Granddad's Sunset

Another dramatic sunset view from atop of Granddad's Bluff in La Crosse, Wisconsin. You can see across the Mississippi River to eastern Minnesota in the distance.

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Wall-E

While visiting my old hometown, La Crosse, Wisconsin, a few weeks ago, I finally had a chance to drive up to Grandad's Bluff.  Bliss Road, the winding road leading up to the top, has washed out & crumbled over the past few years, and they finally have it (permanently?) repaired.  The visitor area at the top has been remodeled with a new shelter house, bathrooms, safety fencing, and robotic telescopic view finders - which as you see from the photo, are reminiscent of something out of the movie "Wall-E" !

I will post more vista views over the next few days.

SkyWatch: Late Afternoon Haze

Another view from the top of Grandad's Bluff. This was taken while at the end of a trail, facing southwest, looking towards the Minnesota and Iowa border on the Mississippi River. The reflection of the sky on the river almost looks like snow in the distance.

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Get Your Duff Up the Bluff!

The Alpine Inn has been at the top of Bliss Road on Grandad's Bluff in La Crosse since I can remember. As a child, when our family would drive to the top of the bluff for an afternoon hike, my dad would stop on the way back home so we kids could get a "pop" - usually a Spring Grove Orange, or a 7-Up. As a college student in the mid-1970's, we would spend weekend afternoons watching (or playing) volleyball on their side-court, and evenings listening to music and tipping back a few. It's lived through lots of changes, but the modified A-frame shape and the name remain the same.

Granddad's Bluff

I visited some family members in La Crosse, WI, this past weekend. Granddad's Bluff, which towers 590 feet above the city, is one of the area's main natural attractions. The photo above shows the point from the city below. Bliss Road, which winds all the way to the top of Granddad's, was shut down several years ago due to structural flaws and crumbling of the rocks under the road. After lots of political debate, it was eventually repaired and reopened this year. I was excited to finally go back up to the top during my visit.

The view below shows a retaining fence, which supposedly keeps people from getting too close to the edge. The bluffs are made of sandstone and chert, which are soft and unstable rocks. But, naturally, there are always those daring souls who walk around it and try to get to the look-out area below. Sadly, a young high school girl recently slipped to her death from here, hence all the flowers and memorials tied to the fence.

Still, it is a beautiful view. The houses in the lower left are part of the city of La Crosse. The forested area and the marsh beyond is Myrick Park (where I took these eagle shots last spring.) The expanse moves into north La Crosse and neighboring Onalaska. The bluffs in the distance are on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi. I hope to post a few more photos of the area in the days ahead.