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August 22, 2004
Riding Around America: Mississippi Travels
I have now entered the family portion of my trip which includes much relaxing at my parents place just outside Minneapolis. Yesterday morning we went out for a drive, heading south along the Mississippi River and into Iowa and Wisconsin.
The first attraction we hit was Spook Cave in McGregor, Iowa. It has 6"-2' of water in it and is fairly small, so groups of eight (plus one guide) are taken in on rowboats powered by trolling motors. At several points we had to duck to avoid scraping the ceiling, and there was a bit of tomfoolery in the back seats when some people splashed the extremely cold water on others - I won't name names. Our guide had a head of flaming red curly hair (like Carrot Top the comedian) and, judging from the way he talked, was very bored. Not only that but both of the tour guides on other boats that we passed in the cave spoke the same script and even used the same bored-sounding inflection in their voices!
After the exciting boat trip we hit the road again and went to Effigy Mounds National Monument, also in Iowa. There we saw a demonstration of the atlatl, a prehistoric throwing weapon, and walked a short portion of their 11 miles of trail, which go to the bluffs above the Mississippi River. The mounds themselves were created by Native Americans all over the midwest, but only in this part of Iowa were they consistently created in animal shapes.
Next we made a beeline up the road to our hotel in LaCrosse, WI because they serve free drinks between 5:00 and 7:00 each evening. All four of us took advantage and managed to put away a half dozen beers plus some vodka, Kahlua and Bailey's. We walked it off around 8:00 and had dinner at a Cajun place - yes, a Cajun restaurant in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
This morning and afternoon we meandered back home and had a nice picnic in Red Wing along the way. It marked the third time I have been in Red Wing on this trip (the Empire Builder passes through) and I'll go through it one more time on my way back to New York at the end of the trip.
And by the way, I haven't forgotten about the Chicago pictures. They'll be up soon.
Posted on August 22, 2004 at 12:26 AM
Comments
What nice report. I have ridden the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight and Sunset Limited so was famialier with some areas that you wrote about Soon I ride the Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and City of New Orleans. Hope the connection works in Chicago.
I will be taking my new computer with Wireless any tips?
Mahalo
Eric
Posted by: Eric Minton at August 23, 2004 5:15 AM
Try to find as many free access points as possible before you leave, so that you know where you can go in each city to get an internet connection. There are a lot of websites that list access points (too many to list here). You also can check public libraries. If you are staying in hotels along the way, book the ones that have internet access for guests if possible. When all else fails, use NetStumbler and connect to someone's unprotected, unencrypted access point.
Posted by: manyhighways at August 24, 2004 3:51 AM
Thanks...for a great travelogue....
I used to ride trains as a young person...and traveled a few times as an adult(flying to CA)& after markets...returning to the Mid-west by train.
Thank you again...
Happy Journals!!!
Posted by: Wilcox at August 24, 2004 1:39 PM