Wabasha, MN

Today we left Pepin, WI, exited Lake Pepin and traveled 7 miles to Wabasha, MN. At the southern end of Lake Pepin, the Chippewa River is still trying to choke off the Mississippi, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in a constant battle to dredge this section of the river to keep it navigable. We passed two dredges, which are basically backhoes on barges, moved by tugboats. In the picture below, you can also see a bulldozer on the left, which moves the spoils to higher ground. 

Wabasha is the setting for the 1993 movie classic “Grumpy Old Men” and it’s (forgettable) sequel “Grumpier Old Men.” The town is very proud of this association, and hosts an annual Grumpy Old Men Festival. Fun fact: No part of either movie was actually filmed here.

Wabasha is also home to the National Eagle Center, a non-profit dedicated to the protection of North American eagles, primarily bald and golden eagles. It is the permanent home to bald eagles from the area that are injured and deemed non-releasable back into the wild due to the extent of their injuries. We toured the center and watched an interesting presentation with one of their winged “ambassadors,” as they are called. Fun fact: the term “hoodwinked” is a word from falconry, where a hood is placed over a bird’s head to trick it into thinking it is nighttime in order to calm it. 

It was another uncomfortably hot day, well into the 90s and humid. We did a fair bit of walking around to see the town, and sought welcome relief in air conditioned spaces, including the eagle center, public library and Herb+Arrow restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner. The heat is supposed to break tonight when a cold front rolls through.