Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge

We went over to Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge twice on this vacation. The first time we rode our bikes from Perrot State Park on the Great River State Trail which goes right past the campground and directly to the NWR. It was a very level ride on a sandy former railroad bed and we were at the NWR after about 2 miles of riding.

The reserve has three major plant communities on the refuge: sand prairie, backwater marsh and hardwood forest. The 4 mile loop drive is also part of the Great River State Trail, so we just kept pedaling! They've had a little more rain this farther north and as a matter of fact it rained a couple of times while we were here, helping them continue to escape the drought that southern Wisconsin is experiencing along with a lot of the rest of the country. Very shortly after the above photo was taken I skidded to a halt on my bike because there was a bald eagle on a branch to the right. Of course I had put my camera away! We eyed each other for a minute or two and then he finally decided to take off. I've never been so close to one before, that sandy trail must have softened the sound of our approach! We also saw a doe with two fawns running ahead of us alongside the road before they finally crossed and took off into the woods, and of course wildflowers. Anyone know what this yellow one is? With my luck, I'm sure it's an unwanted invasive species!

Otherwise it was a quiet ride and halfway through the loop we stopped at the observation deck to try to see some birds out on the wetlands. We walked over to the ranger station to talk to John Currier, the ranger who would be leading a canoe trip on the refuge in the morning, to firm up our plans to participate in the group paddle.  As we finished our bike ride we kept an eye out for the road to the boat landing so we would know where to arrive at sunrise.

We were up at 5:00 am the next morning and at the boat dock by 5:30. There was a group of 28 expected, so the rangers had us and a few others who had arrived early launch our kayaks and head out into the water.  I was glad that we did, because we got to see the sun rise, while the ones who arrived later missed it because the sky clouded over by that time.

As the group assembled, I got quite a few stares. I was loaded up for anything....GoPro camera strapped to my forehead, Canon SLR slung around my neck and point & shoot clipped to my lifevest! We made a video of the trip, but it'll take me awhile to edit it and get it up on the blog. During the paddle we saw a couple of groups of pelicans fly over, learned a bit about the invasive purple loosestrife...and stuck very close to shore because of the threat of rain, which was a disappointment. I was hoping for a paddle through the Mississippi backwaters and we never left the main pool on the NWR! Still, it was nice until the rain started an hour later and we all headed in. The most exciting part of the morning after seeing the sunrise was seeing a mink cross the road as we were driving out of the refuge! We'd never seen one in the wild before. This is a nice little refuge, and if you like to paddle there is lots of water here to do it as long as you don't mind the sound of the trains which run alongside the river!

These campers from Texas were at our park, too - loved their mosquito netting outfits!

Perrot State Park in Trempealeau

We packed up and headed out in the fiver for Perrot State Park in Trempealeau, Wisconsin on the Mississippi River last Thursday. We had just missed their annual Catfish Days celebration, but we enjoyed our time here so much that maybe we'll make plans to return for it another year! Most likely though, I'd want to come back during another season. We had to get up early every morning to beat the heat and get our physical activity done for the day.

Remnant of older home in Trempealeau, new home was built to the back of the property.

Notice the GoPro camera on my head...video to come later!

Perrot State Park has a lot to do including hiking, biking and canoeing. The campsites are great but the shower facilities...are pretty awful. Getting hot water didn't happen once, not even after the weekend rush, and the shower house wasn't as clean as it could have been either, with muddy floors and overflowing garbage cans. There were only 2 shower stalls in each of the 2 facilities for the ladies, and not all of the doors to the toilets and showers had working locks. On the bright side, they have a nature center with canoes for rent and access from the campground to the Great River State Trail.  We rode the trail twice, once into Trempealeau National Wildlife Reserve and another time into  town to go down to the Lock & Dam on the Mississippi River.  We only took the kayak out once for a paddle in the state park, but the hour paddle through Trempealeau Bay was nice.

 The real surprise was how nice the hike up West Brady Trail was.  We decided to give it a try at the last minute with not much time to go before sunset and had to hustle up to the top to get there in time for the big show. It was a shame because the trail itself was quite pretty. We wanted to go back last night a little earlier in the evening and do it again, but it was cloudy and starting to rain.

