October 25, 2022

The view from Pikes Peak... Pikes Peak, Iowa.

The day before yesterday, roaming around the Driftless Area, we stopped at Pikes Peak State Park — "a 500-foot (150 m) bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River."

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Like the more famous Pikes Peak in Colorado, it is named after Zebulon Pike

Here's a slightly more southward view. The bluff on the opposite shore is Wyalusing State Park, where we camped Sunday night:

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We hiked on the Bridal Veil Trail...

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... and gazed at Bridal Veil Falls....

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So many times I've driven through Iowa, on my way west to what always seem to be more exciting destinations. Crossing the Mississippi from Wisconsin, we tend to think now we're getting somewhere and rush to put Iowa behind us before we chew up Nebraska as quickly as possible. The good stuff doesn't begin until we see real mountains, halfway into Colorado. But this wasn't one of those trips.

It was over in 2 days, not because the Driftless Area hasn't got enough to offer, but just because I've done so little camping in my life that going beyond 2 days isn't (yet) something I do.

35 comments:

BUMBLE BEE said...

Zebulon... whatta great name! Must come with super powers.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Waukesha killer is giving his closing statement.

Link to video stream

Original Mike said...

"I've done so little camping in my life that going beyond 2 days isn't (yet) something I do."

What do you need to get back to?

Some of my relatives lived in Iowa (Dubuque, Davenport). Pikes Peak was a popular weekend trip when I was a child.

Kai Akker said...

That "yet" is sweet. Good luck!

Friendo said...

Zebulon Pike - an interesting life, for sure. I suppose the wind was not an issue on the bluff or in the subsequent campsite? The bluff looks very exposed and camping in the wind stinks. The falls don't look som fally...

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Brooks entire defense appears to rely on the idea that he didn't intend to kill those people.

That's weak. Not to mention the fact that it implies a confession.

tim in vermont said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/Peoples_Pundit/status/1584550106933907459

https://mobile.twitter.com/MSF_USA/status/1584977442011127808

Venezuelans are voting Republican.

Biden is now turning Venezuelans back at the border.

You could make this stuff up, but nobody would believe it.

ganderson said...

Beautiful country. My mother spent much of her childhood in Kellogg, MN, which Is on the Mississippi between Winona and Lake City. Her parents in St. Paul couldn’t afford to keep her, so they farmed her out (literally) to relatives in the Driftless area. At least she got to live in a beautiful spot.

Ann, I don’t recall hearing the term “Driftless Area” as a kid (I’m just slightly younger than you are). Is it a relatively new usage?

Dave Begley said...

The two of you have missed the best part of Nebraska: The Sandhills.

Camping at Smith Falls or the Halsey National Forest would be a delight. Smith Falls is a real waterfall!

Owen said...

Lovely pics and very informative to this reader who has never traveled in the Upper Midwest (but hankers to). I have long held in mind the Steinbergian cover of the New Yorker mapping that region —a little flat place with a blob labeled “Mount Rushmore” and a wiggly line for “Mississippi --goes through here somewhere.” Shameful.

Serious Q: how does the water level look in these rivers? They are supposed to feed the Big Muddy so it can carry barge traffic —and it’s not happening.

Kai Akker said...

First real day of Q3 reports from corporate America. They've been better.

Fred Hickey: "Listening to MSFT Conf call (live) giving brutally rotten guidance. Stock down 19 pts. (8%). TXN down 8 pts after hrs. GOOG down 7 pts (7%). Really caught bulls off guard after FOMO frenzy. Could be a bloodbath tomorrow."

Inga said...

“Former President Donald Trump threatened journalists with prison rape Saturday, suggesting the federal government use violence as a way to combat leaks to the media from journalists.

“You take the writer and/or the publisher of the paper … and you say ‘Who is the leaker? National security,’” Trump explained to audiences during a rally in Robstown, Texas. “And they say ‘We’re not gonna tell you.’ They say ‘That’s OK, you’re going to jail.’ And when this person realizes he’s going to be the bride of another prisoner very shortly, he will say ‘I’d very much like to tell you exactly who that leaker is!'””

here

The man is a vile POS. And many of you would still vote for him.

Saint Croix said...

Interesting article in The Hill with two diametrically opposed views on how you exert power at the Supreme Court.

The first school says you should be the "moderate" of the Court, with four Justices to your left and four to your right. So they nominate Kavanaugh as the most powerful Justice on the Court.

Put me in the second camp. The most powerful person on the Court is the Justice with a jurisprudence and a writing style that attracts fans, in and out of the Court.

