Colorful Heron

I posted a picture of this heron a few years back, but here is another view of the "Pump House Heron" statue at the International Friendship Gardens in La Crosse.  I really like the painted promise of colorful summertime flowers contrasted against the bare and chilly spring background.

You can see for miles and miles

The above photo was taken on the way up to Granddad's Bluff point, off the right side of the road.  It's looking north towards Onalaska, Wisconsin, and westward to Minnesota.  You can see parts of both the Black River and the Mississippi River in the distance. It had rained earlier in the day and was still very warm so there was a misty haze illuminated by the sunset.

The image below was taken from the top of Granddad's (where the telescopic view finders are) and it also looks northwest, but with a closer focus.  The marsh at the bottom of the picture is part of the La Crosse River flowage, which goes through Myrick Park, and eventually meets up with the Mississippi River in downtown La Crosse.

Click each one to see the enlarged images. These seem quite appropriate for Skywatch Friday!

Flood

In early April, during a visit to La Crosse, we stopped by Riverside Park on the Mississippi River. The spring snows had melted upstream and the flooding had begun. This view is looking south toward the bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The flooded brick walkway below the statues of the children is normally an open path to the steamboat docking. The cement curb beyond the docking posts is part of the levee usually above water. Across the river you can see the Pettibone Island beach house has been flooded as well.

The photo below shows the same landing looking northward, where the Black River (on the right) joins the main channel of the Mississippi (on the left.)

Up the Lazy River

The La Crosse River meanders behind the International Friendship Gardens in La Crosse's Riverside Park and empties into the mighty Mississippi just around the bend (below.) That's an abandoned railroad trestle in the distance

You can almost imagine Huck Finn floating on raft under the canopy of these giant cottonwood trees, escaping the heat of the noon-day sun...