From Eugene T Mahoney
State Park
To Waukee Iowa
Distance
traveled: 168 miles
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| Dawn in Eugene T Mahoney State Park |
I watched the day break from my car bed, there was just a hint of grey
in the sky. Then fell asleep again to awake to the mauve and pink shades of sunrise. Much of the sky is overcast once again and it looks like
rain might be a possibility.
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| Eugene T Mahoney State Park |
For breakfast cooked some chicken soup from the last of the bones of the
chicken I bought, then it was time to pack up and get back on the road.
I made a roadside stop in the park to admire the landscaping and the scenery.
I made a roadside stop in the park to admire the landscaping and the scenery.
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| l Land locked lighthouse on the Platt River |
First item of interest was a land locked lighthouse on the Platt River.
It did seem rather neglected and run down.
I think originally it was a landmark to find the nearby campground.
The next part of the drive was through lots of suburban areas leading into
Omaha. Hwy 6 a good road to drive on, it
remained a 4 lane highway well into town.
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| Omaha - Boardwalk along the Missouri River |
My destination in Omaha was the Heartland of America Park on the
Missouri River. I enjoyed a lovely walk
along the river front where I saw a Lewis and Clark historical marker and nice
views to the other side of the Missouri River and to the nearby bridges.
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| Omaha - Heartland of America Park |
I also walked through the park where there
were some lovely view to the historical buildings of down town Omaha.
The skies remained overcast and occasionally a few drops of rain
fell as I drove through the historic part of Omaha, saw the Mutual of Omaha
building and made my way across the bridge into Council Bluffs, Iowa.
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| Council Bluffs - Riverside Park view across the river toward Omaha |
Driving down Harrah's Blvd past Dodge
Riverside Golf Club and the Casino I came to Riverside Park. From here I got to look west over the
Missouri River toward Omaha.
It was still overcast as I drove through Council Bluffs and I decided on
a coffee break at McD’s using the internet to check up on notes and emails and
to chat with Mel.
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| Council Bluffs - bridge over the Mosquito Creek |
The grand thing was that when I got out again the sun was shining and the sky
was blue as I drove over the colourful bridge over Mosquito Creek.
The next section of highway 6 was gorgeous. It is designated as part of
the scenic byway “Loess Hills Scenic Byway”
(http://www.traveliowa.com/getaways?id=56) I think there is another adventure along this path!
The rain is gone but it sure has turned into a windy day. I had to drive with strong hands on the
steering wheel and great caution as I felt the wind toss the car about. I was glad to be on the byways without the
extra stress of interstate speeds!
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| Hills and farmland along route 6 in Iowa |
Mile after mile the road passed through rolling hills and farmlands
dotted with the occasional barns and farmhouses.
By the West Branch Nishnabota River lies Oakland, the new part of the city is quite ordinary.
I stopped at a city park for a late lunch (chicken wings and celery).
In the rest room I encountered this wonderful frog.
After lunch I explored the old historic district. The architecture was amazing. It
is really too bad that all the businesses have moved to the new part of town leaving
the old historic centre looking like a ghost town.
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| Ferry House in Lewis |
My next destination point was the town of Lewis for “Hitchcock
house”. As I followed the signs I also
drove past the historic marker for the Mormon Trail and the Ferry House.
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Mormon trail: http://www.nps.gov/mopi/planyourvisit/maps.htm
I feel another adventure coming on!
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| Historic Hitchcock House |
Driving on dirt roads and side cut offs finally brought me to the out of the way “Hitchcock House”,
a way stop on the “Underground Railway”.
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Underground Railway:
Interactive map:
Historic trail sights:
yes you guessed it! I feel yet another adventure coming on!
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| view of farmlands from the Hitchcock House |
Walking around this isolated location it felt that nothing much has
changed in the intervening years, farm lands as far as the eye can see.
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| Atlantic Iowa |
Hwy 6 continues east through more hills and more farms and then across
the Nishnabota River to enter the town of Atlantic.
Past Atlantic the road continued through more rolling hills and
beautiful scenery for just a short while and then Hwy 6 merged with Interstate
80
The next several towns on the list were all exits from the interstate –
between 2 and 5 miles distant. If it had
been morning I would probably have done the exit and return to the interstate
drives, but I was still over an hours drive to my destination at this point and
it was already 4 pm so I just drove through and enjoyed the scenery. At one point I noticed that I was in Madison County when I spotted a sign indicating a tourist stop to get information for the Bridges of Madison County. That brought back delightful memories of a wonderful movie and book. And another item to go on my bucket list for future trips.
I stopped at a rest station and was able to get an Iowa map, this is the
first road map I have found in ages! Looking at the map it I did see how there
were only minor roads connecting the all of those towns and trying to visit all
of them would have taken much longer than the amount of time I allotted to the
journey.
After Wiscotta route 6 left the interstate going north toward Adel.
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| Adel Iowa |
I looked for the entrance to Island Park but it must be well hidden, I could not spot it.
After driving through the historic centre and admiring the town of Adel,
I continued on to Waukee where I followed a “camping” sign to find Timberlake
campground – a private camp ground. The fee
was only $26.00 for a site with no electricity but wifi – go figure that
out! Electric sites were much more so I
elected to forgo that luxury. After setting up camp I had dinner (chicken leg
and yellow pepper) and watched the sun set behind the forest that surrounded
the camp site.
As it got dark I settled in for some reading and Sudoku and sent off a
few messages before turning in for the night.
I am beginning to realize that just “traveling the road” is not enough
for me. I like to have preplanned stops
along the way, more destinations in my itinerary. This kind of “by the seat of the pants”
traveling is not for me. So for my next
adventure I will be going back to my previous style of having all the stops
along the way researched and pre-planned.
Renate Dundys Marrello
2014 - 09 - 03
photo link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154949063820341.1073741949.709160340&type=1&l=a70e20de02
