Monday, August 3, 2009

August 1: Finley's Landing to Dubuque, IA: 15 miles


We awoke to the Traveling Wilbury's singing that "It's all right", and it was! The predicted foul weather passed us by again. It was overcast, but no rain appeared. When the wind came up it was fiercely at our backs. Life is good!












We stopped at 10 AM at Hawkeye Marina and many of the group had beer or bloody marys, a few of us had coffee, since the breakfast buffet had run out of coffee this morning...







By the time we were ready to leave the marina, a barge had come by and we had to wait it out while it locked through. It was a long break, but better than sitting it out on the water! A lot of people applied their war paint at the marina, and combat was relentless when we were back out on the water. A flotilla attacked the war canoe--the Sho-Quo-Qon (pronounced like the singer Chaka Khan). At one point they had to back away and bail...

The last 11 miles of our day was spent paddling through the pool above the lock. It is much like paddling in a lake--no current. However, we had that very brisk tailwind, which helped a lot. It also kicked up the waves, so it was a lot like paddling on Lake Erie! We made it through with no mishaps. In fact there were only 2 spills this whole week, both on the same day, one canoe and one kayak.

We landed at Dubuque in Miller Riverview park, just below the lock. It was a smooth landing and Bill took a bus to get the truck and the gear while I emptied out the boat and drank a nice cold beer. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week on the river.

The banquet was held at Eagle Point Park--a beautiful park on a bluff overlooking the dam and lock. The food was great and we all said goodbye for another year to new friends and old. What could be better than this!?

Quote of the week: "What happens on the Rumble goes on the Internet". Amen.

1 comment:

PedalPower said...

Hi Linda,

Enjoyed reading about your Rumble into Iowa. How did you access the Internet to post your entries while boating and camping? I like the way that you fixed your trip labels in your blog. I did mine a little differently but will use your method next time. Kim and I are taking our tandem bike to Lanesboro, MN, for a week the last week of September.

Best wishes in Wyoming,
Bob Wemer (Iowa BoB)