Third Trip, Day 2 - Dubuque to Dyersville (Iowa) - Travels With Carl

August 25, 2024

Third Trip, Day 2 - Dubuque to Dyersville (Iowa)

I slept well, and woke up to find a couple of very interesting things about our campground.

The first one was the dead guy across the way.

Don't worry. You'll get a closer look in a minute.

Carl wakes up early, and said he's pretty sure the guy's been there all night. He's definitely been there since at least dawn when he woke up.

I grabbed my phone and pretended to be talking to someone as I slowly strolled closer, when in reality I was snapping pictures left and right. I got some shots of the sky, the ground, and my finger, but a couple of them were good enough to help us get a good look at the guy. (The word you're looking for is "Spycraft.") The really creepy thing about him was that, every once in a while, his leg would twitch... rigor mortis setting in?

We pored over my pictures, ultimately deciding that regardless of our imagination, it was unlikely that there was ACTUALLY a dead guy in our campground. What are the odds?

Still, people die. And some of them die in campgrounds.

We snuck a peek over there at least every thirty seconds or so.

I wondered if the branch fell and struck him in the head.

The other interesting thing at our campsite was the guy with the two dogs and enough gear to fill an RV, but who was traveling by bicycle. How did he manage to get everything onto a bicycle? I understand how you can pack things into bags and the volume miraculously gets smaller, but he also had a medium-sized Coleman stove, a cooler, and a paint bucket. And no racks attached to his bike.

I initially thought he was a bicycle tourist, but when he started swearing and screaming at his dogs (for doing dog things), I realized he's just an asshole.

We didn't leave the campsite until 11:15, and knew it was going to be a slog because the humidity was 90% by 10:30. We were stopping to rest just packing up the bikes.

Shortly before we left, the dead guy stood up, brushed the dirt off his overalls, and started walking around. And, come to find out, it was actually a dead woman. We never learned if it was just too hot to sleep inside the RV, or if she got drunk and passed out on the ground, or if the branch knocked her unconscious but didn't kill her. It must've been miserable for her with all of the mosquitoes on the prowl last night... unless, of course, it was the drunk thing.

Regardless of why she slept outside on the ground without a blanket, I'm just glad she wasn't dead.

One last bathroom break before leaving. The restrooms looked clean enough on the outside, but I had to hold my breath the entire time I was inside.

Note the high water mark. The building isn't even close to the water, so add another 15-20 feet. I wonder if that's the last time they were cleaned, when the river flowed through them.

Face the restroom, turn around 180 degrees (or 540), and you'll see the Little Maquoqueta river. We followed it all the way back to Dyersville.

The path cuts through the rock in several places.

This beautiful, delicate mushroom was at least ten feet up in the tree.

If it had been a little larger I would've climbed in to cool off.

That's not vitiligo, it's patches of dirt.

The jersey I'm wearing was a gift from Carl and his partner, Lexy. It's from the company that makes Twin Bing (as in Bingham) candy bars. Heather received one as well.

Before leaving town we stopped at a really great burger place where I got a bourbon burger. I haven't had one since I lived/worked in Rochester, MN, and I miss them. When I went into the restroom to clean up, it took more than 20 minutes and about 4,000 paper towels to wipe the dirt off my legs. They were yellow from the trail dust that had accumulated.

And Carl said he wants to go on another trip.

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Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 60 miles (97 km)

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