Nice morning, 54 degrees and sunny.
We have come a bit “inland”, so start back towards the
Mississippi and Guttenberg, taking small roads.
We see a sign for Fountain Springs Park and decide to stop and have
breakfast. (Since Beth has a medication
to take which requires at least ½ hr before eating, we usually have some kind
of activity before breakfast.)
A few miles down dirt roads and we reach a pull out
area. There is a gate there that says
the road, such as it is, is closed due to flooding. We continue on foot and can see why the road
is closed, as the stream has eroded part of the road.
There is also a large tree across the road further on.
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| Interesting thistle |
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| gold finch - state bird of Iowa |
There are lots of birds in the area and we catch sight of
what we later learn are Orioles – beautiful orange, as well as yellow birds we
find are gold finches – the Iowa state bird.
They are noted for flying erratically and indeed never seem to go in a
straight line!
As we are returning to the Trek, a DNR – department of
natural resources – guy comes by in a pick-up truck. We ask a few questions and this guy is a
veritable fountain of information. He is
out this morning stocking trout streams and we learn about fishing, area
hatcheries, eagles, and a few good places to eat. He talks about loving this area of Iowa which
is part of the “Driftless Area” – a triangular area of Iowa and Wisconsin that
was not smoothed by glacier activity, so remains hilly and craggy and heavily
wooded. A far cry from the flat cornfields
most people associate with Iowa. He disappears for a while while we have
breakfast of cereal and blueberries and then he is back.
He shows us some of the fish he is stocking – beautiful
rainbow trout and brook trout about a year and half old, 12 “ or so. Meanwhile,
a few fishermen have showed up and the one we can see seems to be pulling out
those stocked fish pretty quickly. There
is a 5 fish limit, which he reaches in probably 30 minutes.
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| rainbow trout |
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| brook trout |
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| trout fisherman |
As we are leaving, we stop to watch orioles and one of the
fishermen we had said hi to earlier pulls along side us and we have a nice
conversation through the vehicle windows.
He is a grounds-keeper for several companies, loves fishing and talks
about various people he has fished with – one a guy named Bert who is on
oxygen. One day Bert disappeared “Where’s Bert?” and they expected to find him
in the stream somewhere, only to discover he went down the road a piece with
some other fishermen. Stream of
consciousness conversation J. He has relatives in Texas . He says he’ll be back tomorrow morning at
6:30 for five more fish and finally drives off.
We pass a sign at Colesburg that says “Welcome to Hill
Country”.
We arrive in Guttenburg to find a train blocking the main
street. A local man tells us there has
been an accident and tells us how to get around the train. Guttenburg is right on the river and we stop
at a River Fisheries Management Station which has some aquariums of local
fish. No people around.
The Welcome center next door is open and we chat briefly
with the folks there. They confirm that
the river has crested and is going down now.
We drive a short distance over to Lock and Dam #10 and take a look. Nice little town.
We turn down a country road toward the river and again find
a road closed due to flooding. We walk
in a ways . Interesting reflections
among the trees that are now surrounded by water. Water bugs, ducks, etc. From what we have read, this backwater is
crucial to some wildlife and the life of the river.
We head north, through terraced fields and cattle. Beginning to see more dairy farms. Greg comments that there are a lot of
American flags on display in this area.
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| Reminder of other seasons... |
We reach Pikes Peak State Park, a lovely park on high bluffs
above the Mississippi. Named for Zebulon
Pike, like the Colorado Peak, as he came this way and selected this site for a fort in 1805. The Park is 500 feet
above the river and looks across to the confluence with the Wisconsin
River. The river is “braided” at this
point, dividing into several channels. We watch a barge make its way toward Marquette.
We watch hummingbirds at feeders here and are surprised to
see Orioles occasionally raiding the hummingbird feeders.
We take a little
drive across the river, through McGregor, past Lady Luck Casino with its Pink Elephant, to
Prairie du Chien.
Then we head west to Gunder for a Gunderburger dinner. This was recommended by the DNR fish man, and seconded by the Prairie du Chien welcome center person.
We find the Irish Shantie in Gunder and chat with a man who is wearing their T-shirt and about to leave. Turns out he is the owner! The Gunderburger is huge, so Greg and I share one. We also have American Fries, which are sliced potatoes grilled with onions and cheese. Very good flavor and so much that we save some of the burger and potatoes for tomorrow's breakfast. There are only 2 others there when we arrive, but by the time we leave there are 16 others - only a few "youngsters" our age or younger :)
Back to the Trek, Pikes Peak and a pleasant evening.
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