Nice facility, good books and tables/seating, wifi too. Too bad about the librarians they hire…read more One in particular lets people she knows play loud music from their phone while they read the paper. When I asked her about said miscreant, she informed me that "he just does that". Like rules don't apply to him because he's a walking fossil. Forget about students trying to study or people trying to concentrate and work, or even PEOPLE TRYING TO READ. IN A LIBRARY. Absolutely ridiculous. Shame on your staff.

Many decades ago I spent countless hours in the stacks of books in the Winona Public Library. It…read morewas a refuge at first and then became an inspiration that's followed me my entire life. I became a writer - first a journalist and then an author. The solace and opportunity I found in this beautiful, historic library taught me the world is wide and possibility abounds. Thanks to all the librarians (who "shhhsh'd me many times) but tolerated a hyperactive girl with dreams. Darby (Pat) Patterson, Sacramento

Recently came here just because I wanted place to stop at to review since I've been to a lot of…read morerest areas around the Midwest. It's a pretty cool rest stop though I thought it'd be a little more scenic but this place is fairly well taken care of with plenty of walking around to do for your legs or a place for your pet to relieve themselves. Easily located right over the Border. Great vending machines as well. Easy access to the highway as well!

Welcome to Wisconsin as you cross over from Minnesota on I-90, this rest area is pretty good. I…read morelike that there is a complete 90 degree turn to enter and that should slow people down. The rest area has a nice "Wisconsin Welcomes You" sign for your state line selfie. Inside, the welcome center has tons of brochures and information on Wisconsin tourist attractions and lodging which would definitely be useful for visitors. The restroom is clean and the "you are here" map told me where I was. Note that there is only this rest area for eastbound traffic. The Minnesota Welcome Center is on the other side of the bridge. [Review 17170 overall - 182 in Wisconsin - 687 of 2022.]

In most places when you will cross the Mississippi River and journey from one state to another…read more Here in La Crosse, this section of the river is entirely in Wisconsin and you won't be at the border to Minnesota for another mile or so. There are two spans here, with the upriver (westbound) being the Cass Street Bridge and the downriver (eastbound) is the Cameron Avenue Bridge. They connect downtown La Crosse with Barron Island. It is only when you are on the La Crosse West Channel Bridge and you go from Barron Island to cross into La Crescent Minnesota. The Cass Street Bridge (the one that I drove heading west) opened in 1939 and replaced a swing bridge that was damaged in 1935. It is a cantilever bridge 17 panel rivet-connected warren through truss with a a total length of 2532 feet and a width of 30 feet. There is 67 feet of clearance below to the Mississippi. It is paired with the Cameron Avenue bridge that is more modern and opened in 2004. If you're here, do check out the deck truss approach spans which are curved. Another interesting feature is the stairways that are midway along the approach spans at each end of the bridge and allow pedestrians to climb up to the bridge sidewalk. The western stairway includes a crossover stairway that passes under the deck truss allowing pedestrians to switch which sidewalk they are walking on without walking across the roadway. [Review 20711 overall - 280 in Wisconsin - 1692 of 2023.]

My second Mississippi lock and dam, the first was Number 22 down near Hannibal Missouri in May. The…read moreUpper Mississippi doesn't flow quite as easily as the Lower Mississippi which necessitated the construction of 29 lock and dam structures - a "stairway of water" that allows boats and barges to travel from Saint Louis to Saint Paul, a 420 foot drop in elevation from Minneapolis to Granite City. La Crescent is the furthest downstream of the locks in Minnesota with the next being in Winona. The next one downstream is in Alma. Number 7 was constructed in the mid-1930s and went into operation in April 1936. The embankment is 8100 feet long from the dam to French Island where there is a concrete spillway. It's not completely easy to see too much of it from ground level but from the I-90 river bridge, there's plenty to see. Interesting and unfortunately, there wasn't a ship transiting the lock when I visited. Maybe next time! [Review 20712 overall - 124 in Minnesota - 1693 of 2023.]

