"

He reaches under the seat. "Here is your phone." He hands me my charging cord too. By this time the sleep and food deprivation has moved my personality to the grumpy side. I am a grump. At 7 a.m. we come to the Wisconsin Dells MacDonald's. I have been without my morning coffee for days. I am going to have a coffee. 

 Our grumpy driver says we will be here for 20 minutes. He says we should not wait 15 minutes and then try to make an order. We should make an order immediately.

I attempt the McDonald's computerized ordering system but there is no way to ask for an egg McMuffin without meat so I wait at the counter for a staff. My man spreader seat/mate says, "Miss, I don't think anyone is going to take your order. Do you want my help in ordering at this station?" He is being nice but after he's been man spreading all night I am not taking in any niceness from him.

I respond grumpily, "No I will wait here." We all wait a long time.

With great pride I pick up my order before he picks up his. I swallow my egg mcmuffin. My throat seems to have trouble coordinating a swallow. Whatever, this is a meal. Almonds and cheese sticks are not enough After living on snacks I needed a meal. I carry my coffee to the bus.

Do I need coffee? No, I can live without coffee. I don't get a caffeine withdrawal headache. Am I happier with coffee? Yes, yes I am happier with coffee. We cross the Saint Croix river into Minnesota. All the passengers are looking at their phones or sleeping. I grumpily think to myself that this is scenic. Open your eyes and look out the freaking window. This is amazing scenery. I keep those thoughts to myself and look forward to getting off of this bus.

We arrive at Union Station in Saint Paul. Offspring #2 is already here waiting for me. I find my way to the parking area. Offspring #2 has a coffee waiting for me.

I am done with Greyhound. Thank heaven!

Lessons learned 1. Greyhound is affordable transportation but maybe not the best way to travel the country south to north. A shorter route is preferred. 2. I don't need coffee but I am a happier person with some form of caffeine. 3. I need to sleep in a bed at night. Chairs don't cut the mustard.

 

Stunningly Gorgeous

Today I drove to Winona to look at an apartment. I was early. I remembered that one talkative guy told me about a zigzag road that took you up Barn Bluff to Memorial Park. Dang, today they locked the gates. I kept driving until I came to Coleville Park.

I saw a couple of guys putting in a boat. I thought they were dedicated anglers. I looked again and one man was wearing waders and stood next to an orange fence similar to the ones I saw to protect the wild rice from the geese in the Saint Louis River. On my way back I saw the sun shining on the Wisconsin side. The area around here is stunningly gorgeous.

 

Booya

 Today I drove down the road apiece to my cousin's booya. This cousin and her younger brother remember my sister Cathy so it's always nice to see them. We sat and talked, danced and sang along to the music, ate and drank. Many people don't know what booya is but it's basically a soup of meat and vegetables and spices. I wished I was in a band. The drummer looked like he was having much fun. I spoke with my aunt. I learned some things about my other cousins. Today was a perfect day for a family gathering.

Crex

Today I drove 20 minutes to visit Crex Meadows. I have been here before with a couple car loads of Master Naturalists. I visited the visitor center and got a nice map with 20 spots marked to visit and a paragraph or two about each spot. This area was used to make carpets of Carex sedges back when they made carpets out of sedges. Now it is an important place for waterfowl to rest during migrations. Much of the area is off limits to hunters and trappers.

I saw 5 pairs of trumpeter swans, many Canadian Geese, several sand hill cranes and, most important of all, I scared 3 sharp tail grouse off the road.

Much of the land has been restored to look like it did in the early 1800's

 

The Lilacs Are Confused

 

I am temporarily staying in Siren, Wisconsin. Siren, originally Syren, is Swedish for lilacs. The lilacs must be confused by the weather because they are blooming in September.

Across

Going across the La Crosse river in La Crosse.

