Minnesota/Wisconsin

via bicycle, car, and foot

1998

Introduction

 In July/August 1998 I rode my bicycle in the Habitat 500 for the first time, visited several state parks, and two national parks--Voyageur National Park and Isle Royale National Park

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I have organized 247 pictures, maps, and images of some of the signs that were posted at the sites I saw here, and you can scan the thumbnails and click to enlarge only those pictures that interest you. I hope you enjoy many of them, and I hope you also enjoy some of my explanations. (Note: This is an earlier trip and pre-digital camera so I scanned in these pictures and the quality is not as good.)

In 1998 I decided to add  bicycling to my vacation experiences and purchased a Trek 7500 hybrid in March. I rode what I thought was a lot (790 miles) between 3/22 and & 7/4. Then I rode the Habitat 500 in Minnesota from 7/12-18. After completing the bike ride I did some hiking in Itasca State Park which contains the headwaters of the Mississippi, Voyageurs National Park, and Isle Royale National Park. Then I drove to and did some quick sightseeing and a little hiking in several Minnesota state parks--Cascade River, Temperance River, Tettegouche, Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, Jay Cooke, and Interstate--all of these parks were very scenic but I only spent a few hours in each one. Then I wound up my trip with a visit to the Wisconsin Dells.  

Habitat 500

There were 69 cyclists and we were supported by 16 volunteers. In one week we covered 519.7 miles--hence the name Habitat 500. The youngest rider was 13 and the oldest 80. A total of $79,110.92 was raised and 87% was distributed to various Habitat chapters across the nation as expenses were only 13%. 

Route

several of the cities we stopped in during the bike ride & some of the state parks I visited are shown on this map 

pictures of my trip

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the Minnesota state bird is the Common Loon  

me at the lunch stop during the first day of the bike ride - I'm wearing knee braces to support my knees and I have a cast for a broken bone in my left wrist

we stayed in Sartell the first night

our first dinner on the road was a carry-in dinner at a church in Sartell--it was delicious and there was plenty of food

the 2nd night we stayed in Brainerd and the youth at a local church provided a spaghetti dinner at $1 a head as a fund raiser for a youth trip to St. Louis (Habitat is willing to pay up to $4 a head for breakfast and $6 for dinner but everything was donated and the youth made money at $1 a head - however, we took up a collection and gave the youth another $150)

sag stop at Wolf Lake

me leaving the Wolf Lake sag stop

we had a police escort into Fergus Falls and the mayor welcomed us

the Kensington Runestone Memorial

In l898 the ten year old son of Olof Ohman found strange markings on a slab of rock that had just been pried out of the ground. No one was able to completely decipher the stone until nine years later when Hjalmer R. Holand, a University of Wisconsin graduate student with a major in history, heard of the stone on a trip to Kensington. Mr. Holand translated the stone and found it to read,"8 Goths and 22 Norweigans on exploration journey from Vinland over the west. We camp by 2 skerries one day-journey from this stone. We were and fished one day. After we came home, 10 men red with blood and tourtured. Hail Virgin Mary, save from evil. Have 10 men by the sea to look after our ship, 14 day -journeys from this island year 1362."

The Kensington Runestone is 31 inches high, 16 inches wide, six inches thick and weighs 202 pounds, and it tells of a Viking expedition  to 130 years before Columbus.

several riders getting ready to start the day

one of our support vehicles getting ready to leave

a local 4H hosted a rest stop in route to Glenwood & provided fruit and baked goods

last water stop for the day

in Willmar the local Air Force Reserve provided security with a guard at each door of the school and additional guards for the tent camp

part of our last overnight tent camp

the last turn arrows of the ride

Howard Lake Park was the conclusion of the ride and we had a picnic there

this giant check shows the amount raissed as of the end of the ride, but the final total was $79,110.92

the last rider--80 year old Ed Dike--arriving in the park

My next adventure was a visit to Itasca State Park which contains the Headwaters of the Mississippi. At this point 1,475 feet above sea level, the Mississippi River begins its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. The entire 32,690-acre park, including 3,000 acres of lakes and ponds is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park contains among other historic and geologic features, a remnant of the giant red and white pines that once covered northern Minnesota.