The facility is about 700 river miles up from the confluence with the Ohio. It was put in operation…read morein April of 1937 with a significant rehabilitation by the United States Army Corps of Engineers near the turn of the century. The concrete structure is 1050 feet long containing a 100 foot by 600 foot-long lock, five roller gates, and 11 tainter gates. An additional 10,000 feet of earthen dammage plus 1500 feet of concrete spillways complete the span to either side of French Island and the impounded water feeds Lake Onalaska above the dam. Because of its proximity to Interstate 90 in Minnesota Lock and Dam 7 is a pretty touristy spot on the Mississippi River. A large lot is accessed from the nearby rest are/visitor's center. Covered bleachers are available for any who wish to watch the river traffic or area wildlife; restrooms are open in season.

So, the house, what you can see of it: 5 stars. It's gorgeous and everything is well preserved…read more Why the 2 stars though? Three reasons: 1. I would post pics showing what it looks like but no photography is allowed. I thought the one woman was going to bat my phone out of my hand when I took it out to take a pic. It is 2019; 80 year old grandmothers have smartphones with cameras. If it's about flash photography, say so and let me take pics without the flash. Otherwise, a restriction on photography gets you an immediate downvote in my book. 2. You see three rooms and you can't even go in and look around, it's all roped off. 3. None of the guides knew anything beyond their script. Anytime anyone asked a question they said they didn't know the answer. Why are you working here if you don't know half the questions people are asking? Beautiful house, what you can see of it. I got in free with a tour but based on my time there today would never pay to go inside.

Fantastic tour, house is preserved so well and you can tell the staff/volunteers have a lot of…read morerespect for its history. Well worth the ticket cost. Tour probably an hour or longer and so much detail!!!

Since, I have returned back to my hometown of St. Charles, MN, I have visited the city's public…read morelibrary a couple of times recently. Looking back, I can recall going there as a young child, to include spending time with my two best friends from junior high screwing around and trying not laugh to loud. First off, I was amazed at the renovation that was strewn upon the original building, especially the expansion. The new addition definitely makes a lasting impression on any onlookers. In addition, they have also included a conference room, which anyone can reserve. The place is clean, well organized, and in immaculate condition. There are gender specific restrooms that are very clean. There are also public computers to utilize. One can print there, but it costs 15 cents, per sheet of paper. There's a children's section, with tables for them to read. Parking is ample and there is also handicapped parking too. One must have a library card in order to access the amenities there. This library does have summer & fall/winter hours. I'm very happy to see my hometown put a valid investment into this library, and more importantly, into the people of St. Charles.

Nice trail, but unfortunately flooded due to the rain so could only see 0.2 miles of it.read more

Anyone who tackles this trail must be…read more.. A) A historic bridge enthusiast and fan of engineering design B) The second coming of Aldo Leopold C) Someone off their nut D) A&C E) B&C F) All of the above. Okay, seriously, this is a a fascinating area and quite a trail for nature lovers. Alexander McGilvray saw an opportunity in 1854 and launched a ferry across the Black River. In 1892, the county built a steel bridge across the river, ending the ferry service. Since McGilvray Road went through backwaters of the Black River and a slough, six wooden bridges were built. The moist environment wrecked wooden bridges quickly, so between 1905 and 1908, a series of five bowstring truss bridges were built with one wooden bridge left behind. The road was closed in 1948 due to flooding, and in 1954 the steel bridge was removed. The five bowstring truss bridges remain in place and a fifth pony truss bridge was relocated here to replace the wooden bridge. The maintenance of the old bridges is accomplished with volunteer labor, the Friends of McGilvray Road in partnership with the Wisconsin DNR. Bowstring trusses, one time plentiful, are now rare and only eight examples remain in Wisconsin - five of those eight are on McGilvray Road. As for the hiking, well, nature has pretty much consumed McGilvray Road, popularly known as Seven Bridges Road. It is a hiking trail, being slowly developed by the Friends of McGilvray Road. You can take the 1.8 mile hike to the Black River and experience a piece of La Crosse County history yourself. Dress appropriately and wear good hiking shoes.The day I visited McGilvray Road, I met a couple on the trail. He was wearing sandals. Not smart. She was wearing cross trainers, still not very smart. Both were wearing shorts - really not smart as the mosquitoes were matched in size and maneuverability to a P-38. No motorized vehicles, in fact, no vehicles at all, including no bicycles. As a hiking trail, two stars. As a great example of private and public sector cooperation, four stars, as an example of historic preservation, five stars. Net result - four stars. I'd go back - would you like to join me?