The next morning Rock Creek was a little foggy, but still beautiful.
We have a family illness and have decided to leave the Mississippi River Trail for now and head back home. We are just 28 miles from Davenport, Iowa and this seems like the perfect place to rent a UHaul and load up the trikes and take I-80 West. We are not sure if and when we will return to finish this trip. We will update this blog when we make that decision.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Our camp at Rock Creek
What a lovely view from our campsite. After an effortless ride today, we made camp early and had plenty of time of enjoy the area.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
MRT again
After days of being lost, we finally found the MRT trail again. Actually, this was a perfect riding day. The weather was great with a little bit of a tail wind and the 54 miles seemed like a breeze. Maybe it was the day off yesterday that made the difference.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
tractor day trip
Only in Iowa would you see 90 tractors taking a 50 mile day trip just for fun. We took a short trip into town (Bellevue, Iowa) to get a few groceries and have lunch, and this is what we saw.
the Mississippi from camp
Not a bad place to spend an extra day. We just weren't having fun riding 60 miles each day, so decided to slow down and ENJOY this trip. But then all our plans fell apart yesterday -- with getting lost numerous times, we still ended up riding 60 miles. So today we are relaxing.
hiding from the rain
After looking for the campground for some miles, and then calling them, we determined that campground no longer exists. It started raining so we found a wayside picnic table and huddled under it for a couple hours. We were thinking of waiting till dark and and pitching our tent there (stealth camping), but after sitting there, we soon realized it was a meetup spot for men. So we hit the road again in search of another campground.. Eighteen miles later, we finally pulled in here just before dark and we were very frazzled. Cal immediately decided we should spend 2 nights here so we can regroup mentally.
one more state
We were only in Illinois for a few minutes as we entered Dubuque. We tried following Cal's guidebook again and once again got lost. It took us forever to get through Debuque and ended up on a 4 lane highway with cars buzzing by and no shoulder to retreat to. After we finally got out of town, we started looking for a campground that the guidebook recommended. It was up in the hill country, so lots of climbing.
out of the rain
The campground owner said we could camp wherever we liked, so, knowing the rain forecast, we pitched the tent under a shelter.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wisconsin corn fields
Now we are back in the rolling hills and farms of Wisconsin. We are hoping for cooler weather and less steep hills.
a different view of the Mississippi
We were the only people on the ferry to Cassville, WI. Enough of Iowa for the moment, Wisconsin here we come.
heading back to Wisconsin
If you Check the elevation changes on the map, you will see why we are headed back to Wisconsin. The hills and the heat were killing us.
along the road in Iowa
Another use for a manure spreader. We've seen lots of beautiful wild flowers up here, but this is the most unusual floral display we've seen.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
view from the top (Mississippi River)
Next, we rode south up a LONG STEEP hill to Pikes Peak State Park. The view from up here was worth the climb. There is a nice campground here, so we decided to call it an early day. We have lots of gear to spread out on the picnic tables to dry before we can use it again. Thank goodness the weather has cooled some after that storm. I hope it stays cool for awhile. We are tired of wetting down our shirts in every gas station we pass in order to avoid heat stroke.
Iowa Here we come
After packing up everything WET, we finally went across the street to the restaurant for breakfast -- the one where we planned to have dinner before the exciting storm hit. After crossing the bridge into Iowa, we backtracked north a couple miles to see Effigy Mounds National Monument.
Tent insurance?
Day 19 started in the laundry room. Yes, we spent the whole night there. Just as we thought we were going to get a break in the storm, it got much worse. Another camper joined us in the laundry room for awhile, because he had an alert on his phone that there was a tornado warning for the area and he didn't want to be in his RV. It poured rain all night and hailed from time to time and, of course, lots of wind howling. First thing in the morning Cal went to check on our campsite and found what you see in the photo. I'm glad we weren't in the tent when that limb came down. It actually didn't do any damage, but would have been very frightening.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Here comes the rain
We are camped just outside Prairie Du Chien, WI. We didn't have long to enjoy the site before the storm hit. We grabbed the laptop and headed for the campground laundry just as the rain started. It rained cats and dogs for over an hour and then started hailing. Our tent is under some trees, so, hopefully, the marble size hail didn't damage it. It has now stopped so we will go access the damage. Then time to walk across the street for dinner.
5:00 o'clock somewhere
After a very hot 60 mile ride, Cal got his priorities straight. He has been carrying that beer in the cooler since early yesterday.
I forgot to mention our mosquito battle from laat night. It rained for a few minutes just as we were arriving at the campground in La Crosse. All the mosquitos disappeared, so after the rain stopped, we pitched our tent and went for a long walk before bed. No mosquitos anywhere. Nice walk. Then we entered the tent for bed and the battle was on. At least a dozen little critters must of entered the tent quile we were setting it up. We spent the next hour with a flashlight on a killing mission. We both ended up with several bites, but we finally got them all killed.
I forgot to mention our mosquito battle from laat night. It rained for a few minutes just as we were arriving at the campground in La Crosse. All the mosquitos disappeared, so after the rain stopped, we pitched our tent and went for a long walk before bed. No mosquitos anywhere. Nice walk. Then we entered the tent for bed and the battle was on. At least a dozen little critters must of entered the tent quile we were setting it up. We spent the next hour with a flashlight on a killing mission. We both ended up with several bites, but we finally got them all killed.
Amish Buggy minus horses
Saw this buggy parked beside the road and couldn't figure out what happened to the driver and horses.
Monday, September 3, 2012
bridge to our campground
We are almost at the campground. It started raining just before we got to the bridge. We are in Onalaska, a suburb of La Crosse, WI. After our healthy Subway sandwiches, we finished off the day with DQ Blizzards. It has stopped raining and is cooling off a little.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Merrick State Park
After a very pleasant 33 mile ride we are now camped at Marrick State Park. Being Labor Day weedend, everything is pretty full, but it is a Wisconsin state law that the state campgrounds cannot turn away bikers even if they are full.
Alma, WI
We decided to stay on the Wisconsin side of the river for awhile. We stopped in Alma, WI for the Arts and Musical Festival and to see the Lock and Dam #4.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthplace
This is a replica of the original home built by Pa (Little House in the Big Woods) on the original home site. This is why we backtracked to Pepin. Couldn't get this close and not see it.
Day 15 ride -- backwards
As you can see from the map, we crossed the river and are now in Wisconsin. We are backtracking a few miles to Pepin. Nothing like going north on a southbound trip!!!
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