Along the way I have been indulging in Museum going which Murphy does not care for as he has to wait outside bored. He does get petted by everyone passing by. I put out a little sign with his name to encourage this along with a bowl of water to let folks know he is not abandoned. In Dubuque there is the National Rivers (and Mississippi) Museum and Aquarium which is something I never knew even existed. I am told it is the number one tourist attraction in Iowa ahead of even the Amana Colonies. It contains much about river history, steamboating, Mark Twain, commercial fishing and the exploration and transportation role the river played in the development of the nation. It is well worth a visit. Moline, Il is home to the John Deere company. There I wander through an impressive pavillion filled with vintage tractors, colossal combines and earth moving equipment. It chronicles the history of this company from its roots as a better "self cleaning plow" to a giant international company. I learned that this is a rare case where the first generation that built the company is replaced by a successive generations that are even more business smart, successful and shrewd. Too often, it seems the later generations are wastrels that squander it all. I have met a number of folks who have worked for the Deere along the way.
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| The story of the John Deere Company in Moline, IL. |
At this point, I am doing mostly stealth camping. It allows me to simply camp under cover of darkness when the sun sets where ever I am instead of laboring on to the next official campground. It does require me to be completely in snyc with daylight. I am normally a night owl but now I am in the tent at dark and out of there at sun rise to avoid early morning detection. I camp anywhere that is mowed, out of sight and dark preferably some distance from any road or buildings. So far it has worked well. One night however, Murphy and I did have some animal crashing about in the woods next to the tent. I never did figure out what it was. It seemed to bother Murphy more than me. He was on high alert staring intently through the netting most of the night. One night outside of Buffalo, Iowa I had resolved to spring for a real campground mostly to be able to take a shower. It was Labor Day weekend so I knew it would be hopeless to secure an actual campsite but surely they would not turn away a lone camper on a bicycle at dusk. I was wrong. The ranger inflexibly told me it was not allowed to camp except in designated sites. I pointed out that I don't need a picnic table, electricity, gravel pad etc just a patch of grass. How about the field behind the bathhouse with room for 50 guys with tents?
Nope. Something about not having a way to enter my tent stay in the computer system.
I was directed back the way I came, now a darkening highway. He thought it would be OK to camp on the City Park Beach in town. It turned out to be a good thing. After groping around in the dark I found a spot in a copse of trees right along the river that proved to be the most delightful spot of the trip come morning. I actually stayed and just enjoyed my private beach until mid morning in my hammock.
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| Dawn on the river on my private beach |
I have crossed back into Iowa now and pass through Muscatine. It has a giant statue of a "Clammer" on the waterfront. Muscatine was once the "Pearl Button Capital of the World with some 43 factories cranking out buttons from fresh water clams in 1910's. It all came to an end with the invention of plastic. There is of course another Museum for this to tour but even I have my saturation point and decide to take a pass.
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| A well kept Farm is my home with permission from the hospitable Farmer. He happened to be wearing a tattered "Humphrey Metrodome" T- Shirt. I told him the dome is now history and to replace his shirt with a new US Bank Stadium version would probably set him back $175. |
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