The name Itasca was created by 39-year-old ethnographer Henry Schoolcraft, the first person of European descent to identify Lake Itasca as the headwaters of the Mississippi -- the spot where the Mississippi has enough volume to qualify as an independent river -- when he arrived here in July 1832. He came up with the name by linking together the last four letters of the Latin word veritas and the first two letters of the Latin word caput. Veritas is truth; caput is head. Therefore, Itasca stands for the true head (waters) of the Mississippi River. Schoolcraft discovered, what other more-experienced explorers did not, by the simple and rather obvious method of asking the local Chippewa if they knew where the Mississippi River began. They did, and Schoolcraft and his crew were led by Chippewa chieftain Ozawindib to a spot 1,475 feet above sea level where the Mississippi starts its serpentine run to the Gulf of Mexico.

The spot that marks the source of the river, where water spills out of the lake into a pool and then flows into a small stream, was carefully dredged and nicely shaped for maximum aesthetic appeal by the Parks Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933.

People hike down 900 or so feet to the headwaters spot and then stand around the bubbling pool smiling at it and each other, amused and slightly awed by the idea that the small but spunky river that surges out of the lake is bound for glory, despite being only 3 feet deep and 21 fat stepping stones broad here at its source. It is hard to believe that within a few hundred miles of its headwaters the river will be wide and deep enough to function as a commercial waterway, generating $284 billion in economic activity annually.

At the headwaters, the sure-footed can cross the Mississippi by leaping and lunging over the slippery stepping stones. The less adventurous can make the crossing on a narrow, 15-foot-long plank. Or you can just plunge in and wade through the crystal-clear water, crossing the Mississippi in 20 or 30 pebble-plagued steps. There's a local tradition that if you make a wish while crossing the river at its source the wish will be granted when the water you crossed reaches the Gulf of Mexico, roughly three months later.

The Mississippi River has its beginnings at Lake Itasca in Clearwater County. Contained by the height-of-the-land that shapes its course, the infant river first flows north and east before turning southward towards the Twin Cities Area. Two notable streams that join the Mississippi in the Northern Headwaters area are the Turtle and Leech Lake rivers, each once thought by early explorers to be the main source of the great river. While the Mississippi River flows south to the Gulf of Mexico, adjoining watersheds in Minnesota drain north to Hudson Bay and east to the Atlantic Ocean.

The physical landscape of the Northern Headwaters area was formed, in large part, by glacial ice and the ponding or runoff of glacial melt water. During the Wisconsin stage of glaciation, between 75,000 and 12,000 years ago, glaciers advanced across Minnesota several times and from several directions.

I stayed in this log motel (Nicollet Court) next to the lodge inside the park.

a pine bark beetle trap

a grove of 250 year old red pine at Preacher's Grove

old burn scars on red pines are called a "cat's face" - the red pine is burn resistant so fires don't destroy the tree, but they do burn part of the trunk

this is the tallest red pine in Minnesota - it is over 300 years old & 120 feet tall

there was a lot of logging done in this area and the logs were usually left on the ground and moved out on sleds like this one during the winter

a loon in a museum

this museum display shows the continental divide & headwaters - from Itasca the Mississippi flows NORTH to Lake Bemidji then east and finally south to the Gulf of Mexico

A 44-foot-long outlet dam constructed at the north end of Lake Itasca clearly defines the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Below the level of the water, the structural portion of the dam consists of 4-foot pieces of triple-lap sheet piling capped with a 7-foot wide layer of concrete 6 to 18 inches thick. Rocks and boulders pressed into the concrete give the headwaters dam its present-day appearance. According to the original plans, "All joints between stones [to be] filled with mortar - 1 part cement and 2 1/2 parts coarse washed sand. Before [the] cement hardens, stone and pebbles [to be] pressed into the surface, making it appear as natural as possible. All exposed rock will be weathered and darkened."

Mississippi Headwaters Dam
Builder: CCC
Architect: National Park Service
Date: 1941

The diversified scenery of Minnesota—of which the Itasca Park area is one phase—is due to the location of the state in the approximate center of the continent. Situated midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the state has within its boundaries three principal divides in the watersheds of North America. Minnesota lacks the rugged topography and high elevations found in most continental divides. Its highest elevation, 2300 feet on the Mesabi Range, is in close proximity to its lowest, which is the surface of Lake Superior, 602 feet above the sea.

