9/25/15 The 3 I’s (Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana) and 2 F’s (Family and Friends)

We have completed our exploration of the entire St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.  It’s time to head south into the heartland of the US….fall and colder weather will be soon upon us.  From Voyageurs National Park on the Canadian border we drove directly south all the way through Minnesota into northeastern Iowa, with a 30 mph head wind the whole way.  Although it didn’t slow us down, our mileage was down for this portion of the trip.   For those who are not familiar with sailing, we found that while cruising no matter which direction we wanted to go, it seemed we always had head winds on our nose - we laughingly called them “noserlies”.  This was the first time we experienced such consistent “noserlies” while land cruising.   



Mississippi Rvr (fore) with backwaters from dams

Our first stop was in Iowa, along the Mississippi River near the confluence of the Missouri River, to visit the Effigy Mounds National Monument.  The mounds preserved here are considered sacred by many Americans, especially the Monument's culturally associated American Indian tribes. The varying cultures of Native North America “Moundbuilders”, from about 3500 BCE until the 16^th century, were found mostly in the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Valley and the Mississippi River valley and its tributary waters. By the time of United States westward expansion two hundred years later, Native Americans were generally not knowledgeable about the civilizations that produced the mounds (their ancestors). Research and study of these cultures and peoples has been based mostly on archaeology and anthropology.     



Aerial View Outlined Mounds (from NPS)

The 200 plus American Indian mounds preserved at Effigy are located in one of the most picturesque sections of the Upper Mississippi River Valley.  The construction of effigy mounds was a regional cultural phenomenon. Mounds of earth in the shapes of birds, bear, deer, bison, lynx, turtle, panther or water spirit are the most common images. These effigy mounds were not used for burial purposes; conical mounds were used for that purpose. Some archeologists believe they were built to mark celestial events or seasonal observances. Others speculate they were constructed as territorial markers or as boundaries between groups.  The animal-shaped mounds remain the symbol of the Effigy Mounds Culture. Along the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa and across the river in southwest Wisconsin, two major animal mound shapes seem to prevail: the bear and the bird.

Conical Mound overlooking Mississippi River

 Mounds were found in the thousands, but most had been inadvertently destroyed by early farmers and settlements before 19^th century archeologists realized what they were in recent years. As we hiked the cliffs, some of the mounds were still in their pre-preservation state (trees and bushes growing in somewhat raised areas); they simply look like the rest of the forest.  We are not sure how the archeologists found them at all.  No wonder they have mostly been destroyed; you simply don’t know they are there.

We finished up our short visit to eastern Iowa with a pontoon boat tour of the Mississippi River at the confluence of the Wisconsin River.  It is surprising how wide the river already is this far north.  It was a raw windy day and the chop on the main river was rough so we motored mostly in the backwaters and marshes that were formed when a lock was built downstream.   We learned about the local history, the local river history and the impact of the lock system on the river and the invasive negative impact on Iowa’s prairie of growing increasingly huge amounts of corn for what?  You guessed it – highly toxic fructose and ethanol. Interestingly to us, we are told it takes more energy to produce ethanol for gas than you save when you use it in gas (our government and the corn lobby at work…where are the environmentalists when you need them?)   We saw bald eagles in action, a juvenile eagle, a blue heron, a deer and other smaller wildlife and birds. The guide stopped to collect several large groups of oyster mushrooms from a log, which we had never even heard of.  He gave us some for dinner. Linda sautéed them in butter and they were great!  If you have the chance to try them, do so.    

We left the rolling hills of eastern Iowa, and headed east to the south shore of Lake Michigan, to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This completed our goal to see all four National Lakeshore Parks.   This National Park is fairly new. The NPS is continuing to enlarge the park carving out portions of the declining industrial area on the south shore of Lake Michigan.  The Dunes, having so many different environments in such a small area, are an ecological gem…so many varieties of plants and animals.  Several are endangered.  The park is not contiguous, but a series of areas of restored dunes along the shore.  One really interesting place was an area that had been reclaimed from acid ponds from a steel mill; an excellent example of what Hundreds of Millions of $$ can do.  It is now a lush dune environment.    

We headed south to Indianapolis to visit the Indianapolis 500 racetrack, one of Bob’s bucket list places to see from his younger car-oriented years.  The Grounds tour was pretty good; we saw much of the speedway, the cars, the media center, the winners circle etc.  We even “kissed’ the bricks at the start/finish line (a tradition).  The museum was also great – an incredible number of very expensive cars….hundreds of millions of dollars of inventory. Car aficionados will love it.  

We continued south to Patoka Lake State Park, in the Hoosier National Forest, Indiana.  From there we toured Marengo Caves National Monument; the tours included walking about 1.5 miles of cave.  The first part of the tour was longer and covered some interesting formations and two large but very shallow underground lakes with incredible light reflections.  It also included some very large cavernous spaces.  The second part was a lot shorter, but included some of the largest and most incredible formations, including the “crystal palace”.  Not as large as Monmouth Cave National Park, where we and Rob went spelunking many years ago, but just as interesting.   

W Baden Springs Domed Lobby

From our Patoka Lake campground we also toured the French Lick and West Baden Springs Resorts – both owned by the same family – the Cook Family (he became wealthy designing and owning a medical stent company).  The 3,000-acre complex includes two historic resort spa hotels, stables, a casino and three golf courses, all part of a $500 million restoration and development project. The location was originally known as the French Lick Springs Hotel, a grand resort that catered to those who came to partake of the advertised healing properties of the town's sulfur springs. The first hotel was opened in 1845 by William Bowles and was an immediate success. The original hotel burned in 1897, but the resort was rebuilt on an even grander scale by the then new owner Thomas Taggart, mayor of Indianapolis and chairman of the Democratic National Committee (now we know where the “smoke filled back rooms” were located).  About 1 mile away is the historic 243-room luxury West Baden Springs Hotel.  This hotel was built in 1902 and claimed the title of the largest free-spanning dome in the world. It claimed to be the largest dome in the United States until the completion of the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1955. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, became a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and is an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2008 the West Baden Springs Hotel was cited by Condé Nast Traveler readers as one of the best mainland U.S. resorts.  The hotels and French Lick are well worth a look and tour.   

