Meandering Mississippi
via bicycle from New Orleans to Itasca, Minnesota
with WomanTours
May 10 - June 18, 2007
Day 1 - June 1, 2007
Keokuk to Burlington, Iowa - 54.2 miles
We were on a lot of back country roads today and there wasn't much traffic. We started out by crossing the Mississippi and going back into Illinois. Then we rode on Route 96 all the way to Nauvoo right alongside the Mississippi River. The route is part of the Great River Road in Illinois--a 550 mile route on the western border of Illinois. Most of us stopped at Nauvoo to do a little sightseeing. In 1839 Joseph Smith and his followers, the Mormons, settled in this area after they were forced out of Missouri by religious persecution. The Mormons were granted a very liberal charter for their city which they named Nauvoo--beautiful city. Within three years Nauvoo was one of the largest cities in Illinois and the tenth largest in the United States. Nauvoo was famous for its beautiful homes, its many fine shops and its magnificent Temple on the bluff overlooking the city and the river. Soon internal dissention, religious antagonism and the fear of the political power of the Mormons exploded into a fury. In 1844 Joseph Smith and his brother were assassinated and the Mormons were forced to evacuate the city in 1846. When the Mormons left the city in February 1846, a few workers remained behind to finish the Temple, which was finally dedicated in May 1846. At the time it was one of the most imposing buildings in the state of Illinois.
The original Nauvoo Temple no longer stands. It was gutted by an arson fire in 1848 and a tornado toppled one of its walls in 1850. Two other walls were torn down for safety reasons soon after, leaving only its western facade standing. The citizens, who occupied Nauvoo after the Mormons left, finally razed the Temple's remaining wall in 1865. However in 1999 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it would rebuild the Nauvoo Temple to serve both as a functioning temple and as a monument to the early Latter-day Saints who sacrificed so much for the construction of the original Temple. The temple was completed by June 2002.
When I left Nauvoo it was raining had, but it didn't rain long, and I quickly dried out. However, it rained hard two more times so I was constantly putting on and taking off my rain gear. Also there was a strong wind that was a little squirrelly. When we rode in one direction it was mainly a tailwind, and when the road turned it would be mainly a crosswind, but it seemed to swirl and the crosswind could come at you differently and you had to be alert and have a good grip on the handlebars. Before turning onto Route 34 near the end I went straight across the highway and stopped at a station for a Mountain Dew. When I came out I had to walk my bike back to Route 34 as there was a slight incline and the wind was now a head wind. Crossing the bridge going into Burlington was a new experience. There was a lot of traffic, but there was a nice shoulder so I didn't expect any problems, but the crosswind was very strong and every time a big truck passed me the rear of my bike wanted to fishtail. After crossing the bridge the route directions that we had been given were a joke. We were told to turn right at the first exit off the bridge at a stoplight onto Columbia. However at the end of the exit there was no stop light and no street sign. If you turned right it looked like you were going out into the country so I turned left and started looking for a station or someone I could ask for directions. but I quickly came to a stop light and a street named Columbia. The next experience was when we turned onto 4th street and they told us to turn left "at a stop sign becomes Mt. Pleasant." I turned left at the first stop sign which was Spring Street, but it didn't become Mt. Pleasant so I asked 3 teenagers for directions. I finally made it to the end of the directions which was a right turn onto Kirkwood, but I was in a residential area so I continued to the end of Kirkwood, and it did intersect Roosevelt which was the street address of the Holiday Inn, but I didn't know whether to turn left or right so I asked directions again. Finally success--I turned into the Holiday Inn. Everyone had the same problems I did; even the driver of the sag vehicle got lost and saw a lot of Burlington before finding the Inn. However, mistakes do happen, and life is not perfect no matter how much we would like it to be. I am VERY pleased with the WomanTours trip and already looking forward to my next trip.
We had dinner by the river at the house of a friend of Mary's. Mary lives in Iowa City, and it has become tradition that WomanTours has dinner at this home with a beautiful view of the river when they are in Burlington. We had some snacks before hand including some very good spicy sweet potatoes chunks still in the skin made by Mary. For dinner we had turkey and veggie buggers, baked beans, corn on the cob, potatoes and carrots, with strawberries and biscuits for dessert. Linda, the WomanTours cook, called it a summer barbecue. After dinner, Mary took those who wanted to go on a walk down to see Snake Alley--titled "The Crookedest Street In The World" by Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
Snake Alley was constructed in 1894 as an experimental street design. The intention was to provide a more direct link between the downtown business district and the neighborhood shopping area located on North Sixth Street. Working together, three public-spirited German immigrants conceived and carried out the idea of a winding hillside street, reminiscent of vineyard paths in France and Germany. The city considered constructing more streets in this same manner, but the switchback design proved to be less successful for horse carriages than the city had anticipated.
