Friday, February 20, 2009

Great River Road cont...

As promised we continue on our eagle watch down Hwy 61 on the MN side until we see Sugar Loaf...

Since this was only a 2 day tour (suddenly Gilligan's 2 hour tour tune is buzzing in my head) we crossed the river at Winona, MN to head up the Wisconsin side of the Great River Road. We could see eagles soaring along the bluffs as I was driving across the bridge so as soon as we were across I pulled into a parking lot and got out and tried to capture a few inflight shots. Jeff laid back in his seat and watched them through the sunroof :-)



There are many small towns on the Wisconsin side and though I took no photos Fountain City advertises itself as the most picturesque town. All these towns had lots of historic old buildings which we enjoyed looking at as we drove through. Fountain City is famous these days for the Rock in the House, we saw the signs but didn't take the time to visit. I guess this is a risk if you live under a bluff. I did take a photo of the rock sculptures at Prairie Moon Garden near Cochrane.
On the road from Cochrane to Buffalo City we admired the view of MN's bluff country across the river. I stopped to take a photo of the bluffs with the eagle's nest in the tree across the river.
When I zoomed in, I was surprised to see this pair in the tree to the far left. See why I showed the close up eagles on the post the first day? We saw over 100 eagles in the two days but most were the little white spots in the distance that admired through binoculars and zoom lenes.
I'm skipping over the town of Buffalo City until tomorrow because this post is too long and I took lots of pics there so now we are to the town of Alma. Alma has a great organization called Wings over Alma. We visited their center and talked for a long time with the volunteer working that day. My family will understand why I had to buy a t-shirt with the Wings over Alma logo and why I took a photo of the welcome sign. Alma was our mother's name and she passed away at 54 when I was barely 20.

Our last views of the WI countryside are near Nelson which is where we crossed the river back over into Wabasha. There was an elk farm along the road...with a very patriotic pasture.
Tomorrow, Buffalo City and the last of the eagle watching.

14 comments:

A Grain of Salt said...

Oh, Marsha, those soaring eagles are just amazing! Wow! The whole trip looks so interesting! I'm so glad you're sharing it all... never too long for me!

Cynthia said...

Marsha, your pictures of the eagles soaring our beautiful.... And now I can't get the song, "Fly Like and Eagle" out of my head.

John always take photos of signs to remember where he's been (even though he doesn't share his photos or post them).

What a great trip ... I'm so glad you shared it with us.

Suzy said...

I love that you've taken us on your road trip. Did you do this on the motorcycle..I'm sure you said somewhere but I must have missed. it. I enjoyed the soaring eagles. How awesome!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Very enjoyable scenes.The Eagles are spectacular.
Blessings,Ruth

Wanda said...

Well you are the best tour guide. I loved this trip!!!

Skoots1moM said...

thanks for the trip!
outstanding...love those EAGLES!

Foley said...

The eagles are so majestic! Marsha, you are doing a wonderful tour for us all...I must do this sometime this year! I can;t believe you have seen so many eagles in that short of span..I think I have seen maybe two in my entire life!

RuthieJ said...

Hey, I've been on that road before! (usually on my motorcycle in the summertime). It's hard to ride and watch eagles at the same time, but I always enjoy catching a glimpse of them soaring overhead.

Kathleen said...

I loved the tour, the stone buildings and the eagles..The field with the flags, loved it..
What a sweet story about your mom, I would have to have that shirt too!

My mom's name was Grace, and I always thought the Hymn was about her!!
She was Amazing Grace..
God bless them...and us too!

Tina said...

Don't you just love to watch big birds soar..esp. eagles..ahh how nice! Great shots and I'm enjoying your trip a lot. Love the fence lined with flags!! Looks like you are keeping up with good weather!!

jalynn01 said...

ahhh Eagles. Love to see them soaring in the sky overhead! And I do love the flags flying in the pasture. Have a good week end.

jalynn01 said...

Marsha, in response to your ? about frozen fruit. Yes it does freeze but the birds peck at it anyway. Our temps aren't as low as yours though.

Carol said...

Majestic! The birds are awesome as are your pictures, Marsha :)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi! Thanks for becoming a follower of my blog. I like how you have yours organized.

I had to post on this one, because I so enjoyed all your eagle pics. God is using the verses in the Bible that talk about giving us the strength of eagles, and being lifted up on eagle's wings in my life lately.