 

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

Returning to Minnesota after being in Pennsylvania, I decided not to fly home. I wanted something different. Amtrak from Harrisburg to Saint Paul cost me $345. Here is a picture out the train window as we crossed the Susquehanna River.. We left at 2:45 p.m. and expected to arrive in Pittsburg by 8 p.m. Commercial traffic and flash flood warnings slowed us down. Beside me on the train were some real loud characters. I was glad when they left the train in Lewisburg. The train to Chicago was expected to leave at 11:45 p.m. The train was an hour late.

I was assigned a seat upstairs on the train next to a young man. I tried to sleep but it was difficult. A guy across the aisle offered me his pink neck pillow. Instead I asked him how to put up the foot rest. In the morning I went to the dining car for coffee and a bagel as we drove through Elkhart, Indiana. I could have gotten a sleeper car. A sleeper car would have cost me $850. That would have been an expensive night.

Chicago has a very nice train depot. I waited here a couple of hours. Once back on the train we went north to Milwaukee before heading west across Wisconsin. We went through the Wisconsin Dells.

We crossed into Minnesota at La Crosse. The man who sat next to me from Chicago to La Crosse drank a small bottle of whiskey about every half hour. I almost asked him for one but I figured he maybe needed it more than I did.

Crossing the Mississippi River and saw a steam boat.

Here we are at Red Wing behind the Saint James hotel. The train depot on Kellogg Boulevard was very impressive but not quite as large as the one in Chicago. I got home tired but it was an interesting journey.

 

Apostle Islands

 

The next morning we drove to Ashland, Wisconsin to take a boat tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. I have visited here before on a guided kayak trip. This boat was much longer. The 3 1/2 hour tour was maybe an hour too long. The captain of the boat did a great job explaining the geology and history of each island we saw. The weather was perfect. We stayed inside which was okay because I saw some people outside without hats turning redder and redder in the sun. Afterwards we visited the Apostle Island National Lakeshore Visitor Center where the girls got another Junior Ranger badge.

Prairie Du Chien

Prairie Du Chien is a surprisingly flat town surrounded by dolomite cliffs. Here is a building on Saint Feriole Island. This island has great walking paths and biking paths. Two bridges come over the west branch of the Mississippi River. Lots of people were fishing today. Previously mussel shells were collected here for pearl buttons. Mussels were taken until the mussel population failed and plastic buttons were invented in the 1940's.

Like Hollywood, they even have their name up on the hill only it's  not the full name, just the initials.

Lots of nice parks in this town. Little flags on the street posts in the park bear the name and picture of each 2024 Prairie Du Chien high school graduate.

 

Driftless Area

I really enjoy the driftless area here in Wisconsin. This area was never covered with ice during the last ice age so the hills are steep and the river valleys are steep. Forests top the ridges. The area is very attractive. This is a picture of the House On The Rock which is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This is a picture of Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's home, office, and school. This was designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

End Of The Duluth Chapter

 When I moved into my apartment in Duluth in early March of 2020 I flattened the boxes and stored them in the basement. Starting in November I brought those boxes back up and filled them again. Many of the boxes had contents written on them so I tried to fill them with what was marked. That didn't always work out. Last Tuesday I hired the movers to come in and move most of the stuff except my clothes and food. Yesterday I removed everything, vacuumed, scrubbed, swept and polished. The apartment is cleaner now than when I moved in. Now my stuff is in storage. The things I really need are in my car and I am on a road trip of undetermined length. As I drove through La Crosse, Wisconsin this afternoon I got a phone call from a man in my international folk dance class. He said Duluth got 2 inches of snow today. That made me smile. Right now I  am at the Don Q Motel in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. I came down to visit the house on the rock. Poor planning on my part, the house on the rock is closed today and tomorrow. Also, the house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in closed until April. I might have to stay another day here in Dodgeville. In any case, I am done with Duluth. My move there didn't go as expected. Due to the pandemic it took longer to make friends and join clubs. I eventually got a social life that was satisfying. Duluth is a beautiful town but I just can't take the winters anymore.

