Sunset Bay Marina, Trempealeau,WI

Sunset Bay Marina located in Trempealeau,WI has reopened for business. They were closed for a couple of weeks due to heavy vegetation growth in the marina. The marina was saying it was due to a drawdown of the pool by the US Army Corps of Engineers but they are saying it was due to large amounts of rain and other factors. The important thing is that the Sunset Bay Marina located just north of Lock and Dam #6 is now open for business and their customers can now get their boats out and all of us other boaters can go there and use their facilities. It is a perfect place to park your boat of any size and be able to access the businesses in the Town of Trempealeau,WI, like one of our favorite cruise stops the Trempealeau Hotel.
For the Labor Day Weekend the Sunset Bay Marina is having live music Friday and Saturday nights starting at 8:00pm until midnight. If you plan to go by boat get there a little early they will probably fill up fast.
This article is resourced courtesy of Newschannel WXOW 19.....read more.
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National Eagle Center, Wabasha,MN

It was another great weekend to cruise the Upper Mississippi River Valley and this time we cruised to Wabasha,MN and stopped at the National Eagle Center. We have mentioned this place in our previous blogs but never actually took the tour. They have a nice dock to park at making it easy to walk up to the building. There is a small admission fee to get in. The first thing we did was to go see the live eagles they have on display.

The first one we visited was named Was'aka, he was their first male eagle and was found in Jacksonville, Florida. He had a tumor on his left eye which has been removed but leaving him blind. His original name was "Ari" but was changed by voting visitors to Was'aka which means "strength" in Dakota Indian language.

The next one we visited was named Donald, he was hit by a car in California and his wing was broken in two places and couldn't be properly mended so he became a member of the Eagle Center. He was named for the Donald Weesner Foundation which paid for his transportation to the Eagle Center. The next eagle was named Harriet, she was hit by a car in Wisconsin and had several surgeries to repair her heavily damaged left side, some of her wing had to be removed and she has arthritis and muscle damage which is why she is at the Eagle Center. She was named by a first grader.

The next eagle we visited was named Angel, she was a fledgling that was hanging out on the ground and broke a bone in her wing and had severe muscle damage, she survived by living off fish scraps dropped by nearby heron nests. She had surgery to try to repair her wing but the muscle damage was too much so she came to the Eagle Center and was named by a fourth grader.
Houseboating Excursions and friends got the pleasure on having our photo taken with an eagle named Angel. The size and beauty of these birds up close is truly amazing. The grip of their talons is more than 400psi, the machine they have to compare Troy's grip registered at 80psi, we will just say Hi when greeting an eagle no need to shake hand-to-talon.

On display was an eagle mask which is influenced by Native American sculpture from the Pacific Northwest and carved from a large white cedar log. The top of the eagle's head is painted in the form of Mississippi River channels with symbols of local flora and fauna. The white cedar is considered a spiritual wood and the smoke is seen favorable to the heavens and the eagle is the messenger of the spirit world.

This photo of a golden eagle sat on top of an unknown steamboat but is a symbol of pride, protection, and bringer of good fortune.

The silver eagle represents a Bicentennial Eagle sculpted by an artist, A. Giannelli, and donated by a couple that loved to visit  the Eagle Center.

The photo of the two eagles represents courtship and not fighting, the male and female grab their talons together and cartwheel down to almost hitting the ground and then fly up and do it again building a strong bond and engage in playful flirtation.

The photo of the circle cage represents the size of an average eagle nest. The Bald Eagle holds the world record of the biggest nest ever built, 20ft. deep, 9.5ft. wide. and weighing 3 tons.

For all you Harley-Davidson riders they also are offering a chance to win one of America's pride and joy motorcycle.

