On The Trail with Rich, Lois and Patches

On The Trail with Rich, Lois and Patches



Rich & Steve



Admission: Free for everything but Buffalo Bill Museum ($5) and Donation for de Immigrant

We had arrived in town an entire day early from our scheduled plan. They weren’t home. They had gone out on the Mississippi with friends. The world does not revolve around us. We had gone to the local Village Inn for supper. Since we were so early, we got to know the town a little. We arrived at Rich and Lois’ home in Clinton, Iowa shortly after dinner. (Clinton is named after New York’s governor DeWitt Clinton with the town of DeWitt just a few miles away.) Their neighbor let us in, and we relaxed until they arrived. Patches was waiting patiently for their return, as well.

Clinton is within the Quad City area.  This includes the major cities on either side of the Mississippi--From Davenport and Bettencourt on the west side (Iowa) and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline on the east (Illinois).  Like most metropolitan and rural areas, the Quad City area hosts lots of festivals.

One that really caught my attention is called the Great River Tug Fest.  It is held the second weekend of August in downtowns Port Byron, Illinois and LeClaire, Iowa.  Although the "festival" a three-day event, the main attraction comes about on Saturday (2010 it was at three o'clock).  We missed it by just a couple of days.  The feature is a tug-of-war across the Mississippi.  Boats bring the rope ends to either side.  And at the signal, the tug begins.  I am told that Illinois "won again this year."  I don't know the overall score**, but it would be fun to see.  I asked if the tugging participants (a burly bunch of farm guys, by the looks of the cover of the August 2010  local magazine "Showcase") ever went into the water.  "Sometimes" was the answer I received.   Viewing of the tug-of-war is FREE.  (563) 289-3946 for information. According to the website
**The score is: IL 14/ IA 10.**  Save the dates August 11-13 for this years exciting (2011) TUG FEST!

Help IOWA bring the trophy home!
the website pictures do show women on the team as well.
website:  tugfest.com.

IowaTug Fest
P.O. Box 559
LeClaire, IA 52753
563-289-3946
President/Event Coordinator Angelamapes@aol.com


 
 

After a pleasant evening and a good night’s sleep, they took us on an adventurous day trip.

Patches was ready before breakfast. She had been left home the day before and was not going to let anyone past her at the head of the stairs. When we left, Patches was sitting in the front seat on Steve’s lap. She later moved over to Rich’s lap.

First we went to the local park—Eagle Park. It is a gloomy, misty day. The park has several hand-carved eagles at its entrance. A portion of the park overlooks the River. Beautiful setting. A part of the park was closed temporarily to the public. Rich was disappointed. But the beauty we saw made it worthwhile.  Lois was born a southern belle, but moved often before marrying Rich.

Rich is a local. His parents and grandparents were locals. He worked in many construction projects throughout the area. As we drove along, he would tell us in which buildings he had worked and what he had done in each. It is amazing when someone can do this. So much of the town has a portion of him within its walls.

We followed the River south into LeClaire. This town is the birthplace of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody (February 26, 1846). So, much of the West makes one claim or another about Buffalo Bill, but LeClaire saw him first. There is a marker at the place where the house stood. The town also has a Museum dedicated to him overlooking the beauty of the River. He is famous for his marksmanship and showmanship. But, one thing I learned was that he had been a Pony Express Rider.

One of the other two famous sons of the town included James B. Eads, engineer. Mr. Eads designed the fabulous bridge that crosses the Mississippi in St. Louis. It was an engineering spectacular design. That bridge is not only beautiful in design, but it also carries the above-ground subway, car and foot traffic.

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/eads.pdf

The other famous son is James Ryan who invented the “black box” (flight data recorder) which are in commercial and other planes.

The next stop was the Welcome Center off I-80 on the Iowa side of the River. Iowa has some of the most beautiful welcome centers. Each has something special. This one was a neat yellow building that could have been anyone’s home perched on a hill overlooking the spectacular River. They offered free doggie bones. Patches indulged in hers immediately. We brought our gingerbread-shaped treats back to Mandy and Frisky.

The second floor is a gallery. The exhibits revolve regularly. The current exhibit was the photography of two very imaginative photographers. The subject was biking and bike racing. One that stood out in my mind was in the early morning when the fog was just lifting and moving away and the bikers were already helmeted and riding. Rich and I spent some time looking them over. The downstairs, in addition to having all those wonderful flyers and brochures also was a co-op store. Antique crocks and jugs. Wonderful food goodies—mustards and jellies. Local kettle corn (we had to go and check out the competition after this stop). T-Shirts. All sorts of Iowan made items. Jewelry. A mini mall, at its best. With the completion of a survey, one gets a free post card.

We backtracked through town and went to the pop corn store.

Over the River and heading south on the Illinois side, we went to the John Deere Administration building. They have on display various farm equipment pieces from small riding mowers to $300,000 combines. One can sit on/in any of the equipment. The combine appeared to be able to plant forty-eight rows at a time. The wheel holes are so big that Rich pulled his knees in and sat upright in it. It was close to lunch time and several groups of employees were doing an inside walk (By this time it was raining rather heavily and steadily). They were all friendly and would stop to answer questions if they could. They did not always know the answer, but would find someone who did know.

John Deere also has a line of road equipment. The famous green is not part of its paint. Yellow all the way. It is more distinctive and one can see it better while traveling on the roads where work crews are operating. The green tends to blend with the trees. All the equipment was available for sitting in the cabs.

One wall housed an historical display with pictures (of Mr. Deere and others), journals and ledgers, lots of stuff from yesteryear. There were also some early John Deere wagons on display. Although the new expensive equipment was available for climbing on and in, the wagons were not.

Lunch at a local fast food. Then on to John Deere’s store and other display area. Again, getting on and into the equipment was encouraged. There were several interactive exhibits/displays. The big rigs have GSPs and other geejaws to plant efficiently and straight. One of the interactives allowed one to try to plant on a screen without the automatic and then with the automatic. It was fun, but I could not plant a straight row without automatic. Several choices of both landscapes and crops were given.

A life sized bronze of the “deere” was on display at both facilities. Pretty flowers, as well.



The Miller

 We finished our tour in the town of Fulton, Illinois, directly across the River from Clinton. It has a large Dutch population. They have built a working Dutch style windmill called de Immigrant. (separate posting).