Northern Wanderings; Day 11

As we were loading the car this morning, the top was up and Chris just opened her car door when a bird dropped a load of crap right into the doorway onto the seat. How it missed Chris is a miracle to me. So I had to start the day cleaning bird doo off the seat and the convertible top.


Our travels today started at 8:30. As we departed our hotel in Onalaska, WI it was sunny and 65 degrees. Our route was Hwy 35 south out of the Onalaska/LaCrosse area to Prairie Du Chien, where we took 27 across the Mississippi River into Iowa, 18 west, 52 south, 13 south, 30 west, I-380 south, 218 south, J-62 east to 245th Ave south, to Deb & Tim's Ranch. We arrived at 3:20 with 275 miles under our belt. The high temperature was 83 degrees with low humidity. A great day for top down cruising.

Our first stop was at a roadside scenic view area on a bluff north of Genoa, WI on Hwy 35. There were some short trails to walk on and scenic views for picture taking.

Mississippi River viewed from a bluff north of Genoa, WI
Poonie at the scenic view area
In Genoa we stopped to check out Lock and Dam Number 8, which had barges waiting in the lock. The barges were headed up river. We saw the up-river gates open and watched the barges move out of the lock. The up-river gates closed and the water level in the lock lowered to the down-river water level. The down-river gates opened and another group of barges started to move into the lock. We left as that started because we'd already spent a lot of time watching the process.

barges in the lock; 3 barges across and 3 barges long

The drive southbound along 35 was beautiful with river views on the right and bluff views on the left.


Even the drive down 13 in northeast Iowa was pretty with hills and curves through corn fields, bean fields and wooded areas.



We stopped in Manchester, IA (old stomping grounds of Gayle, Chris' friend) for lunch at April's Downtown Diner. Food was delicious.


We were happy to see Tim, Aunt Myrna and Deb upon our arrival at the LeMatty Ranch.



To view all the pics and videos taken today click on this link: DAY 11 PHOTOS

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