Walking along the Great River Trail

 The Great River Bike Trail is a 62 mile paved trail from the Quad Cities to Savanna, Illinois.   I walked the portion from the Thomson Causeway campground to Mickelson's Landing and back.

During my stay at the campground, I did a lot of campground loop walking.  This is a good place for that because there are four separate loops, and one of the loops is over a mile from the other three loops.   But even though these walks took me through some beautiful river and backwater scenery, I wanted to stretch my legs when the weather turned nice.  The Great River Bike Trail, which runs right through the campground, provided that opportunity.

From the Potters North loop, I walked across the causeway and up the road towards River Birch loop.  Just past the campground check-in station, the bike path is accessed across the road.   The paved path crosses large stretches of dry prairie.  

 

How dry you ask?  Well, there's lots of cactus.  Yes, in Illinois.

Callie was not amused

We had  interesting company during the walk.  As the trail curved to run along the railroad tracks, we were joined by a long Burlington Northern & Santa Fe train.  At first, the train was moving just a little faster than we were.  We watched the entire 100+ car train roll past us.  Then it started to slow down, and eventually stopped.  So Callie and I were able to walk past the entire train again.  Apparently, they were stopped for a crew changeover.  A railroad-owned minivan was stopped along the access road to swap employees.

 

The other side of the trail (where the cactus were) was designated wildlife refuge and Illinois DNR land.  There was one piece of private property with "no trespassing"  and "under video surveillance" signs posted all along the property line.  But that wasn't the sign that caught my eye.

The sign on the far right below nailed to the pine tree says, "Rough Road Ahead.  Remove Dentures and Tighten Bra Straps."  

 

We continued on to Mickelson's Landing, which is another nice place to watch the migratory birds.  

 

Turning around, we retraced our steps and then headed out another mile or so past the campground, where I saw a large solar array that turned out to be the front yard of a maximum security federal prison at Thomson, Illinois.

I've been in a few prisons when I was a lawyer taking depositions.  No need to get any closer.  That concluded our 10 mile walk.  It was time to head back to the campsite for a relaxing beer.
 

 

 

 

Thomson Causeway

 

Just about every place has its pros and cons.  Staying at the Thomson Causeway campground on opening day means that the weather can be unpredictable.

 

It also means that not all of the kinks have been worked out yet.  How many COE employees does it take to replace a hot water heater?  I'm not sure because there still wasn't any hot water in the shower after three days.  I know there were at least two hot water heaters unloaded from pickup trucks and what seemed like half a dozen employees working on the problem.  When I left after four days, there was still a sign up indicating no hot water yet.  The dumpsters weren't there when I arrived, but they did arrive later in my stay. 

But I wasn't camping here for the campground services.  The draw here is the Mississippi River and its backwaters, where wildlife is abundant.

nesting

hunting

avoiding Callie

pelicans on a Sunday stroll

 

Sometimes the federal government gets it right.

Made it safely across

Chasing the Blues Away

Julia told me this morning that yesterday’s post was too depressing. After knowing me for forty years, she should know that’s a feature, not a defect. 

I didn’t head down to this part of the country to park the Scamp on the rear of a former minor league baseball field. I was waiting for Thomson Recreational Area to open up its COE campground across the Mississippi River from Clinton, Iowa.

It’s pretty much booked solid every weekend that it’s open. With dicey weather during the work week of May 1st, I put my reservation claim in on perhaps the best site.

Darker than Grey

 It was a grey day in Clinton, Iowa. Not just the weather. Things I saw on my long walk with Callie put me into a somber mood. 

We walked from downtown to the Lyons’s business district on the walkway along the Mississippi River. Early into the walk, I saw this.

Someone vandalized this fence in the name of American freedom. And for what? To access a flooded backwater where the trail ends just beyond the fence.

I walked several miles contemplating this angry, misguided act before turning west into Lyons. In fairness, I later saw attractive, thriving blocks. But this was my first impression. 

This was an empty city block, except for the last apparent business remaining: a gun store.

I walked up a few blocks, returning to downtown via what had to be its most prosperous street—many years ago.  Huge homes that must have been the pride of their owners at some point.

Continuing my walk, I saw some well-kept homes, large and small, but I couldn’t shake my feeling of American decline. Calling it great doesn’t make it so. Sometimes, it’s just a turd floating in the water. When we accept lower standards, something is lost.

“combined sewer overflow”

Urban Camping

I have camped in Little Rock and Raleigh. So it may be a stretch to describe my campsite in Clinton, Iowa as urban camping. Clinton is a small city of 25,000. But until recently, it boasted a minor league baseball team.

Due to Major League Baseball’s minor league contraction in 2020, Clinton now has a more modest claim to a collegiate summer team.  Why have I posted a photo of their stadium?  Because my campsite backs up to their downtown property.

I will say that Riverview Park is the gem of Clinton, a city which seems to be really struggling. The park included a riverboat theater, pickle ball courts, a swimming pool, and a great walking/biking path.

These are some of the nicest courts that I’ve ever seen. Eight beautiful courts, and no one played during during a weekend.  Too cold or windy, I guess.

Callie and I walked about eight miles up and down this path each day of our stay. Watching the barges work is always a good time.

April Camping: Take Two

 Our early April camping attempt met nasty weather. Last week, Julia started a kitchen cabinet project that drove me out of the house to the safety of the Scamp. The cabinet guy is good at what he does. In fact, he installed the original cabinets in this house thirty years ago. But I didn’t need to be around while the kitchen underwent open heart surgery.

So I fled for Iowa and the Mississippi River. Callie was happy to go too since she would have been staying in a basement crate to keep her out of the way. We decided to stay at Clinton’s waterfront park, which is an urban campground associated with the Clinton marina. 

First come, first serve, I picked a concrete slab furthest from the train tracks and the inoperable bathroom(waiting for parts).  For the inconvenience, camping was only $15/night and included electric, water, picnic table, fire ring and dump station.