A TRIP to the past

Village of Trempealeau, Wisconsin

There's a new view in town.

Walk the remnants of the three Mississippian platform mounds along the Little Bluff Mounds Trail.

 



New Trail Dedication Sunday, June 4

See the past come alive. Learn about those who came before us. From early settlers of Trempealeau to the Cahokia civilization down the river.


Trail Head Main Street

Kiosk Information

Read all about it

 

Be sure to visit the Library and Perrot State Park too!

Join in the dedication of the Little Bluff Mounds Trail on Sunday, June 4 at the Main Street kiosk. The public is invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony and tour beginning at Noon until 2pm.


Sponsored by the Friends of the Little Bluff Mounds.

Any Questions contact Mary Reber 608-534-0020.













Information along the way.

Learn what's below the surface

Platform view

Knowing our place

Muddy Waters

Trempealeau Bay

Recent rains are rising the Mississippi and Trempealeau Rivers. Although the campground at Perrot State Park is high and dry for all the campers this Memorial Weekend it's putting a damper on a few activities.

Riverview Trail

Renting canoes and kayaks has been suspended for awhile until the water levels recede. Even the Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge access roads are closed.





A walk along the Riverview Trail was a little wet as you can see. It limited my walk but made for some unique photos.









Muskrat Family

I spotted some homeless Muskrats hanging out on a tree. The waters must have washed away their nesting lodge.


Looks like mom and her pups are a little blue about being displace.






If you need some cheering up this weekend there are lots of activities going on at the Nature Center. Follow the Friends of Perrot on their facebook page for details and upcoming events.


 

Sandhill Cranes

Pair of Sandhill Cranes at the boat landing

One of the tallest birds around Perrot State Park, the Sandhill Crane makes it's appearance in early spring. A welcome loud rattling Kar-r-r-o-o-o announces their arrival returning to nest in the Trempealeau Bay.







Cranes feeding on vegetation, insects, etc.


Paddling the Voyageurs canoe trail you may catch a glimpse of the fluffy orange off-spring in the next month as they hatch.

Out for a walk on the River Trail

Young Sandhill will stay with their parents for up to 10 months accompanying them on their migratory path to the southern US.



A few of my favorite things!

 Camping can be truly magical!









One of my favorite things about parks are the nature programs. The very welcoming staff and visitor center at Whitewater State Park made for an educational and enjoyable respite from the rain.

Fox Snake

 
 
 




We sat in on a lively presentation on snakes. The energy in the room was elevated by the boyscout troop camping in the park. Thank goodness for a calm naturalist and even calmer snake.

Bird Feeding Viewing Area



They have an awesome viewing area of birds at their feeders. So I had to try may hand at capturing some of the poses. Shooting through glass and rain.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Red Breasted Grosbeak

Baltimore Oriole

Downy Woodpecker

Dove

















Bird Banding

Another program at the park featured bird banding. It was easy pickings for the licensed banders. I played secretary learning how to decode the band sizes, listing observations, noting brood patches and logging in band numbers.




Indigo Bunting


We also made time to shop at the Nature Store. After careful consideration I purchased this miniature hummingbird feeder. I don't know how well it will work, maybe I'll just convert it into a magnet for my collection.


Mini Hummingbird Feeder

 



Rain, Rain Go Away

Our visit to Whitewater State Park, remotely set among woods and farmland, began with wondering what else there would be to do in the area since rain was in the forecast. At first it didn't seem promising since the area grocery stores were still renting videos. Did we turn back time?

It wasn't going to be a sunny weekend, so how did we spend our rainy days. I'll share.


A trip to Whitewater Winery, always a good place to start the day. One dollar wine samples and a snack of smoked salmon gave us hope. The owners love of wine was evident with a variety of Midwestern grapes.

Mayo Grand Entry

Then a short drive to Rochester, to take a subterranean walking tour of Mayo and the city of Rochester. We found it to be very quiet and lacking in activity as we started to enjoy the Chihuly glass hangings and grand hall. We were quickly escorted out as I guess it was closed on Saturday to the public. Acting like you know where you are going only gets you so far. I think pulling out my camera gave us away as tourists.

