Day 13: 6/2/19: Ft. Madison to Hedrick, IA

I slept great last night in the Super 8.  Got up and ate the hotel breakfast. Had 2 eggs, 3 sausage patties, and 2 of those large you make yourself waffles. Below is the Heron relaxing at the hotel.

It was enjoyable taking a short break inside, but it was great to get back outside this morning. The temps were in about the high 50s starting out.

I've always heard how flat Iowa is. The part of the state that I'm in is actually pretty hilly.  I wasn't expecting that type terrain in Iowa, but I am enjoying it.

I rode through West Point, IA, and below are some pics of their Veterans Memorial and a statue at the park in the middle of town. West Point seems like a nice, quiet small town.  Larry took my picture with the memorial. He was part of the committee that established the memorial, and I could tell he was very proud of it, which he should be.

The wind is out of the northwest today and since I will be traveling north and west, it will be in my face most of the day. My only concern about that is my lips. The wind will chap my lips pretty fast. I try to stay overly hydrated and keep sunscreen on them to try to prevent chapping. This trip, I am also using Lansinoh, which is a lanolin cream, to try to keep my lips from chapping and cracking.

I stopped in Eldon at the old train Depot and took some pics.

Below is a monument to Gerald Fackler,  the man that made the depot museum possible. He was from California and his wife was from near Eldon. He pulled into town and told someone his wife was in the trunk of his car and he needed to find a place to bury her. He actually had her cremated remains in the trunk. The guy helped him arrange his wife's burial, and he began donating money to the city. When he passed away he left a large inheritance to the city.

Pics below are related to the American Gothic house in Eldon. It is the house that Grant Wood, the artist of American Gothic, used as a model for the painting. The man in the painting is Wood's dentist and the woman is Wood's sister. They were never at the same location.  Woods sketched the 3 separately and then put them together for the painting.

Below I am in front of the house pretending to be the dentist. The guy at the American Gothic House center thought I looked like the guy in the painting. You be the judge.  :)

I rolled into Hedrick, IA at about 7 p.m. and asked a lady if there was a place in town where I could pitch a tent. She said I could probably camp at the town park just down the road. I asked her who I could contact to let them know I was there, and she said she would let the mayor know.

At about 7:30 Robert, the mayor, came by the park and asked if I needed anything. We sat and talked for about 45 minutes. He said if he had known I was coming through town, he would have contacted the local paper to let them do an article about my trip. I told him I felt honored being welcomed to the town by the mayor, and he quipped, "I would give you a key to the town, but we don't have one." :) You gotta love these small Iowa towns.

My campsite for the night.

Total miles today: 90.6