 The general surface of the state slopes from the north-central portion near Itasca Park in four directions toward its distant and opposite corners

The 10,000 lakes of Minnesota covers 5,600 square miles, an average of 1 square mile of water for every 15 of land. This unprecedented supply water, which has a surface exceeding the water area of any other state, finds its way to the ocean through Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hernando DeSota lake from the 100 foot fire tower

Lake Itasca "Chester Charles" boat - a 1 1/2 hour tour covers 10 miles of Lake Itasca

a loon on the lake

wild rice - wild rice is still harvested in Minnesota and can be purchased

this red pine tree near the lodge was twisted and blown over by 100 mph winds in 7/95 - more than 100,000 acres of forest was toppled and the Blowdown Trail goes through part of this area

this statue of Chief Bemidji stands in Bemidji - the first city on the Mississippi

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in front of the Visitor Center in Bemidji

a goose

Fireplace of the States in the Vistor's Center

two centennial quilts located in City Hall

Voyageurs National Park  

Voyageurs National Park lies in the southern part of the Canadian Shield, representing some of the oldest exposed rock formations in the world. This bedrock has been shaped and carved by at least four periods of glaciation. The topography of the park is rugged and varied, rolling hills are interspersed between bogs, beaver ponds, swamps, islands, small lakes, and four large lakes--Rainy Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Namakan Lake, and Crane Lake. In the years since the last glaciation, a thin layer of soil has been created which supports the boreal forest ecosystem, the "North Woods" of Voyageurs National Park.

This land is rich in human history. It is named for the Voyageurs, French-Canadian canoemen who traveled these waters in their birch-bark canoes from the Great Lakes to the interior of the western United States and Canada. Modern voyageurs continue to ply these waters. The water, accompanying scenery, geology and rich cultural and natural resources give Voyageurs its national significance, a significance that merits its protection for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

a map from the National Parks web page

an aerial page from a web page

Rainy Lake Visitor Center

Smokey the Bear statue in International Falls

voyageur diorama in visitor center

Pride of Rainy Lake excursion boat

view of lake during a shore excursion to a mine

old commercial fishery run by one man--large buidling is the ice house (he cut enough ice every other year to last 2 years)

a loon in the lake

Sight-Sea-Er boat at Kabetogama Visitor Center

Kettle Falls Hotel

one of the hotel rooms

view of the hotel from the end of the road

view of Namakan Lake from the dam

dam at Kettle Falls - operated by Boise Cascade Paper Company

bald eagles--mother and baby (I saw several eagel nests with binoculars during the two boat trips)

Canadian road sign between International Falls and Grant Portage

Atlantic watershed sign along the road

Arctic watershed sign along the road

Kakabeka Falls (Kakabeka in Ojibwa means "Thundering Water")

the falls is an Ontario Provincial Park and is referred to as the Niagara of the North--the falls is 128 feet high and 234 feet wide whereas Niagara Falls is 170 feet high and the American, Bridal Veil, and Horseshoe Falls a combined width of approximately 3,400 feet

Grand Portage State Park 

High Falls is on the Pigeon River at the boundary between Canada and the US. It is 130 feet high and is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota.

sign explaining the 8.2 mile Grand Portage

North West Company Depot sign - From 1784 to 1803 The Company ran the most profitable fur trade operation on the Great Lakes, and its headquarters was located at Grand Portage where 16 buildings stood inside the palisade which was the site of an annual rendezvous of voyageurs, Ojibwa Indiana and company employees. In 1803 the company moved upshore to Fort William because this site was in the US.

flags of the North West Company, England, and the United States

another view of the flags showing that the US flag is the one from 1803

The Great Hall is where company partners, clerks, and Indians talked business during the day and dined in the evening. It also contained lodging rooms for the partners.

a tour guide dressed in period historical clothing

bear rug on floor of one of the lodging rooms

desk in the same room

a cart in the yard

outdoor bake oven

sign explaining that canoes were made from large sheets of birch bark lashed with split spruce roots to a wooden gunwale then lined with cedar planks and stabilized with ribbing; seams were water proofed with spruce pitch

a voyageur canoe - canoes on narrow, rapid water were about 25 feet long and carried 4 to 6 voyageurs whereas lake canoes were about 35 feet long and carried twice as many men and up to 8,000 pounds of cargo

inside of a canoe

artisan working on a new canoe

voyageur camp

musket firing demonstration of the North West trade gun - it was accurate only for short distances and was not very dependable but it was in high demand by the Indians who willingly traded beaver pelts for the guns, glass beads, wool blankets, woven cloth, iron kettles, axes, traps, and whiskey

