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.
Continue to follow Houseboating Excursions in the Mississippi River Valley as we cruise and explore more destinations and provide more information, adventures,and resources. Please
Don't Move Firewood and
Help Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers.
Today we have a Green Bay Packer Football Party planned on the houseboat with the weather forcasting temps in the 70s to 80s. The skies are perfectly blue and the sun is warm making this day perfect. On Monday Houseboating Excursions will take a Fall cruise on the Mississippi River and bring you breathtaking photos of what you can see when you come to the Upper Mississippi River Valley.
It's that time of the year again when the entire city if La Crosse,WI gets ready for its giant fall festival called Oktoberfest. Every year La Crosse has a huge fest which starts out on a Friday with a Festmaster's parade and the tapping of the Golden Keg at the Southside Fest Grounds. The fest runs for about 9 days and features a 3 hour parade known as The Maple Leaf Parade which is on Saturday and there are 2 fest grounds, one on the southside of La Crosse at the Southside Fest Grounds and one on the Northside of La Crosse at Copeland Park. The fest features rides and games for all to enjoy, beer tents at both grounds and special events like local bands and other talent, this year there is a special attraction to the Southside Fest Grounds featuring Bret Michaels from the 80s group Poison. His concert is sold out.
Today on Sunday the weather is nice and sunny but still cool but we are set up for friends to come to the boat and enjoy the game, even our houseboating neighbors are into the game they painted their boat Packer colors. The television might be small but the atmosphere is perfect for football and fun.
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. 
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.
just proceed up to it and give it a tug and a signal goes off in the tower where the lockmaster is informing him/her of your presence, you may also call them on the CB Radio on channel 14. Secondly, look up at a set of lights that look like stoplights, if it is red, someone is locking through and you must wait, yellow means the gates are getting ready to open, green means the gates are open and it is clear to proceed. Thirdly, approach at a slow speed, it is NO WAKE, and proceed up into the holding area far enough so other boats can also get in, you will see many ropes hanging alongside the wall, you need to grab a hold of one so you don't float around in the holding area. Fourth, when all the boats are in the holding area the gates will close and depending which direction you are traveling the water will rise(going down river) or fall(going up river).
Be sure not to tie the rope to your boat it will be disastrous, just hold it. Fifth, when the holding area reaches the proper water level the gates will open and you must wait till you hear a loud horn go off and that is the signal it is OK to exit the holding area and proceed to your destination.
You always see someone out there getting in the last few rides before the temperatures dip below freezing and the Mississippi River freezes over. This is also the time of year that if you cruise to the north toward Alma, WI and as far south as Brownsville,MN you can start to see the first few Tundra Swans
gathering to get ready to head south for the winter. The fishing is also considered to be at it's best this time of year.
and the other is located on the northside of town.
Each of the fest grounds have their own carnival rides, entertainment stage, food service, and beer tents. Oktoberfest goes for 9 days with different entertainment every night. The northside fest ground is accessible by boat from the Black River at Copeland Park. Our favorite day was Wednesday for Craft Beer Night, which has different brewmasters from the area displaying their own unique beer brands. A GREAT NIGHT!! On Thursday night there is a torch light parade, the bands and floats are all lit up with different lights and some are carrying torch lights, it is a smaller parade than the one on Saturday but interesting to see. There is always something going on for the whole family to enjoy.
They must be gathering to head south for the winter. There were also a large amount of seagulls also. It was a bird watchers paradise to watch some of the pelicans take flight and soar along the river's edge, land in the water, and scoop up a small fish. We locked through Lock and Dam #8 and watched a commercial barge filled with coal park to get unloaded at Genoa,WI's Dairyland Power Plant. It takes a good captain to maneuver such a large vessel with a heavy load to get perfectly aligned alongside the dock.
It has a long dock to park at so you can walk to town but it is about a 1/2 mile walk. Further south down the river there is a concrete levy that you can tie up to and it places you right at the edge of town. At the southern most edge of town is S&S Rentals that offers houseboat rentals, pontoons and fishing boats and they also have a full service marina with marine repair. We parked at the River's Edge Bar and Restaurant docks to have lunch and we walked to town from there.
It is only a few blocks to town where you can shop at the famous Horsfalls and Lansing Variety stores
that have over 1 million different kinds of items to shop for and there is also Bartels Hardware and Service that has antiques as well as hardware items. There are several restaurants to choose from to get a bite to eat. We had dinner at TJ Hunter's Pub and Grub,
the food was great, also is the Safe House Saloon and Milty's Restaurant,Bar and Lodging. If you want to spend the night the Scenic Valley Motel offers boat parking, and there is the Historic Thorton House which is located a few blocks off of Main St. Lansing's festival is called Lansing Fish Days and always takes place the 2nd weekeknd in August, it features music, rides and entertainment for everyone.
