Taylor Falls and St. Croix falls are sister cities across the St. Croix River and across State lines from each other. Taylor Falls was my exit from Minnesota where I was rudely introduced to a 9% grade through St Croix falls. The two towns themselves are very inviting with ornamental flower baskets brightly hanging from lamp post down the respective main streets. There were cafes and malt shops, antique stores and gift shops and a myriad of other businesses that I had the chance to investigate for a day. I can tell you that my raspberry chocolate malt passed the test. There was an antique shop that I wish my wife Brenda could have seen. There were some interesting finds within the store that I thought were relatively inexpensive. They would have brought a steeper price further east, I would imagine. Crystal decanters and vases for a few dollars and antique dressing tables and fully operational antique wooden cash registers for a bit over a hundred dollars. Very neat place.
Further fact-finding about these two cities as one walks the trails by the river reveals a stunning truth: There are no falls. Nary any rapids. That is false advertising that needs to be corrected. They should be required to drop the last word of their city names, for integrity purposes. There is a dam for power production. There are also very sheer cliffs where many rock climbing ropes were left dangling. But no falls.
Setting my "sans falls" disappointment aside, they are very nice towns worth a visit.
I leave the "fall-less" cities to head to Edgewater, WI. I have already prepared myself to not be on the edge of any water.
The early part of the ride is smooth rolling hills that alternates forests, family farms and villages. The roadsides are heavily guarded by goldenrod and pleasantly interspersed by a few other wildflowers for most of the ride. The family farms often have ornate signs proclaiming the family name and type of farm they preside over. This being Wisconsin, I guess it should be of no surprise that many are dairy farms. Corn, beans and potato farms still take up much of the acreage. The latter part of the ride moves me through more lakes and areas that support fishing. There are increasing signs of lakeside resorts that cater to summer vacationers and fisherman. These resorts are primarily cottage and cabin rentals on the lake that provide boat launches and other basic services for those whose target are Muskie, Walleye and Blue Gill. (Birchwood, one of the towns along the way is apparently the Blue Gill capital of Wisconsin. I had no idea.). I am not staying at one of these quaint resorts, however.
My stop for the evening is a motorhome campground that appears to cater to seasonal visitors. Some of the units look like they remain here year-round with their owners visiting when the snow melts. One such couple in their 70s had dozens of hummingbirds flying around their home nearing sunset. They had plenty of feeders and flowers to attract them. They explained to me that they show up to their home and every year they are there.
Although tents are allowed, it is not a "tent" site, per se. The manager suggests a spot for me under the trees behind and RV where the owners had just left that morning. I accept and set up camp for the night. Oh yes, I am just a short walk from the waters' edge. Nice. This area is also well known for ATV trails and snowmobiles. Obviously the latter were not in use on a day in the 90s with high humidity. However, the former were out dusting up the trails on a Saturday. I note this because I am often very self conscious when I stop and eat at a cafe or similar. I try to pick a table away from the crowd, being very hot and sweaty. Today, however, when the ATV crew came in for a bite to eat, I may have been the cleanest one in the room.
Expecting clear skies tonight, but tomorrow there is supposed to be late rain. I plan to get up and try to beat as much of that as I can.
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