Amy and Kurts Wanderings

Breakfast at the hotel this morning and on the road for home, about 3 1/2 hours. Ran into one quick shot of rain - lasted maybe 30 seconds - but otherwise smooth ride home. Lots of wet roads but we somehow missed all the rain. Got home around 1:00 this afternoon. Another great trip but ready to be home! This one was ready for us too! Buddy has to wait a couple hours yet... Now time to start planning the next one!

 Slept pretty good last night even though not impressed by the hotel! Didn't even check out the breakfast, Kurt wanted to go out. There was a Perkins across the parking lot so walked over.  Packed up and headed to John Deere Museum, just a couple miles from the hotel. I really enjoyed reading the history of the company. Did you know the president of the company did not want to expand into tractors? (he didn't) Can you imagine John Deere with no tractors? (I cannot!) Do you even know what products they made before tractors? (John Deere was actually a blacksmith and it all started with a self-scouring plow). After the museum we were on the road for Fort Dodge, about two hours away. Got to town and had some Arby's for lunch then made our way to Mike & Rita's house. Chatted for a bit and I left the boys to enjoy some guy time and went to check into the hotel. Unpacked the car all by myself (yes, I cheated and used the luggage rack) and was going to take a little snooze....

This morning, we set out for breakfast at the Foodie Garage just around the corner. Despite the posted hours indicating they should have been open, it was closed. Not in the mood to walk elsewhere, we returned to our rental and settled for a granola bar and grapes, told Kurt I would take him for an early lunch.  Had to check out of the rental today. It was a great place, I would stay again if in the area! Headed for Galena, IL. It is only about 30 minutes from Dubuque. Downtown Galena is basically just 4 or 5 blocks full of shops, restaurants, and bars. We walked around for just a bit and headed for some lunch. We went to Durty Gurt's. I was in the mood for a good burger and this place hit the mark. So Good! Kurt had a 'Shut the Front Door' burger. It had donuts for buns. He said it was pretty good.    We wandered town for a couple hours. Highlights were a cigar/man shop, Popcorn store, Flashback, the Canning Store, and Rootbeer Revelry. At the rootbeer shop we were able ...

  This morning started with light breakfast at our rental. Yogurt and some fruit. Today's destination is Maquoketa Caves State Park, located about half an hour south of Dubuque. The park features 16 marked caves, along with numerous smaller ones scattered throughout. The first cave encountered is Dancehall Cave, where after stooping to walk beneath a long ledge, it expands into a vast cavern with a stream flowing through. The experience is breathtaking. This cave allows for a walk-through exploration. Exiting on the far side reveals that the cave actually passes beneath the road and parking area. Makes you wonder of unseen caves lying just beneath the surface as we travel. After exploring Dancehall, we embarked on the trails to discover all 16 caves. The paths were not well-marked, which added to the challenge. Some caves were mere dugouts, while others were extensive, narrow tunnels. It was an enthralling park, one I would highly recommend! It seems others share this sentiment, as...

I did not sleep well last night. I'm not sure what the issue was, but I gave up trying to sleep around 5:30 and got up. After taking a shower, I relaxed on the couch until Kurt woke up. We decided to go out for breakfast and walked to the Sunshine Family Restaurant. Once we returned, I felt tired, so I took a nap on the couch while Kurt watched a show. An hour later, I felt much better and was ready to head out for the day. The first destination was The Mines of Spain Recreation Area, where we embarked on the Horseshoe Bluff Trail. This one to two-mile loop meanders through the woods and leads you through an ancient quarry, flanked by towering limestone bluffs. The walk was beautiful, albeit hot, muggy and buggy. We spotted a few bald eagles, though I couldn't snap a photo in time. We also did the short walk out to the Julian Dubuque Memorial. Nice views of Dubuque and the river.  From the Mines we headed for the Riverwalk. They have an old Shot Tower. They used to drop molten ...

Quick breakfast at the hotel this morning - just a little eggs and sausage. Kurt finished off Kwik Trip donuts. Storms are supposed to be moving in today and I didn't want to be out on unfamiliar roads.  First stop was Pikes Peak State Park.  Walked around a couple overlooks of the Mississippi River. All the water! Would like to have known how far the water usual goes. We decided on just the short hike out to Bridal Veil Falls. Was just a half mile hike out to the falls - with LOTS of stairs. We were surprised, we thought with the amount of rain and flooding that they would really be flowing. I can't imagine in a dry year how there are even any falls. Still pretty walk. Was already HOT and HUMID and BUGGY though so didn't venture too much further. We knew the storms were coming so we only spent maybe an hour here. Was a nice park just wanted to keep moving. Our next stop was Potosi Wisconsin, about an hour down the road. Was a very nice drive through the country side. A lot...

  Surprisingly good sleep last night for the first night out. Woke up to some storms at some point but feel right back to sleep. Had a light breakfast - yogurt and a banana, Kurt had some Kwik Trip donuts of course - and we headed out for the Niagara Cave. Was a pretty hour drive through SouthEast Minnesota countryside. We had a group of 7 on the first tour of the day. Our tourguide Parker (?) was young but excellent. This is one of my favorite cave tours I have been on. Was just a super cool place. It was a very wet cave and we got 'cave kisses' (dripped on) in quite a few places. There was even a waterfall at one spot. On the way back you just backtrack. So our tour guide followed us to make sure everyone made it out and let us make our way. I liked letting the people in front of me get ahead a little and the people behind were a bit back so it almost like you were in the cave alone. If ever in the area I HIGHLY recommend - if you don't mind the 550 stairs.  Here are just...