Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Run for the Minnesota Border!

Iowa on the left... The trees on the right are in Minnesota

Hello and welcome to the blog.  Today my sister and I are in Decorah, Iowa.  Those who have followed this and the VanTrekker.com blog know how special this place is... There are many things to see and do... and the fishing is awesome in this area.

Today (Tuesday) I split off.  Sis and my brother-in-law went to see the Vesterheim Museum - a fascinating glimpse into the history of Norwegians migrating to this area.  It's a must see when in Decorah.  Sis was impressed.

My sister from Kansas City

Yesterday we visited the Dunning Springs waterfall in Decorah.  Kitty Serena used to love visiting here and would boldly drink from the waterfall.  Jesse was terrified by the noise and hid under the van the last time he was here.


One could get used to this comfort!


The last couple of days we've been staying at the Hotel Winneshiek in downtown Decorah.  It's central to many attractions.  This room has its own jacuzzi.  It is heavenly but just like the last time, I fell hard getting into the hot tub, striking the left femur and bruising a knee.  But it's amazing how the pain dissipated in time to fish.  (I forgot to think about the soreness!)



I took off this morning to go fishing in Allamakee County, the farthest northeast Iowa county.  It's about 20 miles from here. Starting right at the Minnesota border, I fished and walked a total of nearly four miles, eventually catching five decent fish.  Here is a picture of one of the rainbow trout and a brook trout.  The brookie is the one with the white spots on a more lavender colored body.  The rainbow is more colorful and has the black spots.

Chicken corn chowder - a camping favorite that fits in a 1.5 quart slow cooker.
While the rest of the family had their Tuesday lunch at Old Armory Barbecue (a terrific restaurant), I was content to eat some tasty soup after cleaning the day's catch of fish.  Last night I had prepped veggies and chicken in the hotel room.  The soup simmered in the van's slow cooker all morning while fishing was occurring.  Barbecue sounded good but a warm pot of homemade "from scratch" soup on a picnic table sounded a millions times better!

With our paths diverging today (mine was the less traveled, of course) all three of us enjoyed ourselves.  They are vowing to come back again.  I most certainly will be!   We're going to get together next fall and likely visit this area at that time.  But in the meantime, after Sis returns home, the plan is to make some plans for a new fishing venue.  A word about that and then I'd better call it a night.  We're going fishing at 7 AM tomorrow!

On the way to our little trip north, the three of us had stopped in the town of Elkader, the Clayton County seat.  Using the Syma drone's camera, this picture of the river, the courthouse, and downtown captured Elkader's charm.


Turkey River @ Elkader, Iowa in Clayton County
A newly completed riverwalk leads one to the left side of the river.  The catfishing below the line of rocks is said to be fantastic during the warmer summer evenings.  I plan to find out!

For now it's off to bed in preparation for taking Sis to Trout Run park tomorrow.  I've promised to smoke whatever fish she catches.

Thanks for visiting!  Safe and happy travels always!

Bradford, in Winneshiek County, Iowa


1 comment:

  1. Watch out for those hot tubs. The trout are beautiful and I bet they will be good eating. Your soup looks good too. I think I would also rather eat at the picinic table and enjoy home made from scratch soup. Keep having fun with family

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