The
alley is composed of tooled, curved limestone curbing and locally-fired
blueclay bricks. The constantly changing slant from one curve to the
next necessitated a complicated construction technique to keep the high
grade to the outside. Snake Alley consists of five half-curves and two
quarter-curves over a distance of 275 feet, rising 58.3 feet from
Washington Street to Columbia.
The Great River Road is marked with the official Pilot's Wheel shield
Great River Map
reconstructed Nauvoo Mormon Temple
Joseph Smith moved into this house known as the Homestead in the spring of 1839 with his wife Emma; sons Joseph III, Frederick Granger Williams, and Alexander; and adopted daughter Julia.
Completed in 1843 the Mansion House was the second Nauvoo residence of Joseph Smith and his wife Emma. A hotel wing was added in late 1843. The hotel wing has been torn down, but the foundations of the wing can be seen on the east side of the house.
Mississippi River Bridge in Burlington
entrance to Snake Alley
Snake Alley - five half-curves and two quarter-curves over a distance of 275 feet, rising 58.3 feet from Washington Street to Columbia
Day 2 - June 2, 2007
Burlington, Iowa - a rest day
Day 3 - June 3, 2007
Burlington to Muscatine, Iowa - 62.0 miles
Today was a GRRRRREAT day! Since yesterday was our off day, we didn't get our route maps until 7 am today. The destination is Muscatine, Iowa, and there was a tornado there on Friday--the day we were riding into Burlington. So yesterday Laurie drove over to Muscatine to see if there were any problems on our route or with our motel. She reported this morning that there was some severe damage to some parts of town, but no problem were we were going. It rained hard last night and looked like rain when we left and the sky continued to be a little dark all day, but we had no rain!
We crossed back over the Mississippi River bridge into Illinois, and at 7:30 am on Sunday morning there was practically no traffic--only one pickup truck passed me on the entrance ramp to the bridge and riding across the bridge. We continued to ride on the Great River Road in Illinois--the roads were good and there was little traffic. We saw one covered bridge a short way off the road about 18 miles into the route. There was a strong wing but it was mainly a cross wind or a partial tail wind. At the end of the route we went west on SR 92 toward Muscatine and crossed the Mississippi back into Iowa and it was a head wind for a short time. I arrived at the Fairfield Inn by 1:30 pm and my room was ready!
another view of the Mississippi River bridge
Henderson County Covered Bridge – the original bridge was built in 1866 at a cost of $2,125. It carried traffic until 1934. In 1982 flood waters washed the bridge downstream where it lodged against the Route 164 bridge. The bridge was reconstructed in 1984 using most of the salvaged, original timbers on the same location but raised 3 ˝ feet. It has a length of 104 feet, a width of 3 feet, and is 12 feet high.
this Minneapolis and St. Louis Engine and Burlington Route caboose was sitting on two sections of track alongside the highway shortly after turning onto Keithsburg Road around mile 32
This sign welcoming visitors to Muscatine, the Pearl of the Mississippi, refers to the fact that Muscatine is the “Pearl Button Capital of the World.” In 1887, a German immigrant accidentally found that the mussel shells that collected in the turn of the Mississippi River closely resembled the fashionable buttons made of expensive import marine shells. Muscatine soon became the world’s largest pearl button manufacturer. In 1905, over 1.5 billion pearl buttons were made in Muscatine.
