Monday, October 27, 2008

On the Mississippi River (Day 2 - Dubuque)

We spent our first night in a hotel in Dubuque, Iowa and took a paddleboat on the Mississippi the next day. We rode on the Spirit of Dubuque.

I don't think I'd ever seen a bridge "open" like this - here in the Houston area, we see some drawbridges, but not a turn style bridge.

Here's an incredible house on one of the bluffs. By this point, we'd driven through a lot of the "flat" part of Iowa - these bluffs were beautiful.

Details on one of the bridges we went under.

A tugboat pushing a barge.

The paddlewheel making splashes. You might see a small rainbow in the upper left of the photo.


I loved the waves that were created by the 2 red paddles.

Yes, it was COLD out on the water! Alex and I enjoyed a hot chocolate while my mil and sil had coffee.
We were by the stairs to the pilot house when the captain announced that a few people at a time could come up for a visit. So, Alex and I were the first ones inside! It was neat to have the captain explaining some of his instruments and just seeing the river from his point of view. Unfortunately, I didn't have my regular camera - just my "big" camera - so I could only get a photo of the captain's face.

6 comments:

  1. I love Paddle boats! We were on one about 3 summers ago and it is something that I really enjoyed. That photo of the house on on the bluff is gorgeous!

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  2. How cool! You always seem to be doing exciting excursions! :D

    In response to your scrapbook ??s - I use Photoshop Elements. I save the finished page as a JPG and then I upload it to Costco to print. They can do 8x8, 12x12, 11x14, and 12x18. Sometimes I fit a 12x12 page on the 12x18 plus a couple of 6x6 pages. I then put the printed pages in standard page protectors and albums.

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  3. You have so many amazing adventures!!

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  4. That is something I have always wanted to do. When I was a teenager, and deeply engrossed in soap operas, one of the main characters took her honeymoon on a Mississippi river boat. And I thought that sounded SO cool. I know yours was a short trip, but don't you think a long, slow trip down the Miss sounds fun?
    Your pictures are great as usual!

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  5. Oh, that brings back so many memories. I have ridden on that also! The bluffs in Easter/northeastern Iowa are absolutely beautiful. I have often told Cool that I want him to build me a log cabin in the bluffs up in the Lansing area. But, I want the bluffs to remain the same so I can't build...lol. Glad you enjoyed Iowa.

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  6. You need to take me along on your trips. Oh, I know, that isn't very practical but this is really something that I would love to do with the boys.

    I loved your account of the storyteller at the museum. I love a good storyteller. We saw a man during our trip to Yosemite that performs as John Muir and he is fantastic. Gotta love a great storyteller.

    Anyway, I enjoyed catching up on your blog.

    Barb-Harmony Art Mom

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