Wabasha, MN

Friday, Aug 8

This morning we leave Lake Wissota State Park, WI and go to Wabasha, MN.  The drive was only 1.75 hrs so we took our time at getting ready to leave.  Finally about 11 am one of the last things we did was try to close our big awning.  Well it only closed half way and it quit.  After a phone call to the manufacturer, it was determined that the motor died.  We were given detailed instructions how to roll it up manually and have to order a new motor.  It was about 1 pm before we left the park.  On the way out of the park, we took our first picture of the lake itself.

We learned that Lake Wissota is 6,000 acres and man made.

It is a nice clear day.  As you can imagine, this only a small part of the lake.

This is a bit hazy, but here is our entry to Minnesota as we cross the Mississippi River.

We arrived at Big River RV Resort about 2:50pm.  This park does not have many trees, but has great facilities.  There are restrooms with showers in 3 areas of the campground.  There is a laundry facility, free wifi, cable & pool.  All sites have full hookups with 20/30/50 amp service.  The cost is a little more than we like to pay ($38.50/nite), but after being here we found out this is a prime tourist area; partly because there is a bridge that crosses the Mississippi River from Nelson, WI to Wabasha, MN.  The bridges that cross the Mississippi are spaced a ways apart.

As you can see, our site is nice and long on hard gravel with a concrete pad and picnic table.

This is our backyard.  We think this is a soybean crop.  There are hills slightly inland from the river.  We plan a short driving trip into the hills tomorrow.

Saturday, Aug 9
After looking over the visitor info we were given, we discovered we have been blessed again!  The National Eagle Center is here in Wabasha and they have live seminars daily.  We decided to attend the 11 am seminar.  As we were walking to the center, this eagle was outside.

As Tic took the picture, she lifted one foot.  When inside we learned this is Harriett.  She is 33 yrs old.  In the wild, 70-80% of eagles die before they reach adulthood at five years of age. An eagle that makes it to adulthood might live 20-25 years. In captivity, eagles are known to live much longer, 40+ and up to 50 years, due to a controlled environment, nutrient rich diet and veterinary care.  Harriett is there because she was hit by a car and can no longer fly.

Inside the center was a room that visitors could enter that had 4 perches for different eagles.  This bald eagle is Angel.  She is 15 and very vocal.  She likes attention.  Again she cannot fly due to being hit by a car.  We learned that most eagles are killed by cars because eagles like roadkill.  It is easy meat since it doesn't run away.  Since it is an easy dinner, the eagle may overeat and is not so swift to be able to fly away.  That is when they get hit by a vehicle. 

This bald eagle is Columbia.  She is 13.  They believe the gray marks on the sides of her head are due to lead poisoning.  She was found after being hit by a car also.  They believe she got lead poisoning by eating a lead pellet used to shoot an animal that she was probably eating.  Again she cannot fly.  We learned that female eagles are larger than the males.  The only male eagle at this facility was out traveling.  The females average only 10lbs full grown and the males about 7 lbs full grown.  Eagles reach their full grown size by 12-14 weeks of age.  However, the bald eagles do not get their adult feathers till about 5-6 yrs old.

This is Donald.  He is an adult golden eagle.  They have no idea how old he is because he already had his adult feathers when brought to them.  Again he was hit by a car and cannot fly.  Golden eagles are more rare along a river.  They usually stay more inland because they do not eat fish; only small rodents and rabbits.

Here is Dusty holding up a full grown eagle.

This is the seminar classroom.  The girl in the green shirt was the host/teacher and the girl in the black shirt was Columbia's handler. We got to see Columbia get her lunch, which was fish today.

Here the handler is about to feed Columbia a piece of fish.  Look at Columbia's intent look.

Columbia finally took the fish after some prodding.  See the long heavy leather glove on the handlers arm.  It is only to prevent scratching.  If the eagle gets nervous or upset it could easily squeeze its  talon right thru that leather.  They can squeeze 400 foot lbs of pressure with each talon and there are 4 talons on each "foot".  Their prey doesn't have a chance to escape once caught.

Doesn't Columbia look majestic.  You can see her left wing (as you look at her) is messed up.  She weighs about 10 lbs.  Each eagle has thousands of feathers and that is what makes them look so large.  Eagles bones are hollow.  So between hollow bones and lots of feathers that is why they do not weigh much.  When the eagles do molt or lose feathers, the feathers must be collected and sent to a federal facility in Colorado.  There, native Americans can apply for a permit to obtain feathers for ceremonial events.  It is against federal law for anyone to possess an eagle feather, even one you may find in the wild.  Leave it behind.

There are children on the floor in front of Columbia and she is getting nervous and readjusting herself.  The parts of the picture that are blurry are because she is moving so fast the camera could not keep up.  BTW that is a mural in the background.

Just after the seminar, we got our picture taken with Angel.  That is as close as we were allowed to stand.  We had to walk up and leave by a certain path so we did not upset Angel.

This is actually a mating dance.  They are not fighting.  They frequently lock talons and fall almost to the ground before letting go and soaring up and doing it all over again.

This is a snow owl they had mounted.  There were taxidermy of all the kinds of eagles and owls on display.  They were beautiful but for most the lighting was not good for pictures so this is the only other picture.

From a viewing deck at the center, this is the view north looking at the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.  Notice the river is pretty narrow here. 

This is the view south.  You will see more about the monument in a minute.

This is the National Eagle Center.  See the deck on the right side of the picture.  That is where Tic took the pictures up and down river.

This is a statue of Wapahasha II, an Indian chief.  There were 3 of them.  See below.

Sorry some of the words are cut off but you can get some history anyway.

Wow as we were standing there, this tugboat came by pushing a large barge.  The barge is 3 sections wide and 3 sections deep.

Here is the whole tugboat and barge.

We decided to drive into the hills and see what we could see.

I was amazed at how tall the corn was, so I made Tic stretch and he still could not reach the tops.  Yes, Jean Donald this picture is for you.  Ha, Ha 

Then across from the corn field was a wild turkey.  Could not pass up a picture!

It is kind of hazy today.  Northward view. This picture looks exactly like we saw it.  Gorgeous!

Southward view.  The Mississippi River Valley in all its glory!

This is zoomed in so seems even more hazy.  That is the same/only bridge crossing the Mississippi River in this area.

We drove across the Mississippi River to the WI side and saw these pretty cliffs near the town of Nelson, WI.

Home for the evening.  Then off to Spring Grove, MN for 5 days.  Thank you Lord for all our blessings.  Amen