St.Croix National Scenic Riverway

We did not move our rig very far yesterday. In fact, this region is officially part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. It is the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway-  one of the first river routes east of the Mississippi to be protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Our plan for the next few days is to explore the St.Croix River Valley. The St.Croix River begins its' flow at the town of St.Croix Falls, Wisconsin and Taylor Falls, Minnesota. Yesterday, when we began our initial foray into the area, I kept getting disorientated as to which state we were in from one moment to the next. Soon I had it easily figured out; when we were in Wisconsin there are many political signs for Scott Walker, where there are no signs we were in Minnesota! One of first stops yesterday was in the town of Osceola, where in the heart of its' downtown are the Cascade Falls. The terrain surrounding the falls drops 108 feet from the Osceola Creek to the St.Croix River. After hiking down to the falls we walked over to the Farmer's Market. Today the town was celebrating their Rhubarb Festival. We felt that after our hike we could indulge in a rhubarb sundae. It was quite delicious, I just had to buy some rhubarb and make my own sauce!

We thought we were headed back home, but instead decided to take a detour through the town of St.Croix Falls. We stopped at the Overlook Park there to get a view of the falls. However,  a cascade of falls, once located here, were impounded in the early 1900s by the hydroelectric dam. Still, it is a scenic overlook of the river- the dam creates a constant spray over the river. And we were fortunate to be at the park when a concert was soon to begin. We bought sandwiches for supper and enjoyed the bluegrass music provided by the Roe Family Singers from Minneapolis. Their music is excellent and we had a great evening.