July In La Crosse Wi

 Roses are blooming!

Pine Grove flowers are doing well too!

July 4th: Mud Lakers went to Sad and Connie Forsters for our 10th annual gathering.  There were 35 people representing 10 households.  Great crowd. Great conversations and Great fun and food.  The sky threatened rain but by 1:00 the rain stopped and the sun came out. 

 

We have a couple of Bucks coming around.  I am trying to get the little buck to eat out of the bucket while I hold it.  I am getting close!

Summer actually showed up, so we are able to spend a bit of time on the pontoon.  And a trip out to the Tree Farm.  the trees are all doing well..

So hot even the deer have to take a dip in the lake!

July 10: off to La Crosse Wi for a few days.  We stopped a few times for some hiking and lunch before arriving at Home 2 Suites in La Crosse

We are in the downtown area, 2 blocks from the Mississippi River.  

Dinner and Music: the pizza was very good and so was Steve Wilcox.  

Monday July 11: off to Prairie Du Chein to the state park

nice state park, lots of trails and not a lot of people. We found this Memorial plaque to the Passenger Pigeon..  

On our way to the state park we stopped for a few minutes to watch the barges go through the locks at Lock #8

The Lakefront has a lot of beautiful sculptures and walking paths

King Gambrinus, the Patron Saint and Guardian of Beer

On our way to dinner at Buzzard Billys we stopped at an Irish Pub for a beer

Buzzard Billys has outdoor seating but was not serving outside today!  We had a wonderful meal at The Crow instead.  But on our way back home we passed Buzzard Billys and sure enough 3 tables were filled and eating!!  Hmmm.....

Tuesday July 12:  After breakfast we headed to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to look for the Whooping Crane.  We actually found 5!  We made a few stops on the way at some beautiful parks. On the way back we stopped at Humbird Cheese in Tomah.  We have not been there in about 10 years.  Loaded up on some great cheese!!

Whooping Cranes:

After a brief rest and a bit of cheese we walked to City Brewery

A more colorful version of King Gambrinus 

We called Billy's to ensure they were indeed servicing the outdoor tables.  Yes..  come on by.  So we did and we enjoyed the whole experience!

Crawfish tails:

Catfish

Blackened Shrimp

July 13: Wednesday another beautiful day   We headed to Trempealeau NWR for a great walk although a bit buggy. The refuge office was closed and just a few people wandering around.

Another Lock and Dam visited.  We ended up visiting #5, #6, #8 and #9..  only seen it working on #9

La Crosse has some great Art work..  Eagle Watch

We went to the International Gardens before stopping at La Crosse Distillery for a bite and beverage

the smoked trout spread was really good,

 I had the Bloody with a side of Spicy Wisco Sidecar, which is beer aged in a barrel used to make Habbenaro pepper sauce.  Oh yes the beer was a bit spicy...  Eric ended up drinking it by putting it is his Michelado which was made with Bloody Mary mix, lime juice and the hot beer!  

We went to the Waterfront for dinner, had to wait 70 minutes for a table!  Wedge salad and chicken sandwich were great.  Great service and of course beautiful view of the river. 

Thurs: Up to Grandad Bluff for our morning hike

Nice trails and beautiful views of La Crosse 

We went to a few other parks and trails before taking a break before our Cruise!

The boat was a bit more crowded than we like, and everyone was on the upper deck and did not stop talking.  The noise level from all of the yakking was hurting my ears.  No one appreciated the beauty of the river!

After our 90 minute tour we went to Pettibone park across the river from us but still in Wisconsin. before going to Huck Finns for wonderful dinner and my first Tom Collins!  Oh so good and refreshing.

Friday: time to go home. What a wonderful week we had here in La Crosse.  We managed to fill our days and seen just about everything we wanted to see.  We did run into Detours everyday!  One took us about 30 minutes out of our way!  We enjoyed our rides through the country side and small towns, our many stops at local parks and restaurants and Lots and Lots of outdoor dining in La Crosse. 

Our trip home was delayed a bit because of a rain storm.  We finally left the hotel about 8:00 am .  Went across the river to Minnesota to drive through Winona and a few other towns. 

We stopped for a walk a few times and to look for the Yellow Breasted Chat.  Yep we found it!  5 new year birds this trip.  We were expecting/hoping for 2-3 new year birds, so delighted in our finds. Back to reality.... mowing, cleaning etc...