Tree Top Retreat

A local family in Trempealeau had their big reveal by Tree House Masters.

Rumor has it the company was building a large tree house project down river and ran a contest for another tree house to be built.

Lucky ducks.

Here are a few pictures when I had the chance to pass by on First Street in the Village of Trempealeau.

Stops in the name of Fun

Birch Lighting

Along the way we stopped at the Art in the Park in Lanesboro, MN. A couple of my favorite finds a lady that created birch lighting fixtures.

Wired Sculpture

Another artist that amazed me was a wire sculpture artist www.budbullivant.com. Would have loved the set of deer running along. He really captured the emotion of motion. I at least left with an ornamental walleye.


Lunch on the Root

 

Pie Guy

After a little lunch at the Riverside on the Root we stopped by Aroma Pie in Whalan, MN. Right along the Root River Bike Trail, a must for a pick me up. We had the Rhubarb Custard and Raisin Sour Cream. Both delicious, it was hard to choose.











Another very out of the way place near Lanesboro was Avian Acres. You could really feel the passion for birds with this one man operation and a barn full of avian supplies and gifts. He was busy answering all sorts of questions on how to attract certain birds.










I think you'll fall for all the fun stops in and around Lanesboro and Forestville Mystery Cave State Park.

I'ts all about the Journey

This is how they roll.

They say getting there is half the fun.

When we stopped for a day in Lanesboro, Minnesota we saw all sorts of rigs and outfitters ready to set you up with bikes, canoes, kayaks, tubes or take your around by horse and buggy.











This little town is the mecca of bike trails, country roads and the Root River all tangled into one hub of activity.










Motorcycles must stop at here at the Iron Horse Outfitters and Inn. The shop is decorated with these enormous recovered vents turned into lighting.
















Also found this great art work by DC Customs. Here's their contact information caper150@gmail.com

Lots of family activity on the Root River Bike Trail which runs from Fountain to Houston, Minnesota. The 42 miles of paved trail goes through rural communities catering to visitors.

























Try the local transportation.





Another fun thing to do take a personal tour with Bluffscape Amish Tours or tour the country side and visit the Amish local bakeries and shops on your own.







For a lazier approach on a hot day, you can ride the Root River on an inner tube. Lots of businesses will transport you upriver.

Felt like all roads led to Lanesboro.

Trout Fishing in the Area

South Branch of Root River

Several trails in the Forestville Mystery Cave State Park were along the long and winding trout streams.

Elusive Fly Fisherman

If you are quiet you can observe  fisherman in deep concentration. He never even saw us.






National Trout Center, Preston, Minnesota


To discover more about this passion of casting for trout we had to stop in at the Trout Capital of Minnesota, Preston.

Display of Fly Tying Essentials

In town we visited at the National Trout Center to learn the art of tying a fly. The staff helped us wind, cut and glue our very own flies, while answering questions.

My first Fly

The fishing fever is everywhere, in Lanesboro we stopped at the Root River Rod Company, a local outfitting shop that had everything you'd need to get started.








 

Root River Rod Company

We browsed the variety of flies for sale and various tools of the trade. The sales person was setting up a lady who just got hooked on trout fishing. What fun to find a new sport to dive into with such enthusiasm.

Flies for Sale



Also in the area is Lanesboro State Fish Hatchery which raises hundreds of thousands of trout for restocking streams. I guess this is catching on!

Minnesota Driftless

Mystery Cave

We've been exploring a few of Minnesota's State Parks. Recently we camped at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park. A unique park with an abandoned town missed by the railroad and Minnesota's largest cave.

Mystery Cave is located about 5 miles from the campground. We took a break from the summer heat and went cave exploring on the Scenic Tour. Lots of different tours for those that like spelunking to photos.

Entrance to Cave

The cave floods periodically so the big heavy doors are necessary to keep debris from filling it back up. The top slit is for the bats to come and go.




Art work

They had appropriated dollars for artwork on their visitor center. Bats were the theme.

Art installation

Note:
White Nose Syndrome has reached Mystery Cave.  It disturbs the bats hibernation so they are weakened and die before their food sources are available. We were disinfected before and after the tour so as not to spread it. Maybe 25% of the population will survive.

Forgotten Forestville







We didn't tour the forgotten town but it look like fun things for kids and lots of history.

Deep Sinkhole

The naturalist programs at the park included a Sink Hole hike at Cherry Grove SNA.

The Karst topography is one of the things that makes the driftless area unique. Sinkholes and caves are common because the glaciers did not cover the landscape filling in the with drift and rubble.





Periodically sinkholes just appear as the water seeps through the limestone below dissolving the foundation. This creates caves, springs and just plain big holes in the ground that seam to go nowhere.

We also learned about Squirrels, from Grey Squirrels, Flying Squirrels and my favorite Chipmunks or ground squirrels.


A little know fact the Minnesota Gophers team mascot if actually a squirrel.

Go Squirrels!

Pet Peeves

We all like to enjoy the park, but when it comes to some people and their pets that's my pet peeve.

They think they are doing their duty of bagging the pets waste but when it comes to taking real responsibility and taking it with them out of the park they drop the ball or bag.

Here's a bag from the parking lot, presummably secretly dropped before getting in their car. Park staff often finds these little gift bags also left by the vault toliet doors or worse yet dropped into the toliet only to have to be fished out by employees. Yes it's a dirty job.

Because the state parks are what you bring in you take out for the day users. There are no public trash cans for that morning cup of coffee, fast food bags or the poo from your pooch. Well, enough about responsible pet ownership.

To commemorate this blog and thank the people who deal with alot of shit day in and day out, I created some cupcakes under the theme "What kinda scat is that?".

This poos for you hard working folks at Perrot State Park.