Day 25 - ending at Bentonsport, IA - Getting Aligned

August 30, 2017

Day 25 - ending at Bentonsport, IA

Posted via email Thu Aug 31 09:17:03 2017 PDT

Woke up at 4:45am. It was cool and damp. At 5:00am I heard a bell in town chime five times. I'm assuming that's from the courthouse. Worked on yesterday's report. I couldn't decide if I would be eating breakfast from my lunch bag, or backtracking with the loaded bike to buy breakfast. Then a third option popped into my head: go into town on the empty bike. That would also give me a chance to get a better picture of the courthouse. So that's what I did, leaving at 7:32am.

Took courthouse pictures, then walked across the street to CJ's Family Restaurant, arriving at 7:52am. I had the Country Breakfast, which comes with French toast and a pancake. The pancake was hiding beneath the eggs. Sat there for a little while longer to wrap up the report. After that, I did a little more sight-seeing before turning back east.

At 9:50am, I was back in the campground. I stopped at the pavilion to check the tires for debris, then set the smartphone up for AC charging there. Back at the tent, I talked with a park worker who was helping spread new gravel for the road just beyond my site. Between the dump truck and back hoe, it was noisy. When I was set, I went back to the pavilion to retrieve my phone and put sunscreen on. Ready to leave at 11:15am. I'd already ridden 5.1 miles on the empty bike, but reset the odometers to zero for the official start of today's ride.

I wasn't too concerned about today's late start. My evening destination is Bentonsport Campground, only thirty-two miles away. "Just stay on CR-J40." is what the park worker had told me.

It was a beautiful morning, and CR-J40 was a pleasant change from IA-2. I crossed over the Fox River at 11:43am. Stopped a short time later to record the noon mileage: 4.9 miles. Made it to Troy at 12:40pm, and entered Van Buren County at 12:58pm. I'm in an Amish area now. I exchanged waves with two boys cutting grass and later two young women in an open buggy.

At 2:14pm, I was next to the entrance road to Lacey Keosauqua State Park. Looking ahead I could see a long steep downhill to the Des Moines River. That went quickly, and I was over the river at 2:23pm. On to the nearby town of Keosauqua. I planned to eat lunch here, and stopped near the city limits at 2:35pm to figure out where. A wrong turn and a walk downtown (since I was going the wrong way on a one-way street) got me to Misty's Malt Shop at 2:56pm. A hot dog and a cherry shake sounded good to me, and they were! Talked to a retired (ninety year-old) livestock auctioneer for a while before I left (at 3:36pm).

Over the Des Moines River again, and up a small hill brought me to the turn to the east where CR-J40 leaves IA-1. I stopped here to drink some of my ice water. About five miles left. A few hills, then a curve downhill and over the river one more time brought me into Bentonsport (at 4:45pm).

I decided to sight-see just a little before finding the campground. Saw a church, the garden inside an old mill's foundation, and checked out the iron truss bridge.

Finally on my way to the campground. By 5:49pm I'd selected site 23, right next to the river. Received a phone call from my wife. After troubleshooting an email connection issue she was having, we had fun getting caught up on news.

After the tent was up, I decided I had time for a campfire. My main 'logs' were from a limb that was sitting on the campground roadway. This is fun, sitting by the fire. I worked on picture-selection for a while, but also took time to just enjoy this beautiful peaceful evening by the river.

After the sun set, I noticed moonlight reflecting off the river surface, which is fairly rippled here. A perfect evening, except for my hayfever. I finally took a pill, which put me out at 9:45pm.

Jeff

Spent: $11.49 plus $3 (breakfast) + $7.71 (lunch) + $5 (church tour donation) + $12 (campsite) = $39.20.

+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +

Day 25 - Bloomfield, IA to Bentonsport, IA

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