Ojibwa Indian Camp

Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale is located in Lake Superior about 17 miles SE of Grand Portage, Minnesota, and about 45 miles north of Copper Harbor, Michigan. Wild animals, pristine forests, crystal clear lakes and rugged shoreline are a few of Isle Royale National Park's many fine features. This island archipelago is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park encompasses a total area of 850 square miles including submerged lands which extends 4 1/2 miles out into Lake Superior. The archipelago is composed of many parallel ridges. Isle Royale has 165 miles of scenic hiking trails and 36 campgrounds for backpackers and recreational boaters. There is excellent Lake Superior fishing, historic lighthouses and shipwrecks, ancient copper mining sites, and plenty of spots to observe wildlife. Accessible only by boat or float plane, Isle Royale is relatively untouched by direct outside influences and serves as a living laboratory and International Biosphere Reserve. 

Voyageur II boat - this boat leave from Grand Portage and is the mail boat for Isle Royale so it makes many stopes and takes 6-7 hours to reach Rock Harbor

Rock of Ages lighthouse as seen from the boat

closeup of the Rock of Ages lighthouse

Washington Harbor entrance

Windigo

Windigo dock, visitor center, and store

Windigo sign

Voyageur II at Windigo dock

Rock Harbor sign

map of area

Rock Harbor boat docks

Rock Harbor Lodge 

(built in 1957)

I stayed in the last room on the bottom level

view of Lake Superior from my deck

on Sunday I hiked 17.4 miles to Daisy's Farm, Mount Ojibway, Mount Franklin, and back to Rock Harbor

this is a view of the lake on the way to Daisy's farm

one of the first come, first serve camping units at Daisy's Farm - the building consists of 3 walls with the 4th wall made of screen wire with a screen door and a plank floor

thimbleberries - these were delicious and I ate a lot of them while I was in the park (they are MUCH bigger than raspberries)

Rock Harbor lighthouse from trail

Mount Ojibway fire tower is the highest point on the eastern ed of Isle Royale and the tower room and equipment are part of a nationwide atmospheric monitoring program but you can climb up the steps for great views

view of Greenstone Ridge trail toward Mt. Franklin from the tower

Lake Ojibway from the tower

tree that beavers tried to cut down but it got hung up on other trees & didn't fall

I was walking along the Greenstone Ridge in the rain with my head down & when I looked up a huge bull moose stood right in front of me--we was at least 7 feet tall with large antlers & after I took his picture he turned sideways just like he was posing for the next picture

shortly another moose came up over the ridge and the first moose turned around then then they both went over the side of the ridge but the first moose came even closer to me as he turned around

on Monday I took an afternoon Ranger-guided boat ride and 2-mike hike on Passage Island - Passage Island lighthouse as seen from the boat

Devil's Club - doesn't grow on Isle Royale because the moose eat it down to the roots but the ranger pointed it out to us on Passage Island

fireweed

lighthouse from the beach

incline railway used to get supplies from the shore up to the lighthouse

view of lake and a sailboat from the trail

Voyageur II boat coming up behind us as we return from Passage Island

on Tuesday morning I took a Ranger-guided boat ride and 2-mike hike on Lookout Louise - Hidden Lake is seen here

monument rock - this is an inland sea stack carved by the wave action of Lake Superior when the lake level was much higher

view of 5 finger area from Lookout Louise

plank walkway over a bog

on Tuesday afternoon I took the Captain's Choice trip to Rock Harbor Lighthouse & Edisen's Fishery - Rock Harbor Lighthouse sign

The Ranger III passing the lighthouse

the lighthouse seen between two islands

lighthouse from boat

lighthouse from shore - you can climb to the top of the lighthouse and walk through a museum on the ground floor dedicated to Lake Superior shipwrecks

view from the top of the lighthouses - there are 63 steps plus a short ladder up tot he trapdoor

