Hopping Across Iowa to Visit RV Friends…

After enjoying our stay in Sioux Falls, SD it was time to point the RV east and go through Iowa. We loved our last visit to the state of Iowa but since we need to get to North Carolina by late August, we are having to pick up our pace. As a result we planned two one night stays to get us across Iowa and still give us a little time to see new parts of the state.

Our first stop took us 122 miles east into Iowa where we stopped for a single night at the Wild Rose Casino in Emmetsburg Iowa. Emmetsburg is a small little town but has a casino a little way out of town with an RV park beside a small lake. It had no water or sewer but had electricity for $25 per night. It included breakfast in the casino hotel and because they also gave us each $10 in free play it was close to a break even stop. Even better we arrived on Monday night where they offer up a $3.99 chicken and potato buffet that was pretty darn good and at that price couldn’t be beat!

The next morning we drove another 170 miles (a long day for us) and pulled into Deerwood Park where we scored one of the few remaining sites. Full hookups were here for $19 per night. During our stay we checked out the nearby towns of Cedar Rapids and Waterloo Iowa. Waterloo is mostly a blue-collar industrial town that wasn’t very lively or appealing to us. Cedar Falls (where the University of Iowa is) was just the opposite as we found it to be not only appealing but interesting as well.

They have done a lot to make their little town alive and energetic so we enjoyed an urban stroll around the small town. Of course we also walked abound the campus of University of Northern Iowa which is a beautifully landscaped campus that provided a delightful park-like setting.  Big trees and lush greenery abound. The buildings themselves are not overly interesting from an architectural viewpoint but we did enjoy the stroll through the “park.”

The next morning we were on the road to stay near Cedar Rapids Iowa to meet up with friends John and Jane former RV full-timers who are taking a small break from full-timing to be near their granddaughter. They saved us a site in Morgan Creek County Park a beautiful and well cared for Linn County Park. At only $20 per night for 50 amp and water service it is a steal (but very hard to get a spot in). Jane and John met us at the site while we set up and afterward we hit the ground running.

We toured their downtown condo and then walked around Cedar Rapids checking out all their favorite places. Sharon loved how everything was within walking distance of their place as she has always imagined city living would be fun. They do seem to really enjoy it. Of course we had to stop at Iowa Brewing for a frosty beverage and then went to an  interesting restaurant which offered pizzas that are a fusion between Italian and Chinese. We had the Kung Pao Pizza and they enjoyed the Crab Rangoon Pizza. Yum!!!

The next day Sharon and I walked around the nearby arboretum and hiked out into the prairies where they have mowed trails allowing hikers to get a good look at them. We saw lots of wildflowers and green grass in the prairie with butterflies everywhere. That evening we took in a minor league baseball game where the home town Kernal’s won easily. We sure enjoyed the game and the company of Jane and John.

Our last day in Cedar Rapids we spent playing a little disc golf and then concluded the day back at Jane and John’s condo where we had appetizers and drinks on the patio listening to live music being played by Alisabeth Von Presley. The concert was “free” for us as we are all on their patio overlooking the stage. What a great day and a great way to end our three day stay visiting our friends…. thanks for the hospitality Jane and John…

NOTE: We left Cedar Rapids Iowa today and headed for Moline Illinois with plans our next stop to be near Peoria, Illinois…

Some Short Hikes in the Mines of Spain Recreation Area, Iowa…

While in Dubuque Iowa we read about several parks in the area. After our downtown urban tour we wanted to balance that out with a nature outing to familiarize ourselves with the scenery in this hilly, rocky area of Iowa. The plan was to visit Mines of Spain Recreation Area which has the Julien Dubuque Monument and Eagle Point Park on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River locks.

Once we arrived at Mines of Spain Park, we were a little confused about where to start. We soon realized that the Visitor Center was on the other end of the park and did not want to waste time finding it so we decided to wing it. The signage was a little confusing in that a couple of pullouts indicated a trailhead was there when in fact it was a connecting trail instead.

