Final copy for Day 1 and 2, Traveling to Iowa

   Just to refresh our  memories, that this trip has as its goal, to visit the wildlife areas of the Missouri River and the Des Plaines (IA) "pothole lakes", in order to observe the migration of the birds in the fall of the year.  More on that later.

   

   An intersting conversation happened to me the day before I was to start this trip to Iowa. A young man working in a business  (in Grand Rapids) had come to Michigan from Iowa just  5 months ago,. I asked him how he decided to come to Michigan. His answer sums up Iowa for many people. "I just got tired of seeing the corn!" (He loves MIchigan's variety of seasons and habitat.)

                                        

                                                THIS WILL BE TOMORROW'S STORY

   

   But let us remember that Iowa produces so much corn that we don't have to rely on many things on our own. Beside the direct use of corn, there are many by-products used in fuels, foods, industry and even art!  ( The "Corn Palace" in Mitchell South Dakota!)  This week it seemed that some of the corn farmers wanted to get a start on that corn that was ready for harvest, so the further west we travelled, the more corn we saw that had been cut. Just a small percent cut at this time, but it will grow in the weeks to come. Along the Mississippi River , there were a few barges tied up, empty, waiting for the trucks to arrive with their loads to be transferred and  loaded into the barges. Where trucks can haul 910 bushels at a time, a railroad car can haul 250,000 pounds and  a barge can haul 3 million pounds and they often link 9 barges in tandem when moving them.  Amazing  stuff .  On the interstate we saw a number of trucks heading that way with their first loads of corn for the season. At one interchange we saw a huge pile of corn cobs , used for ?? compost?  Corn production goes  35% to Animals , 27% ethanol, 10% distilleries, 11% exported, other lesser %.

   

                                                    HENNEPIN CANAL , IL

 We did also see some of the wind generator blades and stanchions being moved down the road. LOts of wind farms in Iowa as they produce 7.5% of their energy from wind.

   

   Day one was beautiful reaching a temperature of 82F in central Illinois. The evening in western Illinois  got down to 48 F but still very clear. We stayed at Geneseo, IL, which is near the terminus of the old Hennepin Canal (named after a Jesuit Priest) which starts near Chicago and winds its way to the Mississippi River using a river the last few miles. It was built with manual labor and is a work of engeneering marvel as the banks and side tow paths are still intact .  (Note path in picture.) Generally, I-80 follows its route. (Maybe they could have put the Interstate over it?) The canal was started in 1890 and finished in 1907 and  runs for 75 miles. It  was used for recreation, transporrtation and fishing. Record fish still are caught by fishing from the canal. The YMCA even held its swimming classes there for awhile. Railroads became more efficient and trucks and highways closed it down. There are 28 locks still visible on the canal.

   

   When we got into Iowa the price of gasoline took a huge drop even though Illinois was still at the $3.28 range. All of a sudden it was as low as $3.05/gallon. I think Ethanol additives might influence that some, but not entirely. Iowa's gasoline tax is three cents less than Michigan's at $.19 per gallon.

                                                      IOWA GASOLINE PRICES 

   In the middle of the day, as it had been cloudy all day, I remarked to Ruth that it seemed like the clouds were getting thinner , and we should escpect to see the sun. We did see it  about an hour later, but just briefly, as in about another 45 minutes the skies opened up and we had a terrific downpour and some hefty winds, but it was very brief. I was relieved as we were just 6 miles from the stop where we planned to stay for the week. Heavy rain and a trailer with truck traffic makes for steely nerves.

   

   We did manage to get a tank of gasoline during the rain under cover, and the campground was just a few yards from that station. It did not stop raining all evening except a few brief intervals so we set up the trailer in the rain as well. (See the clothes hanging around the inside of the trailer?) I didn't take a picture but should have. As I write this at 9:15 PM CDT, it is still raining)

   

   So tomorrow we shall see how the weather shapes up. It appears that the main rain will cease, and move on east. There is a prediction for on and off showers during the day, so we may just sit tight and tell stories.

   That's it for this one and as we are on a quite slow internet this may not have any or many pictures, but I will try.  (I managed to put a few in I see.) If not, I will park the computer inside the office where there will be better delivery of services. (That's another story) 

   Catch you on the next one, especially if there is less rain and we can get out and about to see the birds.

Upcoming birding trip to Iowa.

On the road , soon!

We are getting ready for a two week trip to the western "shores" of Iowa. Hope to see some of the migration of the waterfowl and possibly some songbirds heading south for the winter.  The area northeast of Onaha has  some terrific NW Reserves and good birding.  DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge to name one.  Another few days will be spent in the DesMoines area to check out many of the small"pothole like" lakes that abound there with waterfowl at certain times of th year.
I'll keep some running account of the days activities and of course some pictures.  Here is a picture of the Ruby Throated hummingbirds that have still been coming to the feeders in Grand Rapids this week (September 15-20th).. See you in another week.