Edisen Fishery sign

Edisen Fishery - today Isle Royale employees use nets to demonstrate fishing as it was historically done and to supply fish for the Rock Harbor Lodge

net drying racks

The Sandy and Ranger III in Rock Harbor

on Wed. I hiked the 4.2 mile loop to Scoville Point & the 3.6 mile loop along Tobin Harbor to Suzy's Cave

this is the Isle Royale sign about tilted rocks at the beginning of the Stoll Trail to Scoville Point

view on hike to Scoville Point

the M.V. Sandy as seen from the trail

view of Blake Point from Scoville Point - the sand flies were VERY bad at the point (my tan slacks looked black)

rocks at Scoville Point

people who owned land on Isle Royale when it became a park had the choice of selling their land and buildings or selling just the land and retaining a life lease on the buildings - this is one of the leasee houses across Tobin Harbor

view along the trail

thimbleberries

Isle Royale Lighthouse as seen from the Voyageur II boat on the return voyage to Grand Portage

Cascade River State Park

Minnesota DNR has an excellent web page on all 69 state parks

the Cascade River flows down one ledge after another in a narrow volcanic canyon for a total drop of 900 feet in the last 3 miles of its journey to Lake Superior - two of those falls are shown here

two more views of the Cascade River

a final view of one of the falls in the narrow canyon

this map shows all the Minnesota State Parks & is available on line & a simple click will take you to the selected park 

(note: if the expanded thumbnail is hard to read it has been reduced to fit your screen & you need to enlarge the image)

Temperance River State Park

the Temperance River got its name because the river flowed so deep and strong into Lake Superior that there was no build-up of debris into a bar at its mouth

the narrow gorge has several waterfalls and two of them are shown here

the rapidly flowing river cut through the soft lava of the riverbed and the swirling water carried sand and gravel that wore away the soft lava and created potholes

I tried to cross the river above the falls by stepping from rock to rock and fell in--I got my cast wet and had to go to a clinic in Silver Bay to have it changed so my visit to the park was shortened by several hours

Father's Baraga's Cross--this granite cross was erected near the mouth of the Cross River to commemorate the safe crossing of Lake Superior by Father Barage in a small boat in 1846

Tettegouche State Park was established in 1979

about a billion years ago North America began to spread apart along a rift from what is now Lake Superior to Kansas and deep basaltic lava poured out forming the bedrock of the North Shore

Palisade Head and Shovel Point in the background are spectacular examples of these lava flows

60-foot High Falls on Baptism River

High Falls as seen from the bottom

High Falls as seen from the top

2 step falls

crossing the top of 2-step falls by walking across a log

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

The lighthouse was built after a storm in 1905 sank one ship and wrecked five others within a dozen miles of Split Rock River - today the site is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society and the lighthouse beacon is lit each year on 11/10 at sunset in memory of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

beautiful view of the lighthouse with its reflection in a pool

another view of the lighthouse

the lighthouse tower

impersonator of the wife of the lighthouse keeper showing visitors her kitchedn

stove

desk

wash tub

part of light lens

gears that control the turning of the light

created in 1937

Gooseberry River plummets through a rocky gorge creating 5 waterfalls -

view of the 3 falls that make up the lower falls

another view of the lower falls with the highway bridge in the background

two views of the lower falls

a view of the final cascade of the lower falls

the upper falls on the opposite side of the highway bridge - the water tumbles over the Upper Falls 30 feet into the pool then flows into the three-tiered Lower Falls and plunges 60 feet into the last pool

two views of the Fifth Falls with a pedestrian bridge in the background that enables you to cross over and return via the opposite side of the river

Duluth Minnesota

3 views of the Lakewalk along Lake Superior

Vista Fleet tour boat

Lake Superior tugboat

William A. Irwin iron ore & coal carrier - this ship was the flagship of US Steel's Great Lakes Fleet and is larger than two football fields, capable of carrying 14,000 tons of cargo--enough to fill 200 rail cards! 

aerial lift bridge

The Northland Vietnam Veterans Memorial

“The Bunker and Wall”

The circular base represents the cycle of the life. The bunker faces the rising sun each morning and on the opposite edge of the circle is the wall to commemorate the lives lost to us.

As a Vietnam firebase, the bunker meant safety and protection. This bunker will protect the names on the wall from the full attack of the elements of Lake Superior.

The five fingers coming over the top represent the five branches of the Military Services with their emblems embedded in the ends of the fingers. In the abstract, they represent waves off the lake.

