While on my way back to camp at Perrot State Park, I was surprised to find a summer celebration in downtown Trempealeau, Wisconsin called the Catfish Days Festival. Nothing was waiting for me back at camp and I’ve learned to never pass up a good catfish sandwich so I stopped to check things out for a while.
This was the opening Friday evening of the weekend event so things were relatively quiet. Saturday & Sunday lineups had more exhibitions and competitions if you are interested in future visits. I walked around checking out the crowds and carnival games for a bit until my beer was finished. Weather tonight is getting hot – was still in the 80 degree range even after sundown with oppressive humidity.
Back on Main Street you can see old buildings from the late 1800’s, some of which are revamped and some still original. Pastel hues bounce off the wispy clouds during the sunset.
A large stone historical marker detailing the history of Trempeauleau can found near the river walk & train tracks. Appears the town started as a popular French fur trading outpost some 300 years ago (but of course the Sioux / Winnebago / Ho-Chunk tribes were here long before that).
There is also a large bronze statue of James Allen Reed, a US Army soldier and early resident of this area. Some accounts call him the “first permanent settler” and the “Daniel Boone of Trempealeau“. More nice sunset hues reflecting on the clouds over the Mississippi River.
Below the statue is a historical marker / memorial to those who served in the War of 1812.
Time for some shut-eye back at camp now – tomorrow will be a busy day, stay tuned for more!
Edit 2020-05-31: Corrected my spelling mistakes of “Trempeauleau” to “Trempealeau”. Leaving the URL as-is with the mistake to keep links intact.
Lat = 44.0041962 , Long = -91.4429474 -- Show at Google Maps