Driving the Great River Road

Every Fall, we try to set aside a day when we can take a day (or weekend) trip up north to enjoy the crisp weather and beautiful Fall colors.

We looked at the calendar in September and were happy to find ONE weekend in October with nothing happening. We blocked it out and made plans to head north.

We had a few ideas of how to spend the weekend - Wisconsin Dells (Devil's Lake), Door County (would prefer 3 or 4 days though), Milwaukee/northern Chicago, Great River Road north to Red Wing. All of these would include an overnight - a full weekend getaway. We even discussed heading out Friday night.

Unfortunately, our plans were turned upside down - a school event that was on the calendar but listed on the wrong day, the weather was looking yuck for Friday and Sunday AND the main family vehicle was having issues with front brakes. We made a cautious decision to stay closer to home and just do a day trip on Saturday.

We stuck to our tried & true - driving north on the Great River Road. It is always a wonderful drive full of scenic views, wildlife, quaint towns, etc.

We headed north to Dubuque for our first stop - Mines of Spain Recreation Area in Dubuque. We typically stop at the overlook where Julien Dubuque is buried. It's a great place to stop and enjoy the view of the tri-state area.

The sun was shining - although a bit chilly with the wind. It promised to be a great Fall day!

We left the Mines of Spain and headed into town to get an early lunch - Five Guys! Will decided to take some pictures while we waited - we had a fun time taking silly pictures (the joy of digital cameras!) Here's one of the decent pics.

We left Dubuque and crossed over into Wisconsin. We drove through the Dickeyville Grotto and headed northwest to Potosi for our next stop - Potosi Point Recreational Area. This little treasure is a spot we came across a few years ago and have visited it a few times over the years.  You can imagine our surprise and disappointment when we discovered the flood waters at the entry way to the Rec Area. The road drives out a bit more than 1/2 mile to a spit of land, surrounded by water. Everything was under water.

We continued north - heading to Cassville - where we would take the ferry over to Guttenberg, IA. As we headed north, I voiced my concern that the ferry may not be running due to the flooding. Matt confirmed by concern and said he had wondered that as well. Our concerns were realized when we pulled up to the ferry dock. No ferry running. Double whammy!

At this point, Maddie asked if they could run to the playground for a bit. We agreed - a few of them definitely had extra energy to burn! It was pretty funny when they realized that we were going to make them run over to the playground, not hitch a ride!

At one point, Will caught up with us and climbed through the window to get in the car! The girls weren't so fortunate.

It's safe to guess that Alex was a bit dizzy after all that spinning! Here she is grabbing on to the bar to steady herself!

We continued our drive north, knowing that we would be hitting new places on this trip. Our usual route takes us back to Iowa at this point. The further north we went, the more color we saw on the leaves. Another week and the trees will be stunning!

By the time we reached Prairie Du Chien, we started to realize that we may be in for some rain. Yep, no rain/precipitation called for on any of the forecasts I looked at for Saturday. Go figure!

We crossed over the Mississippi, into Marquette and enjoyed this newly built overlook (built in 2017)

We made a quick stop at Effigy Mounds in search of a letterbox. After searching with no success, we turned south and headed to Pike's Peak.

Due to the colder temps and drizzling rain, the crowds weren't too bad at the park. We've been there previous years and have had issues getting a parking spot. When we pulled in, Matt noticed that it was snowing...Yep, definitely didn't have SNOW on our agenda for the day.

We took advantage of the tree cover (protect from the rain/snow and the wind) and headed out to hike the Bridal Veil Falls Trail.

Kaitee said that she didn't like the sound of "Myotis Trail" - "sounds like a disease", haha. We looked up the meaning later on and found out that a Myotis is a type of bat.

It was a great hike - a wonderful way to get out together as a family. It was also nice to see that the park had updated the boardwalk with new boards all the way to Bridal Veil Falls.

We headed back to the van, all the while marveling at the October snow (so thankful it wasn't sticking!). We headed back down river towards Dubuque - taking a "quick" detour to Platteville for some Goodwill shopping and Chicago style pizza at Pizzeria Uno. We got home late but it was a wonderful day of seeing God's beauty!

Volleyball - Wilson 8th Grade

Maddie worked throughout the summer at a few volleyball camps, prepping for tryouts in August.

We were thrilled when she texted that she made the team! We quickly started practices - their first game was less than a week away. 

We were blessed to have a professional photographer at our first game. He shared his pictures and they are great!

A great play in motion - Maddie is #5 in the back row.

Quick huddle after Maddie served an Ace.

Due to an injury, Maddie was asked to set for one of the matches during a tournament in Sterling. The team's backup setter was gone that day, so Maddie (who doesn't typically practice as setter) stepped in. It proved difficult due to lack of practice with the team, but she did a good job.

After playing in every game of Winter Club Ball as the Setter, it was an adjustment to only play back row. She is always trying to learn more about each position, always watching and learning. Unfortunately, she learned the hard way at times. Dropped balls that should've been hers, not in the right spot at different times. She is her hardest critic and will only learn and improve from these errors. As a mom, it is hard to watch our kids fail, but I know that she will only improve from these mistakes.

Geneseo Match - we lost the first game, won the second game. During the 3rd (tie-breaker game), Maddie wasn't playing. We were down 14-13 - our serve. Coach subbed in Maddie to serve (I love that Coach has faith in Maddie with her serves). Talk about stressful! She was successful with her serve and after a few ties and match points, we came away with the win!

Here is Maddie, helping warm up the 7th grade girls before their match.

Maddie learned this serve while scoring a high school tournament a few weeks before. She used this serve during the previous game against Washington and was very successful. Low line drive hit, just clearing the net with lots of power. Not as successful during the 2nd game - a few went in to the net or out. She will have to work on that serve a bit more.

Every home game, the 7th grade girls "welcome" the 8th grade girls into the gym.

Our last game of the season is always played against our crosstown rival, John Deere. It is also the "Pink Out" game - a fundraiser.

Going in to the Pink Out game, we were already confirmed Conference Champs. After winning the first two games against John Deere, we were officially undefeated in Conference play as well! 14-0!!

We finished the match by playing out the 3rd game. Maddie played this game and served a half dozen serves - showing off her jump serve. She practiced this serve off and on the past year (in practice) but was never comfortable trying it during a game. It was the perfect time to put her practice to use! She did a great job!

What a great season! Lots of exciting matches - some domination and some comebacks. The girls learned to work together and it showed. We hope Maddie is able to try out for the high school team and given the opportunity to play and continue to grow. Until then, we get ready for Winter Club Ball!