We got most of the way up in time for this gorgeous shot above, but by the time we got all the way to the top the sun had sunk behind some clouds. (Of course in reality it was not quite this orange to the human eye...but still!)   That little ribbon curving around the mountain is the path we took in our kayak around Trempealeau Mountain.  Oh, and while we were cooling off and admiring the view we got serenaded by cicadas, which was something I don't remember hearing for awhile. I'm not usually one for views from peaks...but Perrot State Park has a winner, in my opinion!

Busy Sidewalk

I got called in to work yesterday morning and while I was bringing my lunch out to my car I ran into a traffic jam on our front sidewalk.

Would you look at the size of that flower seed that ant was carrying! I had to sidestep him a couple of times as I went back and forth with my camera. He was weaving side to side with each step, and was especially amusing when he got to the large crack between the two sidewalk segments.

But the main attraction was a cicada I found, and a cicada shell nearby as well. The pictures I took of the cicada on the sidewalk were very flat due to lack of light so I gently moved it to a more optimal location. I don't know how the cicada felt about the whole situation, but I was quite pleased with the results!

Why I Refuse to buy popcorn from Boy Scouts

I posted a comment on my Facebook page showing my disappointment that Boy Scouts of America is still standing firm in their discrimination against gays, whether they be children or male or female adult leaders. A family member of mine just commented in reply that Boy Scouts is for boys and Girl Scouts is for girls and if gays don't want to stay in the closet they should form their own organization. Last time I checked gay boys were boys, right?

As a former Girl Scout leader I could not imagine the heartbreak of having to exclude a child due to their feeling the need to be honest about who they really were, not to mention having to be the one providing the environment where discrimination was part of the agenda.  As a Girl Scout leader I helped my girls try new things and gain confidence by encouraging their independence and unique voices. It didn't matter whether I or anyone else in the troop agreed with everything they said or believed, Girl Scouts is about making girls into the women of tomorrow. I only wish Boy Scouts of America had such aspirations.

If encouraging homophobia and discrimination is how they're creating a better world for the future, someone needs to tell them that's the world of the past and we're ready to move on from hate and exclusion. Every time I refuse to buy popcorn I look the leader in the eye and say I don't support Boy Scouts because they discriminate.

 Weren't those some happy looking young ladies?  Those girls loved each other, flaws (real or imagined) included. We had girls who had family troubles, girls who had difficulties at school, and one girl who was incredibly allergic to mosquitoes so couldn't camp with us. All were made to feel welcome and they all looked to us adults to set the tone in regards to inclusion and tolerance. Those girls watched and learned from every thing we said and did and sometimes that responsibility terrified me, but mostly it was just a joy to spend time with them.

By the way, the CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephenson, executive board member of the Boy Scouts of America, said he was committed to ending the ban. He takes over as president in 2012, according to Wahls. I sure hope this is true, but he's been "working toward ending the ban" for the past two years and failed already. I can't imagine being part of an organization that openly teaches children that only some people are valuable citizens. I was a proud member of the Girl Scouts of America and support their mission: building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. I hope someday the Boy Scouts of America feel the same way, but until then it's all about the cookies and not the popcorn for me!

Harrington Beach State Park...and Good Food at Last!

I got up last Tuesday morning, went for a short walk along the beach at Point Beach, and then spent five minutes packing up my campsite and heading out. Have I mentioned how much I love camping in my tent cot?!

I had a hair appointment scheduled for the afternoon in Kenosha, but wanted to stop off at Harrington Beach State Park since I'd be passing it on my way. It was different than other Wisconsin State Parks in that the campground is quite a distance away from the beach. They run a shuttle service back and forth on the weekends, apparently. The road system looks good for biking, as long as the traffic wasn't heavy like it probably is on the weekend. But, I was here on a sunny Tuesday morning and the campground was less than half full and the beach was practically deserted. There is a trail system that parallels the beach if you want to get out of the sun for a bit.

The park is the site of an old limestone quarry and a trail also winds around the quarry lake. No fishing or swimming allowed though! Spaced out along the shuttle bus road between the quarry lake and the beach are informational plaques about the quarry and the employee town that used to be there. It was a nice little stop and I was impressed especially with the beach which I felt rivaled anything in Door County without the Door County crowds. But, let's keep that secret amongst ourselves, okay?

