We had a beautiful day with absolutely no work, school or church commitments (that happens every few months!!) so we hit the road for the day. We had an action plan in place and it included a few "new" places along a very familiar path.
Heading North, our first stop was the Hurstville Interpretive Center, just outside of Maquoketa, IA. We've driven by this center 100's of times over the past few years but have never stopped to explore! It was well worth the time - the kids had a blast exploring (okay, ALL of us did!).
We didn't bring rain boots (and the ones there were too small for him) - otherwise Will would've obeyed this sign. He was dead set on catching a frog!
It's had to see, but in the middle of this picture there is a frog in the water. As soon as I pointed him out to Will, the frog dove for cover!
We enjoyed a short hike out to the pond/marsh. Beautiful wildflowers and tall grass!
Alex - using the sundial to check the time. Unfortunately we were missing the sun!
Never one to give up - some may even call him stubborn...
By this time, the center was now open so we headed inside to see the exhibits.
Matt found a new wrap to keep him warm during the cold Midwest winters!
It was just pretend sleeping!!! HaHa
Kaitee petting her favorite - an otter. "Mom, this is the first time I've ever been able to touch one!"
We found Will underneath the stairs - it must be bed time for all the nocturnal animals! Reading them a bedtime story.
This center shows a history of the area - which built up around the Hurstville Lime Rock Quarry. Who doesn't love a miniature scene! This one shows the Lime Kilns and the town around them.
Did I mention Stubborn???
We left the Interpretive Center and headed into Dubuque for lunch and to hunt for some new letterboxes. After our tummies were full and the boxes had been found, we crossed the Mighty Mississippi and headed to Galena. A few letterboxes had also been planted there - so we went hunting for them after driving around the scenic downtown area.
A few weeks ago, I came across a coffee table book of pictures from the IL/IA/WI area. One of the pictures was of the Galena Falls. I asked Matt if he'd ever heard of these falls and he was shocked to hear that they existed! He had a daily route to Galena when we were first married, so he has seen everything that Galena has to offer...or so we thought!
We did a quick search online and found an address for the falls - aka Thunderbay Falls. This was our next stop for the day. It was well worth the 15-30 minute stop we made. It is nestled into the Galena Territory, which has beautiful views and vacation housing (a resort too). If you ever stop at the Falls, take a bit of extra time to enjoy the "neighborhood" too.
While doing a search on the Thunderbay Falls, I came across this
video from 2011 - flash flooding. Wow - such devastation!
We started heading south on 84 towards home. Another quick stop in Hanover (Mallard Capital of the World!) to see this little waterfall. We noticed the tree limbs, roots and debris around the falls as well as (what we assume was) mudslides along the side of the road. We remembered that there had been flooding from lots of storms that had gone through northern IL in July.
Further South on IL 84, we turned in to the
Savannah Depot Park to drive a bit. The Savannah Depot (as you can read in the link I posted, was once a place where the military tested and housed artillery! It is now a National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
We drove all the way back to the scenic overlooks and enjoyed the beautiful day and scenery!
While this stop wasn't planned, we were glad that we turned to explore. It was very peaceful - almost eerily so.
Our last stop on the day was in Savannah - Mississippi Palisades State Park. We wanted to show the kids some of the amazing views from this park (of the river) as well. It was a wonderful way to end our day.
Every once in a while, I will drive across the bridge...coming home from IA to IL...and get behind an out of state plate. I will glance at them as I pass and see someone in the car taking pictures or videos of the river. I drive over the Mississippi every day...sometimes multiple times...and forget about the magnificent river that she is. While we don't have mountains, we do have the Mighty Miss and bluffs to enjoy her by. Definitely something that we need to remember and be grateful for!
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