LaCrosse, Mississippi, and flooding

 

The above photo is from Riverside Park in LaCrosse WI. This little statue of the kids and the puppy waving to the boats on the river is something I always stop and admire when walking along here. This photo was taken in August of 2021 when I was getting new tires on my 'Ru.

There is a platform that goes right to the Mississippi's edge here below that statues.

Well not this week!

I shot this with the long lens because they had barricades up around the park. The 'Ru needed new brakes. Charlie and I went for a nice long walk while they were working on it.

People were going around the barricades to look at the water up close and personal...Not me!

After all that water had trees in it, and other gunk. It was swirling so hard that even the lone duck that was there had a hard time keeping afloat.

The bench I usually stop and sit at to people watch down in front of me? Well...

The damage isn't bad at the park at all, after all, the park is used to high water. However the neighborhoods near the river are/were getting their homes flooded. Below is a photo of Cass Street Bridge.

Those are river houses and boats out by Pettibone or Simmons Island. I have no idea how they stay in place.

This is a shot of the building at Pettibone Park across the way. I've never been here yet, but it is on my list of places to explore.

On my way back to the dealership with Charlie, I had to stop and read another funny saying on the sidewalk.  I don't know why these are in LaCrosse but they are! Silly sayings here and there!

It says:

The turtles in the trees
say please sing louder.
Swimming eagles eating cheese
curds and watch the sky for flying
cows driven by cats licking
ice cream. Ants line up at the libraries.

A child tells an adult.
The concrete beneath my feet
is alive with wild ideas
begging my shoes for a ride.

~Matt Cashion

I leave you with that to interpret any way you want. But I love this little ditty. It speaks volumes to me.
Don't ever lose sight of your imagination!

LaCrosse re did several sidewalks and embedded poetry and dance step instructions! What a fun way to celebrate walking through their city!

We take this time for a brief intermission

 

The Subaru needed new tires. One had a very slow leak and honestly, the tread was getting down.

I knew between mounting balancing, and the alignment, it would be a while. I was able to walk to my favorite public park. LaCrosse Riverside Park along the Great Mississippi. I love to walk through the International Friendship Garden. It is free to wander about in and sit on any of the benches. 

The photo above is the entrance to the garden and the first one you can walk into is the oriental garden. Each section of the garden has a Sister City Garden. There are beautiful sculptures hidden away and little fountains along with amazing plants. Volunteers plant the annuals and maintain the gardens. [OH be still my heart! What if I lived close to it! I'd be out working in it for sure!]

Let's not forget the Pelican! A variety of these were placed along a walkway for a few years. This past year, they were all auctioned off except this one. I loved them all and would have loved to have something like this in my yard. Right? Though perhaps a dragon would be a lot cooler.

I walked from one end of this long park to the other end to the base of the bridge.

I didn't get the photos of all the cool statues placed around, but this is one of my favorite ones. Kids in period clothes waving to the River Boats with their dog. The dog is facing back apparently distracted by something else. I spent a lot of time looking at them and thinking about what this city must have been like in the early 1900's.

People donate $ and have bricks interlaid in walk ways which commemorate loved ones. I watched people searching for names in different areas. Others photographed bricks with their phones.

Next time I visit I'll have to find all the cool statues and try and photograph them.

On my way back I noticed little poems embedded in the sidewalks here and there.

If you can't read this poem it says:

Pie Eaters

When I liked pie, I used to lie.

I'd lie about pie.

Why do I lie?

Hey, It's my friend, Ty.

Hey, Ty want some pie?!

Elijah Age 9

Monday was a nice day. 
And really? LaCrosse's Riverfront is a pretty neat place. I do like walking around the whole downtown and just observing.

Big Adventure!

"Okay Charlie, you take care of Dad," I said as I donned my coat and made a last second check of my camera stuff.

I was only going to take my 35mm lens, it works well for night photography and I've used it for shooting the Milkway with some success.
I didn't grab the better of the two tripods and settled with the one that I trek through the woods with.

I was a bit nervous about one...meeting up with other photographers, but I figured Kristi would probably be there. [Kristi was the one I met at the fair and she told me about the Camera Club.] I got there a bit early and joined some men sitting just outside the room the club met in.
I was also a bit hesitant to leave Rich and Charlie on their own. Would Rich hear Charlie when he had to go potty? He usually doesn't even though they are only a few feet apart. Rich can be so engrossed in watching whatever program is on, that he can't seem to hear a thing.

By the time the meeting was over and I drove to the Riverside park, I was done being nervous.
The Rotary Lights were almost overwhelming. I'd seen them briefly in 2010 but had never actually gone and walked through the display.

I pulled on some snow pants in the parking lot, grabbed a hand warmer and opened it up. I dropped one into my hunting glove/mit and checked my camera settings before I even left the Subaru. The outside temperature was 19 degrees and calm.
I zipped up my coat, grabbed the tripod and walked towards the river.

I was fumbling around with my glove/mitts and tripod when one of the other members walked up to me and started to set up. It was Kristi, she said that she had decided to come to the park after all. She commented that she'd wander around until she got too cold.

I was grateful for her company. We spent an hour or so wandering around slowly trying out different settings to take photos. What really amazed me was while we were taking shots or setting up the people that were walking about were so nice! The groups of teenagers would say hello and then duck out of our way with a *sorry* or *pardon me* tossed over their shoulders.

To capture the whole view of the park, you have to drive over a bridge to another small park and you can 'shoot' the lights reflecting on the water.

I did want to do that but it got late and I realized that Rich may be worried or he may sit up and watch for me to come home.

When Kristi said she was cold and her hands were numb, I walked backed to the parking area with her.

I called Rich from the car and told him I was just leaving the Riverside Park. He sounded a bit disappointed and said that I was still an hour away.

I agreed and told him that I'd had a really great time and got to see some amazing lights.

As I came down the drive way through the woods, I could see the porch lights turn on. Yes, he had been watching.
Both he and Charlie seemed relieved to see me.

It was a wonderful adventure.

I need to figure out a time to get back there again this season. This time from across the river.

I hope to skip out with Charlie today to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve to walk along one of my favorite trails and perhaps get a photo worthy of a Christmas Card!