Day 15:  124 miles today from St Paul to Wabasha, MN with side trips . Again so many detours and delays due to roadwork. We really enjoyed traveling along Lake Pepin,  a natural lake created by 3-4 miles of islands choking the river at the southern end (a canal has been dredged through for large river barges) . The river is 2 miles wide and many boaters were enjoying the good weather today. The water is still quite high.
We drove across the islands to the Wisconsin side and visited the Laura Ingles Wilder museum in Pepin. Then we drove 7 miles inland to the area where the family homestead was located. A replica little house in the big woods has been built there although now days it is surrounded by farms. Laura was born here, lived here a year,  moved back from about 7-9 years of age and then moved away for good.
The area is know for eagle watching in the winter and pelicans in the summer. Dad saw several pelicans. Heading south again in the morning.