We then decided to try to find the Julien Dubuque Monument. Up a winding road we found the short walk to a beautiful site. The monument overlooks the Mississippi River and offers views of Dubuque. The monument itself is unique and beautiful so we enjoyed photographing it from all angles. There were several plaques and signs along the walk describing Dubuque’s history. We were amused to read that the first murder and public hanging occurred in Dubuque in the 1834.

We couldn’t decide between hiking the Calcite Trail or the Horseshoe Bluff trail next. The confusing signage made the decision for us as the pullout we chose was a connecting trail to the Horseshoe Bluff trail. It must have been serendipity because this trail was fantastic. Although there were a few other hikers, we mostly had the trail to ourselves that meandered first through tall fields of grasses and wildflowers opening up to a stunning view of bluffs looming above on both sides of the trail. It took our breath away as its beauty was a welcome surprise!

The signage indicated that this rock was 400 million years old and was of the Ordovician Age. We so enjoyed walking through the bluffs on this beautiful sunny day lighting the contrasting colors of the rocky bluffs against the crisp blue sky. The trail took us up and across one bluff and at this juncture of the trail we saw a bunny and minutes later a fox! We have seen a fox before in the wild from afar but this view, although fleeting was really up close and personal! We wondered if we actually saved that bunny’s life as we theorized that fox was hoping for a rabbit lunch!  Anyway, we spent quite a lot of time admiring this encounter and the bluffs above and then headed back to the car to decide where to go next.

We debated finding the Calcite Trail but decided instead to drive to the Visitor Center. The E.B. Lyons Interpretive Center was very well done. It had lots of information regarding the Mines of Spain mining history as well as the Native American History. It also had a lot of animal exhibits as well as information about the vegetation and geology of the area. In the back of the building was a view of the “back yard” with bird feeders attracting Downy Woodpeckers, Titmouse, Red Breasted Grosbeaks and others. It was fun to watch the birds fly in and around the feeders.

We noticed a trail alongside the feeding area so we decided to check it out. It began with an interpretative trail describing plants along the way. The Junkerman Trail descended down 172 steps (Sharon counted) over to a site that was a farm belonging to Otto Junkerman and his family in 1859. Though the house was gone there was an old water pump and another trail upward to Otto’s Retreat and his farm. He built a miniature replica of a his old church in Germany to use as his study and retreat and called it the Pine Chapel. It was a beautiful place and must have offered him much enjoyment in its peaceful solitude.

The day got away from us so we scrapped the trip over to Eagle Point opting instead to drive home for a nice dinner then a we walked over to the nearby casino and gambled the $5.00 each free play they gave us as new members. Since we won about $10.00 (no we are not big gamblers) we decided to watch some of the greyhound races that were held in the same casino/track. We bet on five races and pretty much broke even but had a great time on this last day in Dubuque Iowa.

NOTE: We are currently in Madison Wisconsin hiding out for the fourth of July weekend and have not yet decided where we will go next.

Dubuque Iowa–Oldest Town in Iowa…

I should have mentioned in our previous post that we really like Miller Riverview RV Park. I mean we only have electricity and we don’t have sewer or water hookups but we do have the mighty Mississippi River flowing ever so slowly into the Gulf of Mexico right out our front window. Besides the Bald Eagles soaring, we have also seen many white pelicans. We also absolutely love watching the barges push massive amounts of cargo up and down the river. All this for only $15 per night!!!

Since we are in Dubuque Iowa we were interested in checking out what is known as the oldest town in Iowa. We found some free 2 hour limited parking next to something we don’t see very often  - a cable car elevator! Since Dubuque is mostly in the Mississippi River floodplain there is a steep escarpment of limestone that has few roads going up due to its slope. As a result there is a cable car off of fourth street lifting passengers from the bottom to top of the hill (or visa versa). Although we didn’t ride to the top, we were happy to watch a few runs. 

We appreciated  the free parking there since every other street we drove on (even the ones surrounding the Welcome Center) had meters. We walked from there to the Welcome Center to see if there were any self guided walking tours to aid in our quest to discover the town.  The staff was very friendly and gave us a couple of city maps to use but had no self guided tours.

It didn’t take long strolling around town to recognize that the architecture in this town is from a different era than any other town we have visited in Iowa. There are some really neat buildings in Dubuque. We are both glad we discovered this part of Iowa… In fact it is hard to believe that we will have been in Iowa 18 days when we depart for Wisconsin. Who would have thought we would find so much to do in what we previously considered a “fly-over” state. 