Day 4 - June 4, 2007
Muscatine to Maquoketa, Iowa - 62.0 miles
Today was a very satisfying day as I did something I didn't think I was going to be able to do. As I ate breakfast I heard the weather report and learned that we were going to have strong NNW winds and guess which directions we are going today--NW. Also we learned last night that the 71 mile route would have rolling hills as we were leaving the river and going west into Iowa some. As it turned out we had one hill after another for the ENTIRE route--they weren't steep or especially long but they just wore you down especially since the winds kept the downhills from being too rewarding and made the uphills harder. My average fell throughout the day and when we stopped for lunch, I was only averaging 9.1 miles an hour and didn't think I would be able to finish. The rest, food, and riding with 3 other cyclists--Jan and the two sisters, Jan and Pat--helped a lot. I also was fervently praying that the Lord would either quit sending us hills or lessen the wind as the two together were just too much. Then at mile 42 we turned right and had crosswinds instead of head winds. I turned the map over and was overjoyed to learn that instead of the usual 1 or 2 miles of crosswinds that we should be going in this new direction for 21 miles. Hallelujah! However, when we stopped at a gas station in the town of Lost Nation, the Subaru pulled in and Stephanie told us the map was wrong and we would have 9-12 fewer miles today because the town of Elwood was just a short ways down the road and the turn onto Y46 wasn't very far beyond the town. Praise the Lord! The news put strength into our legs as we now knew we could finish. I made it into the Comfort Inn by 3 pm, and the route was 9 miles shorter than shown on the map. My average speed even increased to 9.5 mph. God is good!
When I got in I learned that the wind was18 mph gusting to 22 mph.
We lost one rider today. Kathy has been having problems since Memphis and hasn't been riding. Yesterday she was told she shouldn't ride any more and should have surgery to correct the problem. So she was shuttled to the airport today for a flight back to California.
Day 5 - June 5, 2007
Maquoketa to Dyersville, Iowa - 60.7 miles
Today was about the same miles as yesterday and we still had one hill after another all day; however, the NNW winds were only 5-10 mph, and we had cross winds a good part of the day. A few of the hills were close enough to be good rolling hills but most were not. I was still tired from yesterday so I had to go down into my small chain ring from the beginning, and I started shifting gears in the back early on. However my 2nd and 3rd lowest gears were slipping badly, and I couldn't use them. I hope Laurie will be able to adjust them tonight. I haven't had any problems with my bike for the entire trip and I have ridden 959 miles so it doesn't surprise me to be having some problems with the gears. Yesterday the chain was dropping off my front derailleur, but a small tightening of the limit screw fixed that problem.
Today was suppose to start with 1.9 miles pf US 61 N, but Laurie knew that we didn't like US 61 so she put together a route through town that would only require 4 tenths of a mile on US 61 and it would be on the section of 61 that has a good shoulder and gave us those route change on a separate sheet of paper. I really appreciated it because I didn't like coming in on busy US 61 with no shoulder.
We were told that we would be riding by the Field of Dreams movie site, but it would be few miles off route and were told to look for signs. I never saw any signs, and when I got into Dyersville, I learned they only have signs on the road heading out of town not into town. A farm toy museum is right next door to the Super 8, and I did visit it when I got in.
Jan Bee with her Burlington Bees t-shirt and the Little Bo Peep Subaru
founders of the ERTL company and the people who started the museum
some of the thousands of toys on display in the museum
a special John Deere tractor
Why Gold? Gold tractors have been produced for many reasons: (1) special events in the history of the toy tractor brands, (2) these special toys have been sold at auctions to raise money for non-profit organizations, (3) dealership awards & special occasions, (4) even to celebrate a special birthday.
a display of a 1920's farm
the emblems used by John Deere through the years
1940
avg price of gas 18 cents
cost of JD tractor $1300
avg farm size 175 acres
1995-2005
avg price of gas $1.17
cost of JD tractor $127,000
avg farm size 436 acres
5200 BC
picked by hand
1420 BC - Egypt
wind cleaning
animal treading
present
combine & corn head - pick, shell & clean 2,000 bushels per hour
Day 6 - June 6, 2007
Dyersville, Iowa to Prairie du Chien, WI - 46.5 miles
Today was a shorter day, and we were suppose to have SE winds (winds in our favor) so we didn't have breakfast until 7:30 and left at 8. The river made a big loop west and we again had the river in view as we rode. In fact we followed part of the Great River Rode in Iowa most of the day. There was a beautiful scenic overlook 20 miles into the ride then we rode through the beautiful little city of Guttenberg. There were a few less hills today, but there were two BIG hills. We went down one humongous downhill so I knew we were going to have to pay for that, and it wasn't long in coming. Thankfully it was shorter than the downhillI, but it was VERY long and had about an 8% grade. I held on and made it to the top, but my left knee was hurting. Later we had another long downhill, and a second BIG hill to climb. This one was longer than the first one, and when I went around a curve and saw that it continued I gave up and walked the rest of the way. I don't know how many people made it up both hills, but I saw a lot of people walking on both of them. I wanted to stop at Pikes Peak State Park which is right on the Great River Road before McGregor because they are suppose to have a great view of the river and have some Effigy Mounds in the shape of animals from the Woodlands Era, but it was raining and I was very cold so I kept riding. Twenty of us stopped at a small restaurant in McGregor for lunch and to get out of the rain for a while. We only had about 3 more miles to go, but we had two bridges to cross, several turns to make, and it was still raining. Before I got to the AmericInn I was shaking from the cold. Thankfully the rooms were ready, and I was able to have a quick hot shower.
