Friday, July 15, 2011 McGregor, IA 67 miles



Lost before we start!

I'll just tell you right off the bat. This day had three very difficult climbs. Judie told me one of them was a 7% grade. She couldn’t look at her Garmin for the others! But even before the climbs, the day started off with uncertainty. We discovered later that the directions on our que sheet were from a different hotel - one where I stayed four years ago!! So, getting out of La Crosse took some doing! We made it, though, to Hwy. 61 and over the bridge to Minnesota (again!) where we traveled south toward Brownsville.  

Notice the MRT sign

We entered Iowa just south of New Albin, and tonight we’re spending the night on the beautiful and enormous Mississippi River at the Holiday Shores Riverside Motel. Peg W. (Seattle, WA) is my roommate - an “old” friend from both the NW Loop ’09 and the Northern Tier: West ’10. We both agree that it has been so much fun to already know half the gals on this trip. Instead of spending time getting to know everyone, we can spend time catching up on our families and lives. We have a room overlooking the river, and enjoyed having a number of gals join us on our veranda for margueritas before dinner.  

View from my room

Iowa is just as pretty as I remember it. The fields are absolutely gorgeous, the hills are SO green, and we travel further south, the farms are really nice, too. CR X52 today left something to be desired, but everything can’t be perfect. It comes, as they say, with the territory.

Menu: Romaine salad, Paella with shrimp and sausage

Judie, Kit, Sue, Peg

Ann, Connie, Karine, Katie

Michelle - great Chef

Carol - guide
Barb - Sous chef

Jean, Mary, Sue, Judie