Wisconsin Dells

 Yesterday we left the Wisconsin Dells. After visiting the Crane Center we checked into our Mount Olympus hotel and got our green wristbands. The green wristbands open the hotel door, our room door, give us admission to the water park, and pay for anything we want to buy. A White Claw, normally a drink in a can worth two dollars, costs $8.75 if you pay via your wristband at the water park. We avoided the extra charges and went swimming in the wave pool. We also used the kiddie slide. Later we waited half an hour to use a yellow slide. We walked up four stories of steps and got into a inflatable raft. We hung on tight as the raft went down the yellow slide taking turns at angles and sliding down to ground level in about one minute. Yes, there was some screaming by me. The next day we arrived at ten a.m. when the park opened. We found a different wave pool. We tubed down a lazy river. We found a pool designed for smaller children and stayed there awhile. We went back to the wave pool before taking showers and getting dressed. We had lunch and left the Wisconsin Dells about 1:30. This is my first trip to the Wisconsin Dells since 1973. Things have changed quite a bit. I feel no need to go back again. We had fun but I see no reason to drive that far to have fun in a waterpark.

International Crane Center

Yesterday we drove from near Gary, Indiana through Chicago to Baraboo, Wisconsin to visit the International Crane Center. Here is a grey crested crane. When I was in Kenya in 2008,  I was in a van. Our tour group was taking a short cut through a farmer's field. Our guide said, "Look to the left. There is a grey crested crane." Sure enough, I saw a tall skinny bird with a wonderful gold crest on it's head walking elegantly through a field. I was impressed. I decided then and there that I wanted to learn about birds so I could have the same effect on others as that guide had on me.

So a grey crested crane got me started on birdwatching.

This is a wattled crane.

Siberian cranes have ridges on their bills to tear touch vegetation out.

Whooping Cranes are cool.

 

Your Plane Is In The Hangar

Yesterday the flight from Harrisburg, PA to Chicago, IL went off without a hitch. I checked my roller bag at the door of the plane and put my back pack in the overhead bin leaving me with plenty of leg room. I finished my book on my phone and could not download anymore while in the air so I just looked out the window at Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Once in Chicago it was a mile hike to the next gate but that went fine. We were supposed to board the plane at 8:10 p.m. but there was no plane to board. At 8:15 a plane was towed to our gate only to be towed away to another gate. We waited. I stook and waited because I don't like to sit so long. This morning my daughter-in-law gave me a 30 minute lesson on how to do full range of motion on all my joints and I was feeling pretty good as far as my joints went. At 8:45 I ate an orange because I was bored. We were told that our plane was coming from a hangar. So we weren't waiting for a plane to unload and be cleaned. We were waiting for a plane to be towed to us from a plane garage. That knowledge wasn't so helpful. A little bit after 9 a plane was towed to our gate. Even the two pilots and one flight attendant were happy to see it arrive. I checked my roller bag at the door of the plane and put my backpack in the overhead bin. The plane was entirely full with the exception of one empty seat - the empty seat next to my seat. Score! My book I downloaded at the airport wouldn't show on my phone so I stared out the window. This is a picture of Chicago with Lake Michigan across the top. We flew along Lake Michigan to Green Bay and then headed across the beautiful state of Wisconsin. I ate a free bag of pretzels. I read an article about airplane travel affecting your sense of taste. The air in the airplane is so dry that you can't taste many foods. The air is part of the reason airline food tastes so bland. The article recommended eating and drinking savory foods. I don't usually drink tomato juice but I always get it on a flight. I used Google maps to watch the plane progress over streets and streams. I know I shouldn't do that but it was fun to watch my speedy progress. We arrived in Duluth before 11 p.m. All four of the landings I had on this short trip were excellent. I experienced no bouncing or skipping. Are pilots more talented or are they using artificial intelligence to do the landing? I really don't know.  I got my bag and rolled out of there. I went across the street, past the parking ramp to the open lot near the exit. I had parked my car on top of a pile of snow and now my car was lowered to the pavement. I paid $52 to leave. As I left the airport road I came across a huge puddle in the road. I watched the car in front of me make a huge splash so I drove around the puddle. I was home in 10 minutes.