Mississippi River Trip August 2012
Durand municipal park with camping. Our first night on our bicycle trip. In bed by 8:30 pm.
Village Inn Cafe in Durand. Great homemade food....they even offer mimosa's for breakfast!
We left Durand and headed west while paralleling the Chippewa River.
Our route kept us cycling into the hills. We climbed 750 feet that day! Can you see the Mississippi River?
We arrived in Pepin, which is a small village along the Mississippi River. Spent the afternoon sightseeing....the marina along the river was small, but very nice.
Enjoyed a nice walk along the marina.
Lisa & Ted (a.k.a. Bike man). Stayed overnight in Pepin at a local motel.
Meet a nice group of Brazilian men cycling from Minneapolis to Madison, WI. The guys stayed at the same motel, plus we met them the next morning at the Homemade Cafe in Pepin.
Outside the city limits of Pepin is a brand new vineyard called Villa Bellezza.
Wow, very fancy so I had to stop and take a photo as we headed out of Pepin.....looks like a castle!
Continued North along highway 35, which follows the Mississippi River. This is what they call Lake Pepin.
Of course we had to stop along the river and read the historical signs at the scenic overpasses.
The Mississippi bluffs are beautiful along highway 35.
The story of Maiden Rock along the river.
Apparently, the young Native American woman jumped from this bluff!
Continued on our way through the hills. This is Pine Creek....Bike man and I helped plant trees and native grasses during the restoration of this beautiful trout stream about 4 years ago.
We rode along a "rustic" road into the hills leaving the great Mississippi River. We climbed 1,490 feet that day!
On top of the big hill we discovered a small vineyard....beautiful.
Finally arrived in the small village of Plum City. Stopped to eat our tuna salad with crackers. Those hills make you hungry!
Ahhhh, I was thinking ahead. Bought two slices of homemade sour cherry pie at the Homemade Cafe in Pepin. It's amazing what you can carry on a bicycle. The only thing we missed was the ala mode (ice cream). The pie was totally delicious.
We kept climbing and climbing.....muscles were burning. One stop up the long 2 mile hill because of a down pour of rain and a thunderstorm. No where to hide, so we just stopped along the road and waited the storm out. Arrived at our next stop, Nugget Lake park.
The campground is pretty nice. Took a long hot shower after setting up camp....4 quarters gave you 8 minutes, whoo hoo! Enjoyed a freeze-dried meal for supper. In bed by 9 pm.
We left Nugget Lake park and rode another hilly day. Rode 1,455 feet of climbs, so by the time we reached Downsville, we were hungry.
Stopped in Downsville along the Red Cedar trail for a quick lunch. Meet another large group of riders from a church group. The group mostly enjoyed ice cream cones and malts. This was our last stop and we headed for home sweet home. Total miles on trip 125 for 3.5 days of riding. This is certainly a "hilly" ride.