Guests arrived from across the country on seven separate railroads for relaxation and the alleged curative powers of the mineral waters.  Sidewalks led from the hotels to numbered springs, all of which were covered by open wooden shelters. Each arriving guest would meet with a “physician”, to determine their “therapy”.  Apparently the recommended therapy was the same for everyone; take one hot spring water bath a day, drink 2 glasses of spring water before each meal, and take a 2 hour walk each morning before breakfast and each afternoon before dinner.  Some thoughts about the effectiveness of these “health” spas: For those with infectious diseases, the sulfur infused water probably provided antimicrobial action with some relief and cures. For those with consumption (tuberculosis), the fresh air environment and walks would help their symptoms.  For those with aches and pains, the hot mineral water would provide relief (think Epsom salts baths).  For those with intestinal issues, the spring water was a natural laxative (think magnesium)….   The hot mineral laden waters along with the fitness regimen (5-10 miles per day) did everyone good, and they all left feeling in much better health.  No wonder the wealthy flocked to such places, especially when you add the social status for being there.     

Camel Rock, Garden of the Gods IL

We left the luxury of the hotels to go back to our campground reality.  We moved on to Illinois and dry camping (motor home self sufficiency equivalent to anchoring out in cruising) in the Garden of the Gods, in Shawnee National Forest, Illinois.  The incredible rock formations started during the Carboniferous period (circa 300 million years before the present); local geological conditions laid down a thick bed of gray sandstone in what is now southern Illinois. This bed of sandstone was later uplifted, and the Garden of the Gods is part of an uplifted sandstone plateau. Unlike much of Illinois, this plateau was never covered by glaciers; the furthest advance of ice sheets during the Illinoian glaciations stopped just north of Garden of the Gods.  Therefore, the morphology of Garden of the Gods is much steeper and rockier than in much of Illinois. Comparatively dramatic erosion patterns have created hoodoos and other unusual sandstone formations, as well as scenic overlooks from which raptors, scavenger birds, and humans can look out over the expansive Shawnee National Forest.  Several of the hoodoos have evocative names, including Anvil Rock, Camel Rock, and Table Rock.  Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939.  According to a park ranger, the image of Camel Rock will be on the newest US quarter to be released soon.  

We decided to leave our motor home coach in Kentucky at Linda’s sister’s and brother-in-law’s farm and travel only in our Jeep Cherokee while we visited friends and family in KY, MS, AL, FL, and GA.   We had two wonderful visits with Karen and Wayne Scott, Linda’s sister, gracious hosts with wonderful time spent together.  We also had the opportunity to have lunch with Bob’s high school friend, Louis Heath, and his wife, Ann as we drove through Decatur, AL on our way to Red Bay Alabama.    

Red Bay AL is the home to Tiffin Motor Homes, the manufacturer of our own motor home coach.  We took a 2-hour tour and saw how the coaches are made including the assembly lines. They buy the frame and chassis from Freightliner, all with Cummins diesel and Ford gas engines. Then they add all the components on two assembly lines including the fiberglass bodies.  We toured various shops such as the carpenter building and wiring shop.  They cut their own lumber and build all the cabinetry. They fabricate miles of wiring harnesses for each coach.  Incredibly, they are currently producing 10-13 coaches per day off their assembly lines. It was very interesting and informative day.  

We took the opportunity of being in north Alabama to show Linda the former Masterson family farm near the Tennessee River.  In the 1960s when Bob told his father that he did not want to be a farmer, his father sold the 532 acre cotton farm to a nearby farmer.  Over the years he has grown to be a mega farmer with thousands of acres and his own cotton gin.  He is still the owner and even with his mega farm, he refers to the land as “The Masterson Place”.  Bob’s dad is smiling in his grave at that news.  

Bob sailing near Panama City

We had a fabulous dinner with Bob’s aunt Mildred Whitlock in Tuscaloosa, AL.  From there we traveled south to spend several days with our good friends Marina and Marcello Borzatta; friends from our California yacht club days. Our visit included 3 days on their beautifully appointed and equipped 42 ft center cockpit Beneteau sailboat.  We enjoyed a couple nights of calm and one blustery night anchored in St Andrew’s Bay and some light and robust offshore sailing near Panama City Beach, FL.  Bob was reminded (fondly??) of wet and wild dinghy rides when Marcello and Bob took the family dog (theirs, not ours J) to the beach for his nightly business.  After the

 

Sunset over Shell Island while Anchored,  FL

wet return trip to the boat to windward and in a 2 ft chop, they were rewarded with a hot fresh water shower on the swim platform. Ah yes, the good old times on a boat. It was great.    

Our final visit was with Gary and Janice Whitlock, Bob’s cousin, in Winder GA.  We enjoyed BBQ from Gary’s green egg grill and a day at the University of Georgia campus (Janice’s alma mater).  Bob learned a little about Gary’s dog training techniques when we took Otis out for his daily retrieval lesson.   

We were blessed to spend these three fabulous weeks sharing good times and memories with long time friends and family.  It is always wonderful to see and spend time with people you love and don’t get an opportunity to see very often.  As Bob’s mom would remind us: “we are making memories now.”  

We drove back to Frankfort, KY to pick up our motor home and continue our adventure…next stops Tennessee and North Carolina before returning to St Augustine for December and Christmas.