There is also a large balcony outside to view the Mississippi River and watch a commercial barge come up river and if you use their supplied telescopes you can even see some wild eagles hanging out in the area. There is so many more things to see and information classes to sit in on, that the National Eagle Center is a must see for the entire family when visiting the Upper Mississippi River Valley, you will not be disappointed.
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Sunset Bay Marina Closed

At the time this is being written the Sunset Bay Marina in Trempealeau,WI is closed temporarily for business due to heavy aquatic vegetation. The marina is located on the north side of Lock and Dam #6 in a small bay and is swamped with aquatic vegetation that is more than a foot thick, along with debris and dead fish creating a terrible odor. There are a lot of boats stuck in the slime and can't get out. The owner is saying that it all came in to the marina when the Lock and Dams did a drawdown in Pool 6. A drawdown is done by the US Army Corps of Engineers that manage the Mississippi River levels using the Lock and Dams, and with all the rain this area has gotten this summer drawdowns are becoming more frequent then normal. The US Army Corps of Engineers wanted to drawdown the river level in Pool 6 by a foot which exposes the river bottom to sunlight and oxygen and this aids in the production of emergent vegetation or plants that are above water and it builds habitat for fish and other wildlife. The marina sits in a low point on the river and becomes a catch basin because there is no outlet. The owner blames the drawdown for creating the excess vegetation to become loose and that the water level in the marina dropped by about 3 feet causing everything to come down river and into the marina, but the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Natural Resources from Wisconsin and Minnesota all tracked the drawdown from Lock and Dam #5 which is further north and said they could not prove anything if the drawdown hurt or helped so there was no effect. They are saying that the vegetation in the marina is not from the drawdowns. The owner has hired a weed harvesting company to come in and remove the vegetation but it is going to be a long and slow process.
Unfortunately for all of us houseboaters and boaters in general without the access to the marina there is no way to get to places in Trempealeau by boat like one of our favorite cruise stops the Trempealeau Hotel or any of the other restaurants in town. The bar and grill Hungry Point in Trempealeau is located south of Lock and Dam #6 and is not affected by vegetation build up so it is still accessible by boat. We will keep you informed about when the marina reopens this year so we can all go in and enjoy what Trempealeau,WI has to offer.
Resource for this article is courtesy of La Crosse Tribune....read more
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Sands on the Riverfront 2010

             Sands on the Riverfront is a weekend festival held at Riverside Park in La Crosse,WI. Its an annual event that is a friendly competition of sand sculpting and it benefits people with disabilities at a organization called Riverfront. This organization helps over 2,300 individuals with disabilities by giving them the support they need to find jobs and earn paychecks to live independently and to make friends and enjoy recreational activities. While your are walking around looking at the sand sculptures there are people roaming around selling sand dollars which is a form of currency that you use to vote for your favorite sand sculptures, play a game, in a game tent they have set up, and ride a Big E train provided by the" The Big e!" The Big Event Company. All the proceeds go to helping out the people of Riverfront. This year's theme was called: Adventure in Candyland, as you notice all the scupltures look like candy objects. The sand sculpting always starts on a Friday about 8:30am and ends at 4:00pm and you can vote on which one you like the best and they tag each sculpture with a winner of separate categories at 5:00pm. On Saturday this year they also featured a car show, NASP archery shoot, and Rollover Convincer. Riverside Park has a permanent stage that features different activities throughout the weekend. There were 5 artists with each having over 20 years of sculpting experience and they travel all over the world competing in sand and snow sculpting. The festival is sponsored by several local businesses in La Crosse,WI. This year the sculptures got hit with a strong storm about midway through but were able to save their work and it was a great show.
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Lock and Dams on Mississippi River

As we continue to cruise up and down the Mississippi River we have to lock through many different Lock and Dams. We all know that they are all equipped with a signal rope to alert them of your approach and we know they monitor channel 14 on the CB radio. With the invention of the cell phone we have noticed it is easier to call the Lock and Dam and notify them of your approach being that not everyone has a CB radio and it can be difficult to get a boat up close to a concrete wall and pull their signal rope. These two methods are still preferred , but here are phone numbers for the Lock and Dams you will most likely go through when cruising from Red Wing,MN to Prairie Du Chien,WI:

• Lock and Dam #3 Red Wing,MN: 651-388-5794
• Lock and Dam #4 Alma,WI: 608-685-4421
• Lock and Dam #5  Minnesota City,MN: 507-689-2101
• Lock and Dam #5a Fountain City,WI:507-452-2789
• Lock and Dam #6 Trempealeau,WI: 608-534-6424
• Lock and Dam #7 La Crescent,MN: 507-895-2170
• Lock and Dam #8 Genoa,WI: 608-689-2625
• Lock and Dam #9 Lynxville,WI: 608-874-4311

