Pike's Peak in Iowa

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Well, I really went and did it.......burrowed into such a deep, dark, depressed hole that the only way to escape was by creating a long blogpost with many photos.....in LARGE size, even!! I'm promising myself to not blog seriously again about politics and religion. Unserious blogging about politics and religion.........well, that is another story. In regards to that.......I'm quite sure that my bloggings against Sarah Palin's religious beliefs will bar me from being allowed entry into the Alaska Tribulation Refuge Ark in a few years......after the Lower 48 have been rendered uninhabitable by some End Times calamity. Wait a minute, though........on the video, Sarah's pastor stated that another prophesied Refuge state is Wisconsin!! I'm in luck, for that state is not far from where I live!! In fact.......you're gazing at it in the distance in this first photo from Pike's Peak State Park near McGregor, Iowa!

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This plaque explains the view in the photo preceding and in the one following. Click the plaque photo to enlarge it for reading.

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This photo was taken looking east; the Wisconsin River flows west into the Mississippi River at this point. Try to envision Father Marquette and Louis Joliet and their party there in their birchbark canoes on that June day in 1673, as they floated into the confluence of these two great rivers.
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Here's more info. It states that in 1805, Lt. Zebulon Pike evaluated this location for a possible fort site. Thankfully.......he decided against it, for there's never been a fort here that I know of. Perhaps he could see that it was a special area.......too special for a fort.

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Looking north from the Pike's Peak overlook, we can see the arched bridge over the Mississippi River between Marquette, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. McGregor, Iowa, lies to the south of the bridge area. On the right side, you can see barges anchored along the river's shore, probably waiting to be loaded with grain at the terminal in McGregor.

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Walking north from the overlook area, we pass by an effigy mound built in the shape of a bear. The bluffs along the Mississippi in this area are home to numerous effigy and burial mounds. Effigy Mounds National Monument is high on the bluffs north of Marquette. I've been there several times over the years, and hope to go back sometime to take photos for a blogpost.

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Its not difficult to see why ancient peoples would consider this a sacred area. The specialness......the sacredness, can be felt. Maybe the reason is because its a high place. Maybe I'm paganish----I enjoy nature very much and don't view it as "fallen". That for sure would prohibit me from entering the Tribulation Refuge. I may have to swim the Mississippi River to Wisconsin in the dead of a Tribulation night in order to get in.

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Opposite the Bear Mound is this steep drop-off down to a sheer cliff above the river.

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My darling daughter made me nervous by wandering close to the edge.

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A little further down the path is The Crow's Nest, offering a continued view north up the river basin.

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From The Crow's Nest, we descended down, down, down, to Bridal Veil Falls.

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My daughters decided to venture off the wooden walkways and onto a footpath which led down into a steep ravine. I waited for them.......and looked for photo opportunities........like this curly-Q tree.

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The wooden walkway trail system makes easy work of hiking here in Pike's Peak State Park.

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Remember, though, I told you we walked down, down, down........well, you know what that means........eventually, we had to trudge UP, UP, UP!! It was tolerable, however, due to the peaceful, dappled, tree-scape atmosphere all around us!!

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A few tree leaves were turning here and there, but green remained the dominant color of the very enjoyable day!!

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There were many people at the park last Sunday when we were there.........a regular microcosm of our great United States. There were white people like us......and black people.......and Middle-Eastern-looking people.......Oriental-looking people........Hispanic people. There were babies being pushed in strollers; elderly and special-needs folks being rolled along in wheelchairs. Lots of dogs on leashes, too. There was even a wedding going on on one of the wooden overlook decks!! Everyone was there for the same reason.......to enjoy the fabulous scenery from the vantage point high up on Pike's Peak!

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God bless everyone who was there that day.......and God bless YOU!!

God bless Iowa! God bless Wisconsin (and, even Alaska) and your state or country, too!!

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