August 18, 2024
Pleasant surprise yesterday when we learned we’d board ship in St. Paul and cruise south to Red Wing, still home to some of the town’s famous Red Wing shoes, which had helped the US Army in WW II. The river level had dropped enough for the cruise ship to pass under bridges on its way to St. Paul.
Red Wing was once the wheat capital of US, but now gathers and distributes corn and soybeans. The Historical Society visit featured a peek in the archives which took me back to my history days. Town claims to have been birthplace of ski jumping, but fortunately there was no snow so I wasn’t tempted. Great pottery museum. From there we went along the river to Wabasha, home of grumpy old men and the National Eagle center. Four kind of Eagles were named–sea/fish, booted, forest,serpent. I wanted to add a fifth, bsa. Wabasha is the start of a wildlife refuge that extends to Rock Island. Great places to see Eagles, especially given the number of dams and locks that have open water all year round.