The viewing port in front of the bunker will allow people to take shelter inside the bunker during increment weather and to still be able to view the beauty of the lake in extreme conditions. Every morning when the sun rises above the lake, the wall will be in the protective shadow of the bunker, except for the viewing ports which will allow the sunlight to illuminate the back wall with a single ray. The beam will flow gently down the lists of names so that each will once again be remembered as a distinct individual.

The seven-foot tower on the perimeter of the circle will be lighted at night with an intense vertical light beam so that this Memorial will have a direct bond with the heavens.

Construction of the memorial was done largely by voluntary workers, most of whom are members of the Building Trades of the Duluth Central Labor Body. The largest amounts of building materials were donated by local businesses.

Today this memorial stands as a tribute to all who served in the Vietnam War from 1959 through 1975, their families, and to the citizens of Northeastern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin.

Dedicated Memorial Day, May 30, 1992

memorial bunker with the five fingers containing the emblems of the 5 branches of the military services

names on the wall--this wall is protected by the bunker from the elements

shore view of the bunker - the viewing ports allow the sunlight to illuminate the wall of names with a single ray which will flow gently down the list so each is remembered as a single individual

lighthouse in Duluth harbor

Jay Cooke

established in 1915

sign explaining the swinging bridge

swinging bridge & the St. Louis River from upstream

view of bridge from downstream

view of St. Louis River from bridge

2 views of river at the bottom of Oldenburg point - there are 193 stone & wooden steps to the bottom of the gorge!

Thomson Dam in the background & highway bridge over the river

Thomson Dam

the first Interstate Park in the nation was established when Minnesota created a park on the St. Croix river in 1895 and Wisconsin followed in ;1900--today each state recognizes the park permit of the other so citizens of both states can visit both sides of the park without paying additional fees

Taylor Falls Princess  paddlewheel boat on the Lower Dallas of the St. Coix River

Devil's Chair rock formation 

cross formation that caused Daniel Duluth in 1679 to name the river St. Croix

Old Man of the Dalles rock formation

canoe on the river - lady in the middle is sitting in a lawn chair

view of the Minnesota (left) and Wisconsin (right) banks of the St. Croix - people on the right are jumping off the rocks into the river

four fawn found inside a doe killed by a hunter

pedestrian bridge and view of river from Wisconsin shore

paddleboat and river from Wisconsin shore

pothole on the Minnesota side - this one is 67 1/2 feet deep and is the deepest excavated hole in the park (the water is pumped out once a week) 

a second pothole that you can climb into via a steel stairway

trees growing out of rocks

basalt rock walls are very popular with climbers -two views of someone climbing with assistance of people on the ground controlling the ropes

St, Croix River dam - built in 1901, the 65-foot dam covered up the rapids that lead to the naming of St. Croix Falls, WI and Taylor Falls, MN

a map showing the location of the Wisconsin Dells - the waters of melting glaciers and the Wisconsin River worked through the layers of sandstone--some harder than others--to form the Dalles

map of the Upper and Lower Dells

the hawk's bill formation was named for the Hawk Klan of the Winnebago

the baby grand piano

sugar bowl on the left and the grotto rock on the right

two views of the ink stand

a tight squeeze between these two rocks by the boat

visor ledge

cow in a milk bottle

towering cliffs guarding the entrance to Witches Gulch

Witches Gulch

Stand Rock - a trained dog leaps the chasm

High Rock from Romance Cliff

Lone Rock marks the end of the Dells - as the glacier flattened the sandstone ridge into glacial rubble below this point

spearing sturgeon from the cribs near the dam - 1880s photo

the entrance to the Lower Dells was violent and lives were lost maneuvering the rapids near Kilbourn Dam (Kilbourn was later renamed Wisconsin Dells) - 1886 photo

Winnebago Indians - a branch of the Sioux nation

the Wisconsin Ducks

original Wisconsin Ducks on a beach in World War II

a Duck in the river

a Duck going from shore to the river - splash down

a Duck making an amphibious landing on shore

tight squeeze through Red Bird Gorge

Duck going through Dell Creek

entrance to Lost Canyon horse ride

Lost Canyon from the rim

tight squeeze in Lost Canyon

view of the canyon from the botton to the top

narrow canyon walls

another wagon passing our wagon

our wagon & horses at the end of the ride

for pictures of other vacations return to the Vacation Photos page