Enjoying the Beautiful Day - Upper Iowa and Wisconsin

Quarantine Week #20 zillion and 10

We took advantage of another beautiful day and hit the road. Our initial plan was to head to Freeport, IL for the day. This is an annual tradition that started before the kids were born. We head up for the day, eat lunch at the Lena Drive Inn, play at Krape Park and dessert at Union Dairy.

We looked up our three stops and quickly found some problems. Union Dairy was open but the night before was their first night being open since the quarantine started. We knew it would be very busy and stressful. With extra seating outside (no indoor seating yet), we knew that it had potential for long waits and we didn't want to be stuck for (potentially) hours. When I looked at Krape Park, I knew our decision was made. A part of the park was shut down due to flooding. The other part of the park contains the carousel and wooden playground, which were both closed due to Covid. Plan A was out the window.

We came up with Plan B, C & D, all of which included driving into Wisconsin. We hit the road, not knowing which plan we'd end up doing! We drove IL 84 from the Quad Cities up to Savannah, stopping to find a letterbox. While Matt found the box, the 5 of us peppered the volleyball around.

We crossed over into Iowa at Sabula and then headed north into Bellevue. Our first stop was at Bellevue State Park. We enjoyed the overlook - seeing the Mighty Mississippi from high above. Notice Lock & Dam #12 below.

Always looking for "Titanic" opportunities.

We headed down the trail to find 2 letterboxes. 

While Matt, Kaitee & Will finished finding the boxes and stamping in, Maddie, Alex & I headed back to the van. We had a few extra minutes so we scribbled on the back of the van (a little dirty!).

When Matt got into the van, he asked for the camera. He came back in and asked if we had seen what someone wrote on the back of the van...

He showed us the picture and commented "how cool is that". He was pretty sure it was the woman with the dog we'd come across on the trail. She happened to have a Cubs hat on. If you can't see what it says..."True Dat" with an arrow pointing at I Was a Cubs Fan Before it was Cool. We played along and agreed with him, all the while snickering behind him. Oh, we'd tell him eventually, but not yet.

We left the park and drove down the main street of Bellevue, enjoying the river close up.

As we were driving in Wisconsin, we saw some Sandhill Cranes and stopped to take their picture.

We stopped in Montfort to buy some Rural Route 1 Popcorn. Well worth the stop!!

The next town up was Cobb. We passed a playground and Matt turned around so the kids could stretch their legs a bit. Wow - best stop of the day!! We had so much fun at this park. We played, laughed, spun until we were all dizzy!

The kids were no match for the Barrel Wheel. The barrel won every time. We decided that the kids would never survive as a hamster!

There were lots of spinning devices. 

Thought I would show the young 'uns how to survive the barrel...

Yeah, I bailed soon after this picture was taken!

This "globe" looking spinner was the best one at the park! I would love one of these in the backyard!

I was looking through the pictures and had to apologize to Kaitee - I didn't realize I had been so close to her in a rather awkward way! I didn't think it was that bad in the moment, so hopefully she isn't scarred for life!

Check out Will's Ninja moves here!! He almost made it!

This is the sign we passed as we went to play. A reminder of the pandemic around us. While the spread of Covid has diminished / slowed and the country is starting to open back up again, please know that as a family, we take as many precautions as possible but we also do not choose to live in fear of this virus. We have our face masks with us whenever we go anywhere. If the masks are required, we all wear them. We have hand sanitizer and wipes in the van and use them diligently and liberally. While we don't want to get this virus, we also don't want to spread it. We also believe in the healing power of fresh air and sunshine and laughter. We were thrilled to see that this playground was open, even if the sign assumed a "play at your own risk" warning. It was wonderful to play with the kids - laughing and enjoying our family time together.

Our last stop on the day was this cemetery in Darlington, WI for a letterbox. A peaceful stop as the sun was starting to set.

We started heading towards home via Dubuque, where we stopped for dinner and ate in the van (most restaurants are still carryout only). We hit the road and got home around 11. Tired but happy. 

Side note for the day - Matt hit his first skunk as we were driving home. We'll be smelling that one for a while!