Day 6
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
There was only one thing of tap for the day, Big River Bluff State Park. It’s about twenty minutes south of Winona and an easy drive.
No trail runs more than a mile and a half round trip, but there were enough to keep me occupied for the morning. It all started with the trail out to King’s Bluff, one of the longer ones. Not bad at all.
The payoff…
I took a few more trails through the woods, making a big loop to another pair of overlooks simply named East and West.
When I heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance, I decided that was enough. Sure, the trails were short, but who wants to potentially mess with an electrical storm.
From the drive out of the park...
By the time I got back to the main road, the sun was starting to peek out again. I had passed a sign for the Historic Pickwick Mill on the way in. I also knew there was a waterfall. So, I took a little detour.
Construction on the Pickwick Lumber Mill began in 1856. It was later converted to a grist mill. The mill was named by the owner's wife, a fan of Charles Dickens' novel, "The Pickwick Papers."
Across the street from the mill is their retention pond. As long as there's enough water in the pond, they still let it turn the waterwheel for tourists. As you can see, there wasn't enough water on the day I visited.
By the end of the century, technology had changed. The old grist wheels were being phased out. The Pickwick changed with the times and replaced theirs with a system of crushing rollers...
I had been to grist mills before. There were two things I hadn't seen. Mills like this create a highly flammable, very fine dust. This mill had an air circulation system that collected the dust into a small room on the top floor. This kept it away from any flames from lanterns and such downstairs.
The second was something known as a Hurst Frame. Mills like this create a great deal of vibration. So, instead of using beams and joists to hold the machines on each floor, they're supported by these beams that go through the floor and directly into the ground. This transfers the vibration into the ground, and not the building's structure.
One more stop before leaving. Just below the mill's dam is a small waterfall. I could easily walk out to the top, but didn't see a way down to the bottom. The staff at the mill gave me directions. Walk down the road past the dam and look for a post with a rope.
Lunch was at a place called Sammy's Pizza. It was mid afternoon and I was the only customer in the place. So, while my lunch cooked, I had a nice chat with the owners. Since a significant part of their business was always take out, they're doing okay and business is picking up. One thing about pizza in this part of the world though. I'm used to triangle shaped slices that you can pick up, fold over and eat. Here they cut it in squares.
And what roadtrip day would be complete without a stop to the local brewery. Today's choice was Island City Brewing This afternoon's beverage, a tasty Raspberry Blonde Ale they call Mrs. Sippi.
I still had some time before even thinking about sunset, so I simply worked my way to the big municipal park along the lake, aptly named Lake Park. In the bandshell, the Winona Municipal Band was warming up for their evening show...
Eventually, the sun started going down and I settled in for sunset. The band was back in the bandshell and a good crowd was assembling for the evening's concert.
All the seats by the bandshell were taken, and there were plenty of people in lawn chairs, as well as those simply sitting in their cars. After every song, there was the expected applause. It was joined by an enthusiastic honking of car horns.
Coming up,
No comments:
Post a Comment