explanation of the Mississippi Valley in general
and of the Mississippi Valley at this overlook just outside of Guttenberg, Iowa
the locks and dam in Guttenberg as seen from the overlook
the Mississippi River from the overlook and a barge full of coal being pushed up river
locks and dam as seen from River Park Drive in Guttenberg
a Veteran's Memorial to soldiers who died in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam Conflict
close up of the inscription on the memorial
Mary, Clark, Jan, Laurie, and Linda at the restaurant 20 of us stopped in for lunch in McGregor - when it is time to eat and you see bikes as you are riding by you stop
we entered our 8th state today - Wisconsin
we stayed in Prairie du Chien, WI and this plaque explains how the city got its name
5 flags fly at the Traveler's Information Center in Prairie du Chien
US, France, Great Britain, Wisconsin, Iowa
front row - Patty, Barbara, Linda, Dusty
and Holly, Laurie, Ann, and Janna are in the back
Day 7 - June 7, 2007
Prairie du Chien to LaCrosse, WI - 61.5 miles
The weather forecast was not a favorable one as they were predicting bad thunderstorms with hail in the afternoon, so even though we only had 61 miles and favorable winds predicted, breakfast was scheduled for 6 o'clock (when the breakfast at AmericInn was scheduled to open) and we were cautioned not to ride through bad storms but to seek shelter. AmericInn actually opened breakfast a little early and I ate and was the 2nd rider on the road at 6:20. However, there were a lot of hills and even though they were smaller they still slowed me down and most of the other riders passed me. I got in a little before noon however and it hadn't started raining yet. In fact everyone got in OK as it didn't rain until 3 o'clock.
We rode on the Great River Road in Wisconsin and the views of the river were great. All of the Great River Roads that we have been on (Illinois, Iowa, and now Wisconsin) have been good roads with little traffic and have been in view of the river much of the time.
LaCrosse has a population of 51,000+ and traffic picked up when we reached its outskirts; however, we were on a main road for a very short time and then wound our way through a residential area of the city on a bike path until we got within a few blocks of the Marriott. The Marriott is located right beside the river, and I have a view of the river from my room.
We got in so early none of our rooms were ready, but they let us put our bikes in the pool area and Board Room. All of the luggage was also placed in the Board Room. Some people went out to eat, but I just ate some snacks, changed my clothes, and washed a load of clothes. Before my clothes were dry I was checked into my room.
Great River Road highway sign in Wisconsin
One
of the 26 locks and dams on the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to
the mouth of the Missouri River. The purpose of this massive project was
to improve transportation, and the project was approved by Congress in
1935 and completed by 1938. In the next 15 years river traffic increased
from 458 to 2,636 million tons.
The Black Hawk War ended in this area and this historical marker shows the trail taken by Black Hawk.
This
marker tells the story of the final battle in the Black Hawk War. Of the
1,000 Sac who crossed the river from Iowa in April 1832, no more than
150 survived to tell the tragic story of the Black Hawk War.
from my window in the Courtyard Marriott I could see the River and this bridge between LaCrosse and Minnesota
that evening after our dinner WomanTours had a surprise birthday cake for Jan
the cake was decorated quite appropriately and had Kocapelli riding a bicycle and wording saying "Happy birthday Jan - Tailwinds from all of us."
May 11 - May 17
New Orleans to Vicksburg, MS
361.0 miles
May 18 - May 24
Vicksburg to Charleston, MO
444.6 miles
May 25 - May 31
Charleston to Keokuk, Iowa
383.7 miles
June 8 - June 14
LaCrosse, WI to Little Falls, MN
284.6 miles
June 15 - June 18
Little Falls to Itasca, MN
151.4 miles
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