Winning a 5 to 4 case today might give you a fleeting sense of power. But if you want your name to go down in history, it's far better to stick to your principles and jurisprudence. That's why people revere Hugo Black (still!) and nobody gives a shit about the mushy oatmeal minds of the middle.

Saint Croix said...

ha ha ha

I'm still reading that damn thing.

The key to power is the one who holds Alito's leash!

ha ha

"I got the Rottweiler! Sit, boy. Sit."

Owen said...

Inga @ 6:08: “…bride…”. I hadn’t heard that usage before. Thanks.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Inga - what's wrong with a prison joke? Trump is not my fav when it comes to public speaking.
We all know for certain life during Trump was great. The economy was great - now new wars. etc...
Life under democrats = censorship and hardship. Inflation and lies.

Some prison tuff love would be good for the liars.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

I believe I read somewhere that the river valley is 1/2 filled up with erosion detritus. So the bluffs are were at one time twice the height they are now.

MountainMan said...

Great photos. That's a beautiful area. I have never been to that part of the country. Now I want to go.

Trivia: The county seat of Pike County, Georgia, is the town of Zebulon.

Original Mike said...

"The man is a vile POS. And many of you would still vote for him."

Great economy (benefiting especially the working class), energy independence, control of the border, a robust military, a foreign policy that protects OUR interests, …

Vote for him? In a heartbeat.

MOfarmer said...

ditto what Kai said. October is the best for camping.

BG said...

Blogger Owen said...
"Serious Q: how does the water level look in these rivers?"

Hubby and I were in the Dodgeville/Spring Green area this past weekend. (He's originally from there.) The Wisconsin River at the bridge near Taliesin is the lowest I have ever seen it. Two people were standing exactly in the middle of the river (i.e. between the two shorelines) and the water was maybe up to their knees. Lots of sand bars. Most years you have to fear for your life if you go into the middle of the river.

Nice said...

Yeah, I was wondering about the water level on those sandbars, or maybe thinking it was just low tide.

Lots of readers who've never been to the Midwest including me, but these trails are just as spectacular as anything in the Northeast or Canada. And, of course Nanny State California has destroyed all its trails with all the signage "Be Careful" "Watch your step" "Danger" every 5 paces you take.

Jay Vogt said...

I spent two mixed decades in Iowa. On a whole, the corners of Iowa are the most scenic. But without a doubt, October is the best time to be anywhere in the state.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Great economy (benefiting especially the working class), energy independence, control of the border, a robust military, a foreign policy that protects OUR interests, …”

Just so. And that reality gave me a great contempt for the half-wits who are swayed by Shiny Objects politics. What kind of rational person is influenced by that shit?

Jay Vogt said...

Althouse & Meade,

Now you may have reason to "revisit Hwy 61".

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

When leftist rhetoric chases Susan Sarandon away

Quaestor said...

Prison rape's too good for them.

Besides, the key members of that organized crime syndicate known as the Democratic Party are just the type to enjoy a rough bit of prison rape.

wendybar said...

Inga said...
“Former President Donald Trump threatened journalists with prison rape Saturday, suggesting the federal government use violence as a way to combat leaks to the media from journalists.

Your side is abusing the Political prisoners they are collecting in their DC gulag for walking into the Capitol when the Capitol police held open the doors and took selfies with them.. YOUR lying Propagandists deserve much more for all the lies they spewed that people like YOU still believe. Sit down.

Andrew said...

"Vote for him? In a heartbeat."

Seconded. Without a twinge of guilt.

Kai Akker said...

---Your side is abusing the Political prisoners they are collecting in their DC gulag for walking into the Capitol when the Capitol police held open the doors and took selfies with them.. YOUR lying Propagandists deserve much more for all the lies they spewed that people like YOU still believe.

What's going on in American "justice" is so much more despicable, unfair, and un-American than Trump's joke that, thank heavens, an electoral wipeout of the ruling party practicing all that injustice looms.

People who can't see that unfairness need some assistance from the community. Perhaps an application of tar, followed by a decoration with feathers, would help some of them. A ride on a rail that could be directed out of town would also be nice.

Kai Akker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Howard (not that Howard) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Howard (not that Howard) said...

Inga, what kind of more vile POS must Sniffy Joe Biden be that we'll happily pull the lever for Trump over him?

Banzel said...

Keep going on about 1/2 mile past the falls to find some native mounds. And the trail goes into McGregor - about 2 miles.

The visitor center for Effigy Mounds Natl. Monument is at the Iowa end of the Hwy 18 bridge.