If you are cruising outside our home range toward Minneapolis,MN or down to Guttenburg,IA  here are their phone numbers to help assist you in locking through these dams:

• Upper St. Anthony Falls, Minneapolis,MN: 612-333-5336
• Lower St. Anthony Falls, Minneapolis,MN: 612-332-3660
• Lock and Dam #1 Minneapolis,MN: 612-724-2971
• Lock and Dam #2 Hastings,MN: 651-437-3150
• Lock and Dam #10 Guttenburg,IA: 563-252-1261

All these Lock and Dams offer free tours of their facilities throughout the year, it is recommended to call that specific Lock and Dam you are interested in and set up an appointment for a tour because there are times when the Lock and Dam might be doing maintenance and no tours will be allowed.  If there is a festival or a community activity is going on in which the Lock and Dam is located they will offer a free Open House to tour their facility. All these Lock and Dams mentioned here are monitored by the St.Paul,MN District Army Corps of Engineers, here is a link to their web site to help with more information you may want to know.
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Cruise to Old Man River, McGregor,IA

It was another beautiful day here in the Upper Mississippi River Valley to cruise to one of our favorite bar and grills. We cruised the river to one of our cruise stops, McGregor,IA. There is a nice marina here that offers parking for just about any size boat. If you come in a boat under 30 feet you can park in their free docks and it is a short walk to town. If your boat is over 30 feet long then pull up to the main gas dock and they will direct you to a boat slip for a small fee. Today we went to our favorite bar and grill called Old Man River Restaurant and Brewery. It is only a couple of blocks from the marina. The atmosphere is wonderful and they also offer screened-in outdoor seating. They are also a micro brewery and offer some very delicious micro beers. Some of the unique flavors are called: Helles, Pils, Marzen, Dunkel, Weizen, and their own Old Man River Root Beer. You can check their web site from the link we provided to see what the beers are made of. They do offer a sampler tray for $3.50 to try them all.

Today Troy had their  Weizen and Dunkel beers. The Weizen was a wheat beer that was a little sweet and extremely good even a non-beer drinker like  Beth liked it. The Dunkel was a dark beer and was extremely good, not too bitter and very smooth. They offer the opportunity to take these beers with you in the form of a jug called the Growler, it's about a 1/2 gallon,  or you can get a 5 gallon keg.

The Growlers are $13.00 and refills are only $10.00. We bought a Growler of both Weizen and Dunkel, Troy couldn't decide which one he wanted so we got both. With other flavors to try yet,  we will definitely be back to enjoy those and we will keep everyone informed. You can also join their mug club for $25.00 and you get a $1.00 off each beer purchased with your mug.

The mug remains at the bar.

For dinner Troy had their Ribeye steak special, it was smothered in green and yellow peppers, mushrooms, onion,and provolone cheese, with sides of hashbrowns and fresh green beans, Troy was in heaven it was very delicious and mouth watering good. Beth had the Grilled Chicken Focaccia with a salad and it was very delicious. After stuffing ourselves we walked back to the marina with a growler in each hand and enjoyed the sun set into the Mississippi River Valley. A couple of glasses from the growlers a--n--d GOODNIGHT.

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Short Cruise to Hungry Point, Trempealeau,WI

It was a beautiful afternoon but the forecast was calling for hot, humid and strong storms. So we decided to take a short adventure to one of our favorite bar and grills, Hungry Point in Trempealeau. The river activity was quiet when we started out heading north, we were the only one's to lock through the Lock and Dam #7. Hungry Point has some great sandwiches to offer for lunch and they are unique in having their own sweet potato fries. They have plenty of outdoor tables with umbrellas and a screened in porch giving you a perfect view of the Mississippi River Valley. Today we opted to eat indoors in air conditioning because of the high humidity and no breeze at all. Their indoor dining has large windows so you can still enjoy the view of the river. After a wonderful lunch we cruised back south through Lock and Dam #7 and headed down the Mississippi River toward Genoa,WI which is where Lock and Dam #8 is located.The great thing about the Mississippi River Valley there is always something going on, as we passed Crater Island the inlet was full of all kinds of boats, from houseboats to ski boats to flat-bottom fishing boats. A little further south we came upon a group of Pelicans sitting on a wingdam and you could hear the echo throughout the river valley as the fought over a fish( mine,mine,mine,mine).

