Pikes Peak, Iowa

Pike's Peak, Iowa .... For those of you whose mental universe contains Father Marquette: This is the point where he first encountered the Mississippi River.

Not my fault Zebulon Pike named two high places after himself.... This is the Mississippi River shot from far northern Iowa; the town across the way is Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; on the Iowa side you can find Marquette where the bridge crosses and McGregor across from the parked barges. Very pretty place. We just spent a week camped within an easy walk of this view.

From Pikes Peak State Park, McGregor, Iowa.

This is from Iowa's Pike's Peak, above McGregor. That's the Mississippi in the foreground, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, across the way. Like Colorado's Pike's Peak, this location was discovered ("mapped" might be a better word) and apparently named by Zebulon Pike.

From Iowa's Pikes Peak State Park. That's Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, across the way. Photo taken 9/27/2017.

McGregor, Iowa, was recovering from a July tornado when we visited last September. As often with twisters, the harm was erratic--the park in the foreground, here, showed damage, while the buildings across the street showed little. Up Main Street a few buildings had been destroyed and many were broken. The most-damaged buildings had been removed, but there were repair crews in many yards and carpenters on many houses and buildings. Photo dated 9/27//2017.

Up the hill from McGregor, Iowa. While the tornado had missed the state park's campground, many of the park's trails were still closed when we arrived. Photo taken 9/27/2017.

Downtown McGregor, Iowa. Photo taken 9/27/2017.

From Pike's Peak State Park, McGregor, Iowa.