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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Autumnal Adventures - Part 1

This fall I have taken a little time for some fun. My siblings and I took a road trip to Prairie du Chien, and my friend Kathleen and I took a road trip to West Branch. While covering a Pheasants Forever Youth Hunt for the paper, I also got to learn how to use a shot gun for the first time--which was a different and interesting experience! Let's start this with a recap of our adventures near the banks of the Mississippi.
On our way to Prairie du Chien, we stopped at Pike's Peak to enjoy some fresh air and beautiful scenery. The trees seemed a little past their peak, as some were on the bare side; but that just meant we had plenty of leaves crackling under our feet as we hiked. I thought the view was gorgeous.
Last time I was at Pike's Peak was on a family outing with my siblings, parents, and paternal grandparents 11 years ago. It was an interesting feeling to only faintly remember parts of the trail.
Bridal Veil Falls was on the dry side, but it did have a little water going over.

The woods were a perfect backdrop for portraits.

(Photo credit: Charity)
The weather was very nice; I had to take off my jacket and carry it for most of the hike.

Another place we stopped was Spook Cave near McGregor. We paid $12 per ticket, and admired the lovely water mill as we waited for our tour.
The cave is intentionally flooded, and a guide takes each group into the cave on a small boat. There were nine in our group, including the guide, who gave us interesting facts about the cave throughout the whole tour, and even told us a scary story. The cave is long, cool and very dark. The tour was fascinating, and I learned many things I did not know about caves. The experience was worthwhile.
After visiting the cave and Pike's Peak, we headed to Pete's Hamburger stand in Prairie du Chien. It has been a long-standing belief in my family that Pete's has the best hamburgers, so we ordered ourselves some and brought some home for our dear parents.
Pete's is only open seasonally, and we went on their last day. There were long lines! We culminated the days' activities with a visit to the Hungry House, where we ate supper before heading home.
I very much enjoyed visiting Prairie du Chien with Charity, Daniel and Sarah Faith. It was a dream come true to enjoy the fall scenery in Northeast Iowa this year--and one could not have asked for better company!

"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: 
thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. 
Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.  
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. 
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side." -Psalm 65:9-13

31 comments:

  1. Looks like a most excellent day. Love the pictures and all the smiles 🎃

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  2. What a wonderful post, Bethany. I felt like I was right there alongside you. I have never done that cave tour but I think I need to do that. Glad you were able to get some hamburgers on the last day the place was open!

    Hope you have a great weekend, sweet girl. I love all your pictures here today! xo Diana

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    1. Thanks! I was glad we made it on the last day--a person can only procrastinate so long!

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  3. Beautiful photos of beautiful people....and scenery!

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  4. So wonderful visiting you this morning, Bethany :) I thoroughly enjoyed your post and photos! What a delight of life to adventure on road trips and enjoy such blessed and fun times with family and friends while taking in amazing scenery. The fall foliage in your photos is breathtaking, as is the rolling land. I am immediately enthralled with a golden fall landscape because it always reminds me of the shade of the Aspens in fall in Colorado.
    I can imagine how interesting the Spook Cave tour must have been. What a neat opportunity to get to visit and spend time there. And I imagine being a guide would be a rather fascinating job.
    Your meal looks delicious, as well. There's nothing like enjoying home-style cooking at a family favorite.

    Have a very blessed Friday :)
    Jazzmin

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    1. I did love seeing the fall foliage. Northeast Iowa is always so beautiful!

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  5. It was so nice to see a post from you, sweet friend. It was so interesting to visit and see what has been going on in your life. God bless you always! Thank you for your encouragement to me.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, and God bless you too, Cheryl!

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  6. Beautiful photos! It looks like a wonderful trip.

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  7. This looks like a lovely outing with your siblings! The scenery is just beautiful. I'm sure you all enjoyed some delicious food after a long day in the cold air!

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    1. We sure did! The weather was warm for late October though. We couldn't have asked for any day nicer!

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  8. Lots of happy smiles! And such a lovely outing. How wonderful that you spent quality time with your siblings; moments to cherish and remember. I also love that you took home some food for your parents. That is really thoughtful!

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    1. Well, we couldn't go to Pete's without bringing them home something--especially since that is my papa's favorite hamburger stand! We had fun!

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  9. It looks like the 3 of you had a wonderful time, your photos are beautiful. I have been through Iowa many times on I-80 so have gone down to the Mississippi at Le Claire. It's so beautiful. That is definitely a big river. Enjoy the remainder of autumn.

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    1. Four of us actually. Charity isn't in the photos. The Mississippi is beautiful!

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  10. What a lovely place you visited. I like the shot of the stair case. - I bet the cave tour would be interesting and fun as well. Enjoyed reading your post.

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  11. A great fall road trip with lots of pretty scenery & good company, topped off with delicious food!

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  12. Sounds like an awesome place to visit!
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  13. What a nice and lovely place you visited!

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  14. Gorgeous pics Bethany! Beautiful memories of a wonderful day. ;) And now I'm hungry from all the wonderful food you shared. Lol

    Have a blessed weekend Sweetie. Xoxo

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  15. We had to stand in line for some time! I guess everyone wanted one last burger this season.

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  16. Looks like a lovely place to visit! We have some friends with the last name of Pike, and their kids enjoy telling us about the place that's named after them. :P

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