The mounds are best viewed from above, so it was not easy to appreciate the exact patterns of the mounds as we went along. In this area we could see the bear patterns. There are also bird patterns in another section of the park. American Indians created these between 850 and 1400 years ago. Some of the tribal stories say that the bear is the guardian of the Earth and the bird is the guardian of the sky, so there may be a means of connecting the people to the land and their spirit world and ancestors.
It turned into a great hike – over 2 miles round trip. The rain did stop and it was cool to see the fog/mist hanging in patches of open space.
We also saw different types of fungi on the trees.
Back at the RV we headed on down the road toward Guttenberg where we are camped tonight. We wanted to scope out Tobey’s bike route so I could decide if I would let him ride or not. This is an area I said ABSOLUTELY NO to!
As we came up to one of the construction stops we looked out and saw this river covered in green (there have been several) but it had lots of ducks feeding in the water.
In Marquette we spotted this 10-foot tall pink elephant wearing a top hat. “Pinky” was built in 1963 and originally stood guard outside the Pink Elephant Hotel and Supper Club along the Mississippi River bluffs. To add to Pinky’s fame, Pinky water-skied on the River to welcome President Jimmy Carter who was visiting the area. In 2009, the supper club was demolished and Pinky was moved to its present location by a riverfront casino.
We arrived in Guttenberg about 12:30pm and after setting up camp and having lunch, Tobey set out to ride his bike back the way we came until the road got bad – or the rain started up again, whichever came first.
Along his ride he spotted a farm selling pumpkins and some selling corn on the cob.
He also watched some vultures chasing a bald eagle trying to get the eagle’s prey away from it. The eagle landed in the field and Tobey was able to get a great picture of it. He said it had something in its talons as it landed.
About 11-1/2 miles in, the rain started back up so he turned around and headed back to Guttenberg. (I was only allowing him about 14 miles before the shoulder disappeared so it wasn’t bad.)
Just before he took off, we discovered that we had neglected to close the vent over our bed when we arrived at Effigy Mounds. Needless to say, it was soaked! So … while he was gone, I used the hair dryer and tried to dry them and the bed out. I also took advantage of the time to do some other “house” cleaning.
Here are some shots from his ride back into town. This section of road had a shoulder!
The bed was dried out but we decided to walk to the laundromat and wash the sheets and some of his bike clothes while we were there. While Tobey waited there I walked a few more blocks and dropped some mail off at the post office. I went by the post office and saw this fun sidewalk art.
Laundry finished, we headed back to the RV in time for the rain to start again! Oh well, that’s the forecast for the rest of the night and it is coming down pretty hard! They are forecasting about an inch of rain.
Tomorrow is supposed to be dry by about 9:00 am so we will probably have a little later start again. The ride to Dubuque is only about 38 miles but he has three very steep climbs so it will take at least four hours. Today’s ride was 23 miles with one huge climb.
Tomorrow is supposed to be dry by about 9:00 am so we will probably have a little later start again. The ride to Dubuque is only about 38 miles but he has three very steep climbs so it will take at least four hours. Today’s ride was 23 miles with one huge climb.
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