Road Trip 2012: Sunday 9/16

142 miles and camped at Perrot State Park, on the shores of the Mississippi River, near Trempealeau, Wisconsin where the Trempealeau River enters the Mississippi.

Perrot State Park, site 11

Amherst, WI to Perrot State Park, Trempealeau, WI

I'm traveling with Dave and Ann Wright for a few days now as we explore a section of the Mississippi River.  The drive from Amherst to here took about four hours.  We traveled across the farmland of central Wisconsin, past the woodland and cranberry bogs of west central Wisconsin, and finally the rolling hills and bluffs surrounding the Mississippi.  Geologically, this area of southwest Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota is referred to as "the Driftless Area."  Driftless refers to the lack of glacial till.  This region escaped glaciation during the last glacial period.

Commercial cranberry bog

Rolling farmland of southwestern Wisconsin

After setting up camp and cooking dinner, we went for an early evening canoe ride of the Trempealeau River.

View of Trempealeau Mountain from Trempealeau Bay

Trempealeau River

I'm looking forward to exploring the park.  Some of the trails climb the high bluffs and there are the remains of ancient mounds created by Native Americans who lived in the area some 7,000 years ago.