Met up with Brian and made our way across the bridge to the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River to the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge. A 6,226-acre habitat that lies within the Mississippi River flyway. It was established in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The refuge is a breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. It is an isolated backwater, cut off from the Mississippi and the Trempealeau Rivers by dikes, providing needed resting and feeding areas for waterfowl and other birds. It was spectacular on this visit!
Brian & Pat with the Fall colors at their peak behind us...
....a no-legged painted turtle crossing the trail ...somehow? ...
The refuge has numerous dikes (like this one below) built in the 1930's to divert water. Today they are simply nice hiking paths into the refuge.
The Refuge is massive so you feel quite small once you've hiked the interior ... the wildlife (mostly birds) are incredible...
The 2nd part of our hike took us to an island where an early settler lived - can't imagine the wilderness back in the late 1800's.
