Day 5 - Saturday, July 17, 2021

Breakfast at 7:00 AM and on the road at 8:00 AM.  Before we left Dubuque, we wanted to see some of the town.  We decided to go to Eagle Point Park.  It was only slightly out of our way and was supposed to offer some great views from a bluff overlooking the lock and dam.  The park was beautiful and had many amenities.  Below are a few photos from the bluff.

Just a few dozen miles down the road, we again ascended a bluff at Bellevue, IA.  This time it was the Bellevue State Park Nelson Unit.  It to gave us a wonderful view of the river and another lock and dam as well a a nice view of the town.

As noon came and went, we began to look for some where to have lunch.  We passed thru the city of Davenport without seeing a good prospect.  South of Davenport were a series of small to tiny towns and we were beginning to loose hope.  In the small town of Fairport (population 66), Carl spotted a sign that said Lighthouse Bar and Grill / Marina.  We decided to take a chance.  It was surprisingly busy, but being the only thing around I guess that wasn't surprising.  My sandwich was OK, nothing special, but the atmosphere was worth the stop.

The Lighthouse Bar and Grill

Being sort of a beer aficionado, I was particularly impressed with their wall of beer cans.  They have over 3000 different cans, in alphabetical order behind glass.

After having our strength restored, we made it on into Burlington, which has several attractions we wanted to see.  We stopped at Mosquito Park, another bluff overlook (no photos posted).  We then made our way downtown to the one block long Snake Alley.  It is honored in Ripley's Believe it or Not as an Odd Spot.   You can read the description below.  The photos are not nearly as impressive as the actual thing.  At first we did not plan to actually drive the alley, but in the end we did!  Short but exciting. 

So far we have really enjoyed our travels.  We have been very fortunate with the weather and hopefully it will continue.  So far, we have driven approximately 1300 miles in five days.  This includes the actual Great Road as well as our side trips (and detours, which we had several of today).  

One of the great things about this drive is the pace.  We are mainly on secondary roads, sometime gravel roads and we pass through dozens and dozens of small towns.  Several have had populations less than 100 and most are less than 1000.  The people we have met have been friendly and helpful, it is just not the same in the cities. :( .

We got to our hotel in Fort Madison around 4 O'clock, rested up a while and went for dinner.  We start the adventure anew tomorrow, headed to St. Louis where we plan to spend two nights.  We are all looking forward to have a day free from packing and unpacking!