Pedal the Parks: LOTS OF FISHING

Sunday, May 25th, was a gorgeous day in Northeast Iowa. The first park was reminiscent of the previous day. Brush Creek Canyon was a sign only. The park has been closed because of rowdy parties, vandalism, and no maintenance money. A substitute ride will take place later in the day.

The second park was found by accident. Traveling through the little town of Wadena, Iowa we saw a very small "State Park" sign on a fence post, with a arrow pointing West. We followed the sign to no where. There were no more signs, and the roads (all gravel) lead us to an "equestrian camp out." The cowboys sent us in another direction, and we came upon the Volga River State Park. This was not on my official list, but the small sign made it official. It was a beautiful park and based on the number of people fishing, more and bigger signs were not necessary.

The next park, Echo Valley, presented another first. There were NO practical unicycling roads in the park, only wide, dirt, walking paths. They were very well used however, and they did not present any unusual hazards. Patty was able to ride her trike as well, and we passed many trout fisherman, enjoying the winding stream. It was a very enjoyable ride, despite the terrain.

Next came Fort Atkinson, another State Historical Site. The ride was made outside the fort, on the surrounding roads. Why it is a designated State Park, I'm not sure, but it has an interesting history. The fort was built to help keep peace amongst the four (4) Indian tribes from the area.

The 5th park of the day was Siewers Spring in Decorah. This park was non-existent to most of the city's residents. After receiving many mis-leading directions, we found a elderly gentleman who had grown up in the area. He knew where the park was located, gave us adequate directions, and informed us that the park had been re-named in recent years. It is now the Decorah State Fish Hatchery, and has become quite famous over the last couple years. The famous Bald Eagle nest, that has been displayed on the internet "from egg to flight," is located right across the street. Our ride took place on the beautiful, Trout Run Trail, which runs through the park. The Eagle's nest, with young ones, was in full view from the trail, and we passed many people fishing the trout stream. I rode two (2) miles on the trail, to fill the mile missed earlier at Brush Creek Canyon.

We ended our day enjoying a leisure twelve (12) mile bike ride around Decorah on the Trout Run Trail. It is quite hilly in places, and we had to keep reminding ourselves that only half the hills were up. We enjoyed a picnic, at the hatchery park, before departing for Strawberry Point. With thirty-four (34) parks complete, we only have sixty-one (61) to go.