Coming in for a landing!
Waking up on this day, our 13th wedding anniversary, to a gorgeous, overcast sunrise overlooking a great expanse of the river. This area, Lake Pepin, is a very broad area of the Mississippi that is as large as a lake, yet its waves sound like an ocean at rest. There are ducks, geese, pelicans and tiny birds of all kinds flitting about and fishing. The wind is cold and sharp out there, so it will be a day for hard hiking to keep our blood pumping and bodies warm. The sky is now covered in clouds looking a bit melancholy. The bluffs that reach up to the sky are the closest thing to mountains we have here in Minnesota, and everywhere we look there are great birds of prey circling the tree tops.
Yesterday we spent a little time taking photos in Frontenac State Park since we couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00. It was brutally cold, and I packed too lightly for freezing winds, though at least I thought to pack fleece lined tights, so we walked down an outlook that was nestled close to the bluff where the wind was slight. There were hundreds of pelicans swirling and dancing in the air in a graceful display, and we got up and close and personal to a couple of turkey vultures. It was a great place for photos and we'll be back for more hiking and photos today, after we visit the Eagle Center. I was bummed that we missed a photo op of what I think was an extravagant looking pheasant whom we scared with the car and he scuttled out of the road. John tried to get a photo with the iPhone, but the iPhone camera is really best for landscapes or up close, unmoving subjects.
Turkey Vulture up close!!
Pelicans!
We had a huge lunch at an Irish pub called the Olde Triangle; John had a Guinness and the Shepherd's Pie and I had the Bangers and Colcannon (mash) in Wabasha. It was too bloody cold to stroll, and it was finally time to check into our hotel, which is enormous and sits directly overlooking the water, and loafed about. We made a simple dinner of grilled cheese and turkey sammies with Chex Mix and watched Sneakers. We tried for another stroll along the waters edge, but it was just too cold, so we took a long drive instead, doing the loop around from the MN side to the WI side and back. There were countless eagles and turkey vultures all the way, deer and wild turkeys along the bluffs. The bluffs and their rugged grandeur are a sight I never tire of. We've come down this way a lot on our long drives. I've loved many of the places we've visited, but this bluff country seems to have the best of it all. I may sing a different tune were I to live around here and suffer the floods (and the evidence of this year is incredible) or winters on steep hills, but this is a quintessential earth, water and sky convergence, a divine meeting place. Perhaps the fact that Minnesota's blood runs in my veins is the thing that connects me to this place more than any other. Then it was time to head back into the sunset and tuck in with one of our favorite movie classics, Casablanca.
The morning is quickly getting on! John made us a lovely breakfast of eggs, toasted herb rolls, sausages, pressed coffee and divine, fresh, sweet strawberries :) Now it's time for a shower, off to the Eagle Center and more hiking in Frontenac! I'm hoping to see (at a distance) the reported 3 species of rattlesnakes that live in the park, and of course, our everlong hunt for the elusive owl!!
Happy 13th Anniversary to us!
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