SP2M Day 12 – La Crosse, WI to Fountain Lake, WI

Rest Day in La Crosse

I spent a day in La Crosse to sleep, do laundry, blog, and (burp) eat too much. Again. But honestly, just because I had already eaten pizza for lunch, how could I possibly pass by a second lunch on the patio at the La Crosse Distilling Co? The glass contains their Heady Bella Coffee Whiskey, a “rye whiskey married with a touch of local espresso and maple syrup.” Yes, it was every bit as good as it sounds and more so.

I wandered through the Riverside International Friendship Gardens which are practically next door to La Crosse Distilling. This was such a beautiful pocket of the city, including Chinese, French, German, irish, Norwegian, Russian, and Cameroon gardens. If you are ever in La Crosse, take some time for a leisurely stroll through here. And take a picture at the dragons at the entrance to the Chinese garden.

At this point, I was 15 days into my bicycle tour (11 days of riding plus four rest days) from Saint Peters, MO to Minneapolis, MN. I had an emotional Whoa! moment when I realized that I only had four more days left. When I left La Crosse, I would pedal for four days, just 170 miles, and I would be done. Until that day, the trip was so big that I never really saw the end. I only focused on the next day or two or three. Now, for the first time, I could see all the way to my final destination. It was both exciting and a bit of a let down to be nearing the end.

Day 12 – La Crosse to Fountain Lake

The city of La Crosse, and the surrounding towns, have a fantastic network of bike trails and quieter roads marked for bicycling. Though I was riding through a city, it mostly felt like riding through parks or quiet residential neighborhoods. At about six miles, my route led me to the Great River State Park Trail at the south end of Lake Onalaska. Can you believe that the La Crosse Regional Airport is just off the left side of this picture?

I particularly liked this sculpture next to the trail.

Lake Onalaska was so blue and picturesque that I kept stopping to take out my camera.

Continuing north, I found myself on one of the few sections of unpaved trail in the whole trip. It was beautiful, though, comfortably cool, and actually smoother than some of the asphalt that I had ridden.

I found my favorite sign of the whole trip at the north end of the lake.

The scenery kept impressing me as I crossed creeks and nature areas.

It seemed like every time I packed up my camera, got back onto my bike, and started pedaling, there was another photo op. I would stop, open up the pannier, get my camera back out, and take a few more photos.

Eventually, I made it to my Required Stop of the day. You cannot imagine how long I had been looking forward to… drum roll, please… taking a selfie at the giant catfish statue at Trempealeau, WI.

One of the neat things about the Mississippi River this far north is that it is both scenic and still a busy barge route.

Then, 27 miles into what should have been an easy 40 mile day, I encountered this dinosaur blocking literally half of the trail. I’ve seen snapping turtles but not like this! The beast was every bit as long as a yardstick and probably longer. It was completely unperturbed by my presence, did not care a whit whether I took it’s picture, and distained the piece of dried pineapple that I tossed to it. Fortunately, it let me pass unmolested.

The Great River State Trail took me through the north edge of the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge and the scenery got even prettier with hills and flowers.

I ended my day at the Fountain Motel in Fountain City, WI. From the outside, this looks like a throwback to the motels of the middle of the last century. Inside, though, it is so much more. This family-owned business is meticulously maintained. Each room has its own theme. They have even kept the nostalgic keys for the door locks, with the plastic diamond shaped tags. I cannot recommend the Fountain Motel highly enough. Go stay there.

Then finish your day with beer and dinner at The Legendary Monarch Public House, just a couple of miles up the road. I spent a couple of hours there having dinner, including excellent cheese curds, and a couple of the Public House’s own brews.

To be continued….