[Note to my employer and co-workers: travel described here did not incur added expense for the company.]
Two of my family members were in Europe and the third in South Dakota, so things were ripe for a road trip over Father's Day weekend and it dovetailed with business travel to Moline. I stayed with / stopped at my mom's apartment coming and going. My departure from the normal route was at Alexandria, MN where instead of staying on I-94, I turned off to MN-29 towards Glenwood. There is a fantastic view of Lake Minnewaska (not my video) as one comes over a hill and into the town.
From there, I got onto MN-104 towards Willmar, MN. MN-104 is one of the shorter state highways in Minnesota and a road less traveled. Along with MN-29, it is part of the Glacial Ridge Trail Scenic Byway through the Alexandria Glacial Morain featuring ridges left by glaciers an estimated 30,000 years ago and kettle lakes. I enjoyed it.
The rest of the drive was US-71 and MN-30 through the usual corn and soybean fields of southwestern Minnesota. There was heavy rain just before I got to my gas stop in Willmar, MN. While fueling, I got treated to a very intense full rainbow with an accompanying secondary rainbow. I thought it a bit ironic that the rainbow ended at a Caterpillar service center given my employment with John Deere.
Saturday afternoon I went with my mom to visit an uncle and aunt as well as their daughter who was in town. We had a very nice afternoon and evening together.
On Father's Day, I set out from my mom's for Moline. The most direct path largely follows the four lane Avenue of the Saints between Albert Lea MN to Iowa City, IA with the 2 of the remaining 2.5 hours on I-90 and I-80. This route takes about six hours, but is four lane highway through corn and soybeans. Not much to blog about.
I had planned to take MN-30 east from where my mom lives, but ran into road construction and dropped down to I-90 and then MN-16 which I took into Lanesboro, MN for my first stop. MN-16 is also the Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway and after crossing some prairies, follows the Root River. Lanesboro is a 19th century town which could have easily disappeared as farming decreased in the area US-16 was abandoned with the completion of I-90 to the north. However it was re-invented as a tourist destination and in fact an art-in-the-park event was going on. The old rail line is now a bike trail and the Root River is popular for canoeing. Besides outfitters, the town has restaurants, antique stores, B&Bs, and Amish Country tours.
I walked the town and then found a place to get a coffee and a scone (gotta love a town with "Coffee Street"). Just afterwards, as I was near the river, I got a phone call from my daughter in Spain with Father's Day greetings. Sweet.
From Lanesboro, I headed east and then south to the college town of Decorah, IA on the Upper Iowa River. I walked the downtown area and settled on the deli at the Oneota Food Coop for lunch. It was very similar to a Whole Foods store. I had two types of quiche, some potatoes, and a sparkling juice. I refueled on the way out of town.
From Decorah, I got onto US-52 headed towards Dubuque. I like this road because of the vistas of farm valleys from the tops of ridges. There also gets to be some winding, wooded stretches closer to Dubuque. There is also a swoosh down to the Mississippi River in the town of Guttenberg, IA where Lock & Dan #10 is located. The light comma on the hill in the distance is US-52 coming from the north. The portion of the river shown is a fraction of the width. The land on the right is an island.
I like stopping in Guttenberg and strolling the park along the river and lock and dam right along the river. The other side of River Park Drive has many quaint buildings dating from the mid-19th century. I found a place to get an ice cream cone for my walk back to my car following a Father's Day chat with my other daughter who was visiting her aunt in South Dakota. On the way into town I passed the "bee lady" who keeps hives and processes honey. As I expected on the way out of town, there was a stand set up on US-52 at a scenic overlook where her honey was being sold. I didn't stop to buy any this time.
From Dubuque, I continued along the river to Bellevue, IA where Lock and Dam #12 is located. It is a very similar situation to Guttenberg with a park between main street and the river. I was in luck to be there when a barge was going through the lock. I had heard that it took an hour for long barges to get through because only half could go through at a time. This is correct. Also in town is a new Subway which has a deck overlooking the lock and I had supper there.
I crossed the Mississippi on the Savanna-Sebula bridge on US-52. It is a really grand, old, narrow bridge (not my video). From there, I picked up IL-84 and followed the Mississippi into Moline, passing through several Quad City area towns I had not previously visited. My total time was 12 hours or twice normal. However, my trip met expectations for the leisure and the scenery on a beautiful Father's Day.
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