After leaving Prairie du Chien, we followed Iowa 35 north which (unbeknownst to us) required crossing the Mississippi on a harrowing old narrow, metal bridge with an open grate roadbed to enter Minnesota from the Iowa side. White knuckles again! Thank God, we didn’t meet a semi. We continued up Highway 26 to Winona and camped on the Mississippi at a county park called Prairie Island Park. It was not a “destination” park but it would do for one night. We took our chairs down by the river and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. One of our surprises in Iowa and Minnesota has been how very much the natives use the Mississippi for recreation. They jet-ski, water-ski, fish, and pleasure-boat all up and down the river north of Dubuque. The water is a brownish color, more tannic-looking than muddy, but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone.
We found a grocery store in Winona and Ann found a Curves location so we were set. We settled in for the night and spent some time planning our next move. Tomorrow, we head to Whitewater State Park.
Whitewater is located just south of Albin, on Highway 74 and boasts 2,800 acres of dolomite cliffs, trout streams, and hardwood forests. Linesteen was not happy that we had to pay $7 for a park pass for each of our vehicles for each day in the park, in addition to the daily camping fee. That would be a total of $72 to camp for two nights, expensive for a state park. We considered our options and figured that an annual pass for each vehicle ($25 for the first and $18 for the second) would pay for itself in the coming weeks spent in the area. So, after deliberation, we sprang for it and bought the annual pass.
After settling into our campsite, we hiked the Chimney Rock Trail. It was only .7 mile but it was a tough hike, traversing up and down a steep hill by steps and rocky trail. We counted 170 steps at the beginning of the hike and there were more later. And it was hot, hot, hot. But it was worth it – Chimney Rock was unique and the view of the Whitewater River and the surrounding bluffs was awesome. And there were wild raspberries all along the trail . . . Mmmmmmmmmmm.
On Wednesday, July 19, we arose early to try to get our hike in before the heat struck. It was much cooler that morning, with promises of thunderstorms in the early afternoon. We chose trails that would equal about a 6-mile hike including the Dakota, Dakota Valley, Coyote Point, Meadow, Trout Creek, and Inspiration Point trails. We began with a climb of 270 steps and it got worse. At one point, we even had to climb a ladder. Whew! The threat of rain was apparent in the sky and evidenced itself about ¾ way into the hike. Luckily, we found an open-air shelter and hung out there until the storm subsided and we could make a mad dash for the end of the trail in the rain. Seems we have been doing a lot of hikes in the rain lately! We have GOT to buys some ponchos if we’re going to continue this pattern.
It rained most of the afternoon (and Minnesota needs it – it’s really dry here). I worked on my journal and Jerry took a nap. This was our first totally free afternoon since we left home. We both agree that we have to slow down! We are without cell phone and internet service.
On Thursday, we drove into Minneapolis for scheduled maintenance for Bubba. We were thrilled to find that Camping World had free camping hookups so we could spend the night there, before departing for Little Rock on Friday. Bubba’s toppers (awnings over the slideouts) were in need of repair and the fabric would take 10 days to arrive so it was perfect timing for us to leave Bubba at Camping World (free, I might add!) while we made the trek home for doctors’ appointments and to check on the house.
We left for Little Rock on the 21st, following Highway 65 pretty much the entire way. We spent Friday night in a Best Western in Chillicothe, Missouri where Jerry’s dad attended Chillicothe Business College around 1930. Unfortunately, most of the college buildings are gone but one still stands and there is a beautiful mural in town depicting the college in its heyday. We learned that the Grand River Historical Society in Chillicothe has an exhibit about the college but their museum is only open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 – 4:00 so we would try to visit them on our return trip. However, we did learn that the college was founded in 1890 as the Chillicothe Normal School and Business Institute. Courses included bookkeeping, stenography, telegraphy and penmanship. The name was changed to Chillicothe Business College in 1910 and became known as the largest school in America devoted exclusively to business education. The college was closed in 1952 but, during its 62 years, over 120,000 students attended CBC.
We arrived in Little Rock late Saturday afternoon and found everything in good order. Our neighbor and good friend, Brad Jordan, has kept our plants on the deck watered and prospering. We owe him – we have lived next door to Brad and Helen for over 15 years. Leaving them brings deep sadness to us. We have cherished their friendship and our many nights spent together on our deck or their patio. We will miss them terribly after we move.
We spent Saturday, July 22 through Wednesday, July 26 seeing doctors and friends and taking care of other business that needed attention (such as haircuts!). On Thursday, we began our return trip to Bubba.
We spent Thursday night with my brother, Mack, and his wife, Carolyn, in Memphis. It’s always good to spend time with them but this visit was especially good. We had dinner at Outback and breakfast at Cracker Barrel – who could ask for more???
