Saturday Fun

The last Saturday in August we had planned on going to the state fair, but with all of the contraction that I was having we decided that walking around the state fair for hours in the heat and humidity wouldn't be a smart idea so we decided to try and come up with plan B.  We really didn't have a plan when we set out from the house, but the day ended up being really fun.  We headed south and started driving down the river but instead of crossing at the bridge in Wabasha we continued down the Minnesota side of the Mississippi.  We found Lark toys just past Wabasha and stopped and let the kids ride the carousel and had ice cream for lunch.

All of the animals are hand carved, they were really cool. 

After that we continued down to Winona and had a real lunch, just late.  We decided to go ahead and cross over the river in Winona and started back up the Wisconsin side.  It was cool to go down that far since we hadn't gone that far before.  Our next stop was in Alma where they have lock and damn #4.  

Most of the lock and damns aren't open to the public anymore since 9/11, but this one is because it is right next to the road.  We stopped to have a look, hoping we might get to see it working, but didn't know for sure what we might see.  

First we had to cross over the train tracks using the pedestrian bridge.  Right as we were over the tracks a train came around the corner so we waited for the train to go under us. 

 

It was really loud.

Then we walked to the observation deck and watched and it let boats up and down the Mississippi.  I wish I would have taken a few more pictures of the process, but I didn't.  Here is what I did get though.  And I will try and explain how it works for all of us who have never heard of such a thing.  

Because of the elevation change from the Gulf of Mexico to Minnesota the Army Corp of Engineers built a series of lock and damns to help the tug boats get up and down the river easier.  This first view is looking south down the river.  With the channel flooded.  I wish I would have taken a picture with the water at the low stage, but I didn't.  I guess we will probably go back some day and I will take more pictures.  

The boats come in through the open gate (it is just starting to open in this picture to let some boats out)  then the gates on either end are closed and water is pumped in raising the level of the river about 20 feet.  I couldn't believe how fast the water came up, it only a couple minutes to fill the channel.  Then the gate on the other end is opened and the boats go out the other side.  For smaller recreational boats lock and damns really aren't that necessary, but for the bigger boats it makes for a lot faster trip up and down.  It was cool to get to watch it work a few times.  

Our next stop was Pepin, Wisconsin.  We have driven through here a bunch, but never stopped.  We were trying to go to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, but got there a little late and it was closed.  Oh, well it will be an adventure for another day I guess.  

This is a replica of the "Little House in the Big Woods"  where she was born.  

We decided to let the kids play at the park that was there since that was what Abbie had been asking to do the whole day.  

The merry go round was definitely the biggest hit on the play ground.

And Jake made sure the kids got a fun ride.  

We also played at this little train depot which was outside the closed museum.  

It was a fun day, and I am glad that we didn't go out with a plan because the day turned out much better than it would have if we had tried to plan it out.