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Above:
This is a view of the twin ribbons of the freeway, and of a
bit of the city of LaCross (the main part of the city is to the right,
just out of the photograph.
Left:
A turkey vulture overflies city and freeway while patrolling for a
meal. There are a number of turkey vultures, and eagles here, riding the
thermals of the bluffs, and taking advantage of the abundant food supply.
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An overall view of the freeway, and of
a bit of the outskirts of Lacrosse. The river is a bit broken up here,
and a couple of different channels can be seen.
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Yet another turkey vulture can be seen
looking for a meal. Form this view, it almost seems that we are in the
middle of nowhere, even though Lacrosse, and several smaller towns
are just a few miles away. Lacrosse itself is just outside of the photo,
to the right, and above.
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A far off view of the bluffs of Wisconsin,
over the Mississippi. yet another vulture hopes to find the remains of
some unfortunate animal. The coming of the freeways, and the resulting
road kills, must have been a real boon to the vultures.
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Picking wild flowers on the Minnesota bluffs
overlooking the river, and the freeway which crosses it.
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Peering out from the trees and assorted
foliage of the Minnesota side, and looking down the line of Wisconsin bluffs.
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A long shot taken of the Wisconsin side
of the river.
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The roads on the Minnesota side. I am heading
south toward LaCrescent, but will soon head back to LaCrosse, and take the
Wisconsin side down. There was road construction going on here at the time,
and I actually got lost for several hours, in Minnesota.
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Heading across the river, and back into
Wisconsin. The sign points the way back across into Minnesota.
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The lowlands north of LaCrosse. We are
headed into Onalaska, which sits right down at the river, and is subject
to flooding.
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These areas flood constantly, and there
is some farming here on the flats. It is literally mud farming, and the fields
will flood every year.
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More marshes, and lowlands. The has constantly
shifted throughout it's lifetime, and has left behind many little
lakes, marshes, and islets.
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The road to Onalaska.
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Back up on the river road, between Prairie
Duchien, and Lacrosse. These pictures are actually in revers order. I had
gone to Prairie Duchien at night, and these photos are actually of my heading
north, back to Lacrosse.
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The road is full of overhanging bluffs.
Fortunately, these are sandstone bluffs, and would be very difficult to
build on, particularly for structures of any size. What this means is that
it is unlikely that the area will ever be victim to significant development.
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Across a bridge spanning one of the many
creeks, rivers, and marsh areas that front the river. We area now heading
up into more bluffs. These will continue, without significant interruption,
for another sixty miles or so.
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A small farm sits on one of the few
flat open areas on this part of the river road.
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The road winds around a magnificent bluff,
one of many. After the first few miles, such sights become so commonplace,
that they pass almost without notice.
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Looking like a road up in the mountains,
this section of the river road hugs a bluff on one side, and is right up
against the river on the other.
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The road winds, bends, climbs and falls,
almost like an asphalt roller coaster, but with a view like no roller coaster
ever offered.
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The road climbs, and turns out of sight
around a bluffs. Who can say what is around the next bend?
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Small towns, and the occasional rest stop,
or store appear from time to time. The bluff area is rather undeveloped,
and it is unlikely that it will ever support a large population. The open
areas to the north, and particularly to the south are different, but these
areas of bluffs, and winding roads are as they were decades ago.
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Left:
Below:
The river widens out and begins to look almost like a lake here.
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