Today was my easiest, least eventful day to to date. The wind was still blowing at 10 to 15 mph, but I was able to stay on the lee side of the bank and a chain of long, narrow islands that dot the river along this stretch. Today was the first time the current was helping me more than the wind was hindering. I did 36 miles for the day, from Lock # 14 to Lock # 16.I passed through Davenport, Iowa late morning. It is the largest city on route since the Twin Cities and an attractive river city. The area immediately downstream from the city is very industrial. I didn't know that Iowa was so industrialized. I've always pictured it as a rural, agricultural part of the Union. There is a lot of agriculture, to be sure, and processing and handling farm products account for much of the industrial activity - Cargill and AMD are omnipresent. But there is a lot of heavy industry too: chemical plants, steel works and several coal fired power stations along the river.
I haven't seen much wildlife in these parts. There are very few bald eagles compared to Minnesota and I haven't seen any deer around, although there are some tracks on the sandbars. Herons and geese are about the only birds present in significant numbers. There is a lot more plastic littering the banks and the river than I have seen so far.
A sprawling red neck 'tent park' sprouted from a narrow strip of an island a few miles below Davenport. They had pitched every tent and shelter they could get their hands on, including a camouflaged hunting blind. The tents were arranged in a tight cluster with their sides touching. The family that camps together stays together....
A group of people were sitting around a dead fire drinking beer and smoking. A boom box was blasting away and at the lower end of the island a generator was belching electricity and exhaust fumes. One of the woman almost waved at me. The guy next to her couldn't decide whether to wave with his beer hand or cigarette hand, and in the end just yelled something at me. The others just glared in my general direction.
The day was overcast and there were hardly any power boats on the river. I suspect many of the people with the flashy and fancy power boats have somewhat limited navigational skills. Anything beyond going 300 yards in a straight line on a bright sunshine day may be too much for some. I was nearly run over by two jet skis. I am beginning to feel about jet skis the way I feel about ATVs, and it's not a positive emotion. In my opinion the only purpose both serve is to make noise and destroy the environment. But the thing that most annoys me about jet skis is not the danger or the pollution. It's the noise they make, much like the whining noise a mosquito makes when it circles around your head when you're trying to sleep and you keep slapping yourself in the face until your ears ring without hitting the mosquito and you can't find the DEET and it's too hot to pull the cover over your head. It's that annoying.
Past Davenport the river banks are only a few feet high and I caught a few more glimpses of the rolling Iowa countryside. There was a sail boat race in progress in Davenport. A dozen or so Lazer class dinghies were duking it out on the river. South of the city I saw two 24 foot sailboats on the river. These were the first sail boats I've seen on the Mississippi, and except for one canoe I saw on the fourth day of my trip, the only non-motorized vessels I've seen to date. Viva internal combustion!
I haven't seen much wildlife in these parts. There are very few bald eagles compared to Minnesota and I haven't seen any deer around, although there are some tracks on the sandbars. Herons and geese are about the only birds present in significant numbers. There is a lot more plastic littering the banks and the river than I have seen so far.
A sprawling red neck 'tent park' sprouted from a narrow strip of an island a few miles below Davenport. They had pitched every tent and shelter they could get their hands on, including a camouflaged hunting blind. The tents were arranged in a tight cluster with their sides touching. The family that camps together stays together....
A group of people were sitting around a dead fire drinking beer and smoking. A boom box was blasting away and at the lower end of the island a generator was belching electricity and exhaust fumes. One of the woman almost waved at me. The guy next to her couldn't decide whether to wave with his beer hand or cigarette hand, and in the end just yelled something at me. The others just glared in my general direction.
The day was overcast and there were hardly any power boats on the river. I suspect many of the people with the flashy and fancy power boats have somewhat limited navigational skills. Anything beyond going 300 yards in a straight line on a bright sunshine day may be too much for some. I was nearly run over by two jet skis. I am beginning to feel about jet skis the way I feel about ATVs, and it's not a positive emotion. In my opinion the only purpose both serve is to make noise and destroy the environment. But the thing that most annoys me about jet skis is not the danger or the pollution. It's the noise they make, much like the whining noise a mosquito makes when it circles around your head when you're trying to sleep and you keep slapping yourself in the face until your ears ring without hitting the mosquito and you can't find the DEET and it's too hot to pull the cover over your head. It's that annoying.
Past Davenport the river banks are only a few feet high and I caught a few more glimpses of the rolling Iowa countryside. There was a sail boat race in progress in Davenport. A dozen or so Lazer class dinghies were duking it out on the river. South of the city I saw two 24 foot sailboats on the river. These were the first sail boats I've seen on the Mississippi, and except for one canoe I saw on the fourth day of my trip, the only non-motorized vessels I've seen to date. Viva internal combustion!
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