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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Slippery's in Wabasha ,MN

As we cruised south out of the Lake Pepin area following the Mississippi River we came to a No Wake Zone that indicated we were in Wabasha,MN. We pulled into a bar and grill called Slippery's. They have a very nice long dock that is easy to tie up to and can accommodate any size boat. This is the restaurant that is featured in the movie Grumpy Old Men series. You can even get your picture taken on a Grumpy Old Men bench.

They do offer outside seating so you can enjoy the river view while dining or just relaxing. They also have a display for all you motorheads of old time outboard motors, and don't forget to(if open)  have a seat at the outdoor bar with the canoe above your head.

Inside you can read the story about how Slippery's got started and  the story that inspired the making of the movie.
Wabasha also has two marinas to park your boat and spend some time. If your looking to rent a houseboat from this area the Wabasha Marina has the business, Great River Houseboats, that rents houseboats so you can easily enjoy Lake Pepin from the water side. If you decide to stay at the marina on Friday nights, under the large bridge that you can see,  near downtown, there is free music concerts that tend toward acoustic and melodic rather than heavy bands.

Just south of the restaurant you will come upon the National Eagle Center. The center has a nice dock to park at and you can walk up to the center and see the five eagles they have up close. Check their web site for more information.  Located next to the center is a beautiful waterfall that offers a great place for family photos.
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 Invaders.

Cruise to Pickle Factory

The weather cooperated with us and we took a cruise on the Mississippi River to Lake Pepin. This is a very beautiful area that pictures can't do justice, you have to see the area to really appreciate the beauty of the bluffs on both sides of you as you cruise through the lake. On Lake Pepin is one of our cruise stops, Lake City,MN.  Our adventure to Lake Pepin took us to a wonderful bar and grill called the Pickle Factory. I put in a link to their web site for more information. They are located in a small town called Pepin,WI. They do have a nice dock to park at depending on the size of your boat. If the dock is full or your boat is too big just find a nearby sandbar to park at and you can call the Pickle Factory, 715-442-4400, and give them your location and they will come pick you up with their pontoon boat. They have outdoor seating to enjoy lunch or dinner while you enjoy the view of Lake Pepin. For lunch we would highly recommend having their Wisconsin Cheese Steak sandwich, not to be confused with the philly cheese steak(yuk!),  Wisconsin cheese is the best!.
When cruising the lake, on the Wisconsin side,  watch for a huge rock levy, it surrounds a small marina called Dan's Pepin Marina, they are on the south side of it. Also located next door to the Pickle Factory is a small art studio and greenhouse called Smith Bros. Landing, they have  glass and metal studios and some of the metal art work is pretty cool and bizarre.

For you web enthusiasts the Pickle Factory also offers free wireless internet.
Please continue to follow Houseboating Excursions in the Mississippi River Valley as we continue to cruise  and provide more information about the Upper Mississippi River Valley. And please take the pledge to not move firewood and stop aquatic invaders.

4th of July Party

The 4th of July was a very wet one here at Houseboating Excursions, it rained on and off all day long. But we were not going to let that ruin our party. We had many friends and family show up and we made the best of it. We had plenty of food and drinks for all and plenty of umbrellas. The men of the party came up with a brilliant idea and got a 10x20ft. tent cover for the top patio on the houseboat. We called it our 4th of July Circus Event.  
It worked out very well, it gave us more space to take cover from the rain. We also put together some umbrellas to help cover the bow area and some took shelter inside the houseboat.
The city of La Crosse had their annual Riverfest going on at Riverside Park that featured food tents, beer tent, different events, and a north and south stage featuring different musicians and bands. Everyone chose to stay at the houseboat and as luck came our way the rain stopped at the right time and we were able to enjoy the Skyrocker,s fireworks show. We can see and hear them from our houseboat parked in the marina at Pettibone Boat Club.
Come follow Houseboating Excursions in the Mississippi River Valley as we continue to explore more  cruise stops and provide more information about the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Please take the pledge to Don't Move Firewood and Stop Aquatic Invaders. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Houseboat Gets A Facelift

                         

Houseboating Excursions got a facelift or should we say carpet lift. Throughout the month of June between all the horrible weather we have been having we decided to take off the carpet that was glued down on the boat and repaint the deck. This turned out to be a bigger and nastier job than we anticipated. The carpet was glued down so well the owners that did it must of intended it to never be removed. We used a 6 inch scraper by Red Devil,  that was designed like a large razor blade to scrape the carpet off, this also took a lot of pure muscle. The glue was at least a quarter inch thick in some places. To get the glue off we used a 7 inch grinder with a wire brush wheel and it did the job very well. We recommend that you use gloves, eye protection, long pants and shirt because the grinder shoots off the glue like little BB's and do sting. After this was all done we cleaned the surface and used a paint by Conoco,  specifically their DTM Acrylic Gloss Idustrial Enamel, this paint has great adhesion and is mainly used to paint heavy machinery but lasts an extremely long time and is cheaper than boat anit-fouling paint and gives the same results. We also mixed some anti-skid sand into the paint for traction then  sprinkled some blue- gray decorative flakes on the deck in the fresh paint to give it nice color and character. We then went to our local hardware store, Menards, and got a piece of outdoor carpet to cover the bow area. We also painted all the railing with Rust-Oleum Protective  Enamel, gloss white.

Now some of the guys have been teasing me, Troy,   is there anything on the boat that shows that a man is on this boat, because  everything looks feminine, so here is a photo that says YES, we make our meals on this cutting board every day. 

I love my wife and her ability to decorate or in my world everything would probably be plain.

Please continue to follow Houseboating Excursions in the Mississippi River Valley as we explore more cruise destinations and continue to provide more information. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see where we are or where we are going next.

Please continue to follow Houseboating Excursions in the Mississippi River Valley as we explore more cruise destinations and continue to provide more information. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see where we are or where we are going next. Please Don't Move Firewood and Stop Aquautic Hitchhikers.