Day 9 - ending near Maquoketa, IA - Iowa on the Tri-speed

July 29, 2013

Day 9 - ending near Maquoketa, IA

Posted via email Tue Jul 30 10:48:01 2013 PDT

Woke up at 6:10am. It had been another "warm socks" night, but I slept well. Worked on report for a long time - until 10:55am. I'd done well this time selecting a spot for the tent to be in the sun in the morning. It was more than dry by the time I got to taking it down.

Kris had emailed back to me that there is a campground at Maquoketa Caves State Park. Considering my late start, that'd be today's destination. At 12:07pm, there was nothing left to do but leave.

All morning, and even up to where I needed to turn, I couldn't decide which way I wanted to leave the park - back the way I came in, or south and east so I could see the Hale Bridge shown on the map. Hunger won out in the end, and I headed north - the more direct route into Anamosa. Arrived at the Family Table Restaurant at 12:22pm. Then I couldn't decide between the meat loaf dinner or the ribeye dinner. After the waitress told me they were out of meatloaf, the choice was easier. The meal also came with dessert, so I had vanilla ice cream. I left at 1:10pm, after getting my Klean Kanteen filled with ice water.

I spent some time trying to figure out the best way to Maquoketa Caves. Finally decided I'd take IA-64 east to past Baldwin, to near where the highway crosses Bear Creek. The GPS indicates there's a country road (probably gravel) near there that heads toward the park.

After I got past IA-64's interchange with US-150 in Anamosa, I saw a Casey's. I was still a little hungry, so stopped there at 1:30pm for an apple pie and two bottles of Nesquik chocolate milk. Also bought two Clif Bars for the on-the-road snack bag (my wife says I should be eating more of those). Left Casey's at 1:47pm, finally ready to get going east.

The wind seemed to be from the southeast, and was light. At 2:10pm I came to Antioch School, where Grant Wood had attended for a while. Highway IA-64 in this area is marked as "Grant Wood Scenic Byway". I don't know who Grant Wood was, but I'll guess he painted the famous picture of the older farm couple standing in front of their house with the gentleman holding a pitchfork. Next door is the Antioch Church and Cemetery on a hill with a view. There were a few hills up and down as I continued east, but nothing too bad.

I found some shade near grain bins at 3:15pm. I'd been having problems with the BlackBerry today. First it wouldn't recharge from the bike after I'd sent in the report (too hot in the sun for the BlackBerry's battery, I'm guessing). Then, this afternoon, after a self-reset, the BlackBerry's battery level was close to zero. It was cooler now (the bright sunshine of the morning had changed to hazy sunlight in the afternoon), so, for the first time, I charged the BlackBerry while I rode along. I put the BlackBerry inside the front basket bag, to avoid it flying away if I hit a bad bump. This worked, and the battery was charged back up enough to use it when I arrived in Wyoming at 3:49pm.

On the west side of Wyoming, I stopped alongside a girl holding up a sign: "Sweet Corn - $3". A woman was there also, sitting in a lawn chair holding up an umbrella for protection from the sun. We talked for a while about where I was from and where they were from (near Burlington, Iowa). Profits from the corn sales are going toward a band trip to Florida. I left when a customer pulled up.

Further into town I came to perhaps the most unusual mailbox artwork I've ever seen - of fish swimming in the reeds. It was all welded steel, except for the rocks. On into town, I came to Bear Creek Cafe, and went in for a root beer float. I left there at 4:19pm, but wasn't out of town yet. Passing through the downtown area, I stopped when a fellow asked where I was going. He was one of four workers fixing up an old building, though it actually looked like there was one 'worker' with three guys standing around. This guy asking the question started smiling when I told him I wanted to make it to Maquoketa Caves. I said, "You're smiling because there are hills between here and there, right?" He said yes. Then there was a lot of discussion among the group about which way I was going to go, and which way I should go. They finally agreed that I should turn north at Baldwin to get to a road that would take me right to the campground without having to go through the park. One other thing: Baldwin would be my last chance for food for the day. I thanked them and proceeded east out of town with my new routing.

I passed through Monmouth at 5:23pm, and arrived in Baldwin at 5:38pm. My opportunity for a non-Beanee-Weenee supper was here: The Poor House. There were a few other customers in this bar - two guys from De Witt, Iowa, and a fellow who's involved with loading "Wide Load" trucks. I ate an excellent bacon cheeseburger with chips while the two guys from De Witt played pool. One of those guys kept coming over, when it wasn't his turn to shoot, to ask questions about my trip. I think I may have been a distraction to his game. I finished supper, said goodbye, and started out north up the hill of CR-Y34 at 6:27pm.

Good views from the top of the hill on the north side of Baldwin. Baldwin has their water tower here, and didn't have to make it very high. There were more hills and curves on this road. I finally got to the hill above the Maquoketa River, where the guys in Wyoming had said, "Go real fast down the hill, and you'll coast up the other side." Well, my 30+mph down the hill wasn't enough to get me back up the other side (I wasn't surprised). Had to walk it. After that, the downs and ups weren't so bad. I kept looking for the road east that'd take me to the campground. A close look at the GPS map revealed that the road I was looking for was off CR-E17, not the CR-Y34 I was on. This was a little more round-about than I thought, but it worked. I arrived at CR-E17 at 7:38pm, and 94th Avenue (the final turn to the park) at 7:51pm. I entered the park right at the campground, just as the guys said I would, at 8:02pm. Selected a non-electric site (#21), and was self-registered by 8:15pm. Lots of tent campers here - I fit right in (except for the no-car part).

I got a good start on the report, before calling it a day at midnight.

Jeff

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Spent: $12.41 plus $2.50 (lunch) + $7.57 (snacks) + $3.20 (root beer float) + $6 plus $2 (supper) + $11 (campsite) = $44.68.

Day 9 - Anamosa, IA to Maquoketa, IA

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