The downtown area is bustling and we noticed a mix of new developments alongside some older more dilapidated structures. However, even the older “worn looking” buildings had a lot of character and we were happy to see a few had been purchased and were in the process of refurbishment back to their once prime condition. There certainly is room for a deep pocketed developer to discover Dubuque and revitalize some of these wonderful historic buildings in town.

There has to be some interesting stories and history behind some of these great old buildings.  It would be wonderful if someone would research and put together a walking tour for visitors.  They could certainly use Galena, Illinois (which we recently enjoyed visiting) as a model for how to excite visitors about the history of their city. We did see on Trip Advisor that we should make a point to see the stained glass windows in St Luke Methodist Church.  The church was open to the public and the windows were indeed stunning.  What an enjoyable day we had discovering Dubuque on our own little tour.

Afterward, we headed over for a stroll around the Dubuque Botanical Gardens. This free tour took us through a small but nice garden managed mostly by volunteers. The shade garden with all the hostas was my favorite but the Asian garden was nice as well. Lots of birds and butterflies flitting around made the stroll all the more pleasurable. Finally it was back to the park so I could relax and reflect in my chair while watching the lazy Mississippi River keep on churnin’…

NOTE: We are in Madison Wisconsin now but still have a blog or two to do from Dubuque Iowa as there was much to do there in so little time…

Quick Trip to a Cool Little Town–Galena Illinois! (and a rant)…

We really didn’t do much our last full day in Sugar Bottom Park. Since it was Sunday and the park was still pretty full we took full advantage of our last day of full hookups to clean the inside and outside of the motorhome. We leave Monday  and are headed to the town of Dubuque Iowa for three nights with only electricity followed by another 6 nights in Madison, Wisconsin (also with only electricity). So with 9 days of only electricity in our future we made the most of utilizing water and sewer hookups to make the rig spotless.

Later on Sunday John and Jane wanted to meet up for one last time so we joined them for happy hour at Reds Ale House a place we would surely be regulars at if we were to live in this area. It sure was fun getting together with them one last time and we hope to see them again should our paths again later this summer or early fall.

When Monday rolled around I made one more visit to our black raspberry patch and was able to pick a couple more pints of this delicious treat from Mother Nature. Then it was back to the rig for breakfast and time to pack up to get ready for departure. By 10:30 we were rolling out of Sugar Bottom Park and we made a pleasant drive through the Iowa farmland, small towns and quaint farms to the town of Dubuque Iowa. We pulled in the Miller Riverview Park and Campground, located the park's potable water tap and filled up the rig with water.

This does bring up a bit of a rant for me. Why is it that RV manufactures don’t make tank level indicators that work? Ours have never worked but we have learned to adapt by opening the vent cap and waiting for water to trickle out to know it is full. If we hadn’t adapted so well I am sure we would have installed the Seelevel Tank Monitoring System. Maybe one day I will order it and go through the trouble of installing it as it is the only tank monitoring system from what I've heard that actually works since it has the monitoring sensors on the outside of the tank instead of on the inside where they can get all fouled up!!!

Well we had to wait for someone to leave our site since checkout wasn’t until 3:00 pm. This rarely happens but we waited in another vacant spot. We sat on a picnic table and looked out over the mighty Mississippi River and even spotted a pair of bald eagles hunting for fish along the far shoreline. Once they left our reserved site we simply moved on over to it and after we set up we went to town to do laundry. After laundry we decided we deserved a treat so we drove about 14 miles east into Illinois to a very unexpected surprise of a town called Galena. Galena Illinois is really a cool little former mining town which looks more like a town one would see in the hills of New York, Massachusetts or even Colorado. The mid 1800’s architecture is really fascinating so we walked around the town (even though most of the shops were closed that late in the day).

We ended the day at the Galena Brewing Company for a few craft beers and must say we enjoyed all three we sampled (Oatmeal Stout, IPA and their Nut Brown). We are only in Dubuque for three days but just may have to return to Galena for a bit more walk around time!