Chihuly Decor

Pucking Around

Sheilding ourselves from the downpours we thought we'd get a little action like the locals. Nothing like a hockey game to lift your spirits. It's no secret that we also made a trip to Traders Joe's for some three buck chuck.

Dis-Ableing

To end the day of dismal weather we seated ourselves down for a meal at the Elba House. Just a couple of miles up the road from the park and just below the fire lookout tower.

Walleye BLT and Whitewater Rueben

Fire Tower Elba, MN

We salvaged the day!

Whitewater Camping

 

Bridge in meadows

No, this is not a new extreme sport. We've expanded our state park visits to Minnesota. First up Whitewater State Park about half way between La Crosse and Rochester. Set in a valley surrounded by Driftless Bluffs, and a river really runs through it.





Whitewater River


The Whitewater River a long winding trout stream that has no bounds. Fed by springs and water shed from the hills it snakes between campgrounds and hiking trails.






Two leafed Miterwort

After recent heavy rains it was showing it true nature, shoving anything that gets in its way and cutting away banks and deposits from past floods.

Some may remember the torrential downpours in 2007, when over 10 inches fell in the area.. Nearly all the bridges in Whitewater State Park have been replaced and a new campground is currently under development.





Woodland Phlox








Nodding Trillium

We hiked trails through the meadow, along the trout stream and up the bluffs. Spring's flowers were everywhere. Here's a few that I usually don't come across.




 

Allegheny Monkey Flower

Columbine

We traveled to another area in search of Bluebells at Carley State Park. Unfortunately were past bloom. They even have a festival in early May to commemorate the event. I guess will put this on the to do list for next year.



A New Kid in Town

Living in a shaded woodland it's sometimes hard to find a new plant for the garden, especially a native one.

Good news there's a new kid in town, Driftless Area Natives sells native plants in Trempealeau, Wisconsin.







Joyce is by no means new to growing plants, many of you may remember her from the La Crosse County Extension Office. Her set up offers lots of prairie and woodland perennials specifically for our area and beneficial for local pollinators.





So what did I acquire and for those of you that know me where would I even put it?

Well the wishing well is now gone and will be replaced by a grotto/woodland whatever. Still to be determined I guess.





My new plant acquisitions are:






Pennsylvania Sedge


Carex pensylvanica -Pennsylvania Sedge for my part to full shade. Growing about 6 inches. As you can see from the photo it's a bright green and soft textured grass like that will spread. I just want to run my fingers throught it.












As an accent plant I'm trying:

Aster macrophyllus- Big-leaf Aster that will have a light purple flower in August. I like the contrast of big bold leaves and the soft grass combination.


You can follow her on facebook-

Driftless Area Natives-Plants for People and Nature in Trempealeau, Wisconsin

She does some great reviews on little known natives too!

You can find her at the Cameron Park Farmers Market in La Crosse today at 4pm.

Plus she's having an open house this Saturday, May 13 in Trempealeau
 N13375 Grana Lane. She's also open by appointment call 608-534-5101.








Don't Turn Your Back

It's inspiring to see the amount of birds migrating through Perrot State Park. FYI the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge is celebrating it's Annual Bird Festival, Sat. May 13

I moved to the Coulee Region over 40 years ago. It was truly a rare sight to see a Bald Eagle during those early years. Since the banning of pesticides and hunting the Bald Eagle is flourishing under the protection our nation has provided.

These days we are experience an age of undoing. Please support your favorite organizations that will assist in conserving our natural resources and quality of life for all.

May the Forest Be With You!

 

Happy May Day

Summer sun and fun are just around the corner.

Thought I'd share my recent cake made for a friends church event to celebrate August Birthdays. Monarchs and Sunflowers were made from Candie Melts. A laborious process which turned out well enough. However they are very fragile just like real butterfly wings.