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Prairie Du Chien Marinas

A cruise stop, Prairie Du Chien,WI, has two marinas to choose from and they can be a little difficult to find. They are not on the main channel, they are off in small sloughs. There is the Winneshiek Marina and Bait Shop and The Prairie Du Chien Marina. Here's how to find them: When from the north heading southbound as soon as you can see the big Mississippi River bridge that connects Wisconsin and Iowa you need to pay close attention to the red buoys because the river channel splits in two, an east and west channel, it is marked by a buoy that is red and green,

you want to go into the east(left) channel and follow that channel and look to the left and see a grain elevator named PEAVEY, it will be on the right-side shoreline and kind of make a U turn up that channel and you see a sign pointing to which marina you want.

If coming from the south heading northbound, you will see a sign indicating a NO WAKE ZONE for McGregor,IA, you want to stay to the right(east side) of the channel until you come up on the marinas sign. To get to the Winneshiek Marina go straight past the parked barges to the left of the peninsula and look for small buoys that marks a channel that takes you straight to the marina.

 Winneshiek Marina(608-326-2888) has a lot to offer they have plenty of boat docks to accommodate any size boat that comes in their marina and they also have gas, a bar and grill, restrooms, coop laundry, a room for cleaning fish, a Mississippi River mermaid, and a bait shop. If you are planning on going to one of the events in the area many times there is someone willing to offer a shuttle service to the event but be sure to call ahead and make reservations for your boat parking.
The Praire Du Chien Marina(608-326-8032) is located to the far east after you see the sign for the two marinas stay to the right and go around the grain elevator on your right and follow the eastern shoreline through a long slough and it dead ends at the marina. This marina is located closer to the events that take place on Saint Feriole's Island. You could even walk to the events but it would be a long one and they will sometimes  have someone come and offer a shuttle service. They have a shop for repairs, gas and some other supplies.
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The Nina and Pinta visit Winona,MN

One of our cruise stops, Winona,MN,  had a couple of special guests stop by and park at their levee. Two large ships representing the Columbus Discovery Days, The Nina and Pinta. They were parked there for about a week(July23-Aug.1) letting the general public come and see them up close. If you came by boat there is a large enough levee to park any size boat  and boat docks to accommodate smaller boats. There was a fee to be able to climb on board these ships: adults-$7.00, seniors-$6.00, children-$5.00 and children under 4 were free. We didn't climb on board these ships but they were very beautiful to look at and it was great to see a view from  history. We stopped  and enjoyed an ice cream cone from the Cane Pole Cafe.

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Cruise to Fountain City,WI

It was a beautiful Sunday as we cruised north through 3 lock and dams(7,6,5A) without waiting for a single commercial barge. We made it to Pool 5 which hosts one of our cruise stops, Fountain City,WI. It was mid afternoon when we arrived so we decided to stop at a local bar and grill called, Wingdam Saloon and Grill. There is a nice dock approx. 80ft. long to park at.

We tied up and went inside for a break and some air conditioning. When you park at the dock you walk under a railroad bridge then up a small street to the main street which is State Hwy 35 and the entrance. The atmosphere was nice and the service was great. For lunch we had burgers, one called the Boatyard Meltdown, which is like a patty melt, and the other was called the Wood Splitter, which had bacon, onion rings, cheddar cheese and mushrooms.

Fountain City is a nice small town with other bar and grills also which gives us reason to return and close to the dock you park at is a convenience store called Kwik Trip that you can walk to if you need some supplies. After lunch we cruised around the area, it was very busy with a lot of boats enjoying skiing, tubing, and relaxing at sandbars. We noticed there were a lot of nice sandbars available for large boats but you would want to claim one early in the day. After a brief stay we had to cruise for home it takes a couple of hours by houseboat, a little less by ski boat.

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