By the time I left Harrington Beach State Park on Tuesday I was STARVING from lack of anything substantial to eat for the prior 3 days. But I held on until I made it to Kenosha because I knew that the world's best panini was waiting for me at Tenuta's on 52nd Street. They have an outdoor cafe area but I also needed to pick up a few Italian groceries so I went into the store to order my Portabella Mushroom 3 cheese panini. It may not look like much, but my taste buds were so grateful, let me tell ya! I topped it off with a handful of Tenuta's dark chocolate covered walnuts....heaven! I also brought home a pound of the best smoked gouda I've found in the state so I could make my own paninis at home.

Little Devil's Tower, Custer State Park 2009

 Little Devil's Tower trail in Custer State Park is the best hike that Wayne and I have been on so far. When we were in Custer State Park in 2009 it was recommended to us by the cashier at the gift shop when we told her we were looking for a hike that would give us a view of the Cathedral Spires. She told us it was a "fairly easy" hike and the best view of the spires so we breezed right by the information on the board at the trailhead and started walking. The first 1/2 mile meandered through some trees alongside a nice brook with a very gradual incline. I thought, hey, no problem! This is great! But after that first half mile you take the #4 trail to the left and things change drastically with  the trail becoming so steep and so rocky that we were slowed down quite a bit. However, we were undeterred, thinking this had to be temporary, because the trail was supposed to be "fairly easy", right?




 

 It did level out a bit, and we came to this big crack between the rocks. I stopped to catch my breath and take a few pictures and thought the worst was behind us and we'd be seeing those spires at any moment. I was struggling to breathe because I was dealing with some as yet undiagnosed allergy-related asthma. This trip opened my eyes and when we got home I went to the doctor and now am the proud owner of an inhaler!  During our hike we noticed that park officials had set out pheromone traps in an effort to stop the spread of the pine beetle.  There were piles of cut down trees everywhere that the beetles had been lured to. Check to make sure this trail is open before heading out, because apparently they closed it after we left to continue their campaign against this pest.

 But after passing through the crevice...the steep climb began again, and we followed the blue diamonds or paint on the trees and kept going up, and up, and up! We were starting to get a little worried because the sky was clouding up and we didn't want to be on that trail if it started to rain, but we pushed on!




Until finally we came around a bend and saw something that looked vaguely peak-like! But we still weren't done, so we made that final push and with quivering legs we clambered up to the top of Little Devil's Tower, still following blue paint, this time right on the rock itself.

It was worth the 1.5 mile climb, most of it nearly vertical. We had only passed one other couple during our hike and we had the top of the world all to ourselves. We spent a good 1/2 hour just resting and enjoying the views which included not only the Cathedral Spires but everything you could see for miles in every direction. I only wish the light had been better in order to capture how absolutely gorgeous it was up there!

 

We were up so high that a tour helicopter came up right alongside us and we all waved to each other. This helicopter I got the picture of came later and didn't come right by us but went straight to the Cathedral Spires instead. I thought it was a pretty neat shot with the rain clouds though. We didn't get an opportunity to hike this trail again when we were at Custer briefly last year, but if we ever get over there again I'm definitely going to head up with my camera gear at a better time of day and get some photos! Anybody in the area should make this hike a priority, it's moderately strenuous, but only 3 miles round trip and worth every step!

Woodland Dunes Nature Center

Woodland Dunes Nature Center is located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and is where I stopped to hike on Monday while exploring the Two Rivers and Manitowoc area.  I started my explorations on the Willow Trail heading toward the river, but after about a mile in I had to turn around and jog back to the car for some insect repellent. Mosquitoes! After applying I checked out their beautiful butterfly garden and on the advice of a volunteer headed back down the same trail again only this time I veered off to Todd's Pond and the Goldenrod Loop that encircled it. Destination...dragonflies! 

 

It's hard to remember to pay close attention to where you're walking while you're stalking dragonflies with your camera....I walked into two spider webs across the trail and brushed against a plant full of angry ants that bit as well.  Luckily I had my hat on or I would've gotten a face full of spider web!

When I tired of being attacked by the local miniature wildlife I exited the Willow Trail and made my way over to the Cattail Trail. The Cattail Trail had sedge meadows, shrub swamp, cattail marsh and alder thicket habitats all accessed by a lovely boardwalk. I stopped at David's Pond near the entrance to watch the dragonflies and frogs while cooling off in the shade.  After I got home I discovered there are a few more trails on the property that aren't accessed directly from the visitor center parking lot.  I'd also like to try the Willow Trail again, maybe in the fall when the mosquitoes have died down because I didn't quite make it all the way down to the West Twin River. It's always good to leave with something to look forward to on a return visit.