Weekend on the Mississippi

W

_Westy_

Joined
Dec 19, 2009
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The missus and I spent a long weekend up on the Mississippi River, bouncing between Iowa and Wisconsin. Our soon to be 4 year had been requesting a weekend with grandma and grandpa so we seized the opportunity to have a weeeknd alone, something we have only done one other time in nearly 4 years.

We make a yearly trip to Gays Mills, Wisconsin in the Fall to hit up the apple orchards and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the river. This was a tradition my grandparents started over 50 years ago and now since they have passed, I am keeping the tradition alive. One of the things we always like to do is grab some cheese, crackers and summer sausage or salami and have a little picnic by the river. This is someone that my wife and I started on our first trip and have incorporated it on every trip we take.

This year we camped at Pikes Peak State Park on the Iowa side, in McGregor, IA. This park is small but more than makes up for it with the view overlooking Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Weather was perfect – highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s and 60’s. We were a bit early for the leaves but could see a hit of color coming, the next few weeks are going to be gorgeous up there.

I traveled light from a cutlery standpoint – taking only my Hiking Buddy, Surls Lil Ness and a Wetterlings Bushman axe for making kindling. I rotated between the Hiking Buddy and Lil Ness for EDC.

On to the pictures…

The trusty Timberline.



The view from the lookout.




Tugboat!




Dawn on the river




Fixing coffee after watching the sunrise.



Drip, drip, drip...




Lunch - Lil Ness pulled sausage, cheese and apple slicing duty




Enjoying a Spotted Cow and a burger.







Sunset on Saturday was awesome.




Camp fire shot




Some of our bounty (not pictured is a cooler full of cheese)...








Already looking forward to our return trip...
 
Great thread! I am going to miss the apple orchards in Michigan this year, as I have the last two years, but man I do not miss the winter :)
 
Pour over coffee is the best! Looks like you had a great time. Sunsets captured were just beautiful.
 
Love this time of year. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I grew up just north of there, and it reminded me of good times as a child. Thank you.


Dano_25
 
Man, what a great looking trip. So good for a relationship. Leah and I have had a great year together with neato trips that left us feeling close together. Getting back home to a teenager and a 9 year old hurt a bit though... I have a special place in my heart for the Mississippi. That looks beautiful. Nice post.
 
You realize that I live just south of Bellevue Iowa.... in Sabula, Iowa aka the Island City! You spent the weekend just up stream from here! :)
 
I'm planning a trip of my own north of Lacrosse next month. Great pictures! I especially like the one of dawn on the river. There are a lot of breweries in the great state of Wisconsin, but New Glarus Spotted Cow is always a favorite.
 
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Thanks for for some great pics. We all can learn to enjoy life a little more and slow down with these kind of trips.
 
Thanks everyone! This was a much needed little get away from the daily grind and something my wife and I don't do nearly enough. I think this was our second weekend away in nearly 4 years since our little one was born. No schedules, both got to eat hot meals and beautiful scenery to top it off. Great weekend all the way around.
 
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