Wisonsin to Iowa

    We finally found a place to go trail riding, which we had been promising Sydney for awhile.  It wasn't much of a trail, being that it was in the middle of one of the biggest tourist towns in America, but still it was fun.  Sydney had a very slow horse that at one time began groaning.  The only time it would really move at all was when I tried to go past it with my horse.  Then it would pin its ears back and trot off.

Getting ready to hit the trail.

Heading out.

Riding through "the Old West"

It was a beautiful fall day and we saw nine deer.

  We left Wisconsin Dells and headed to Iowa to see my Uncle David.  We first stopped near Marquette, Iowa to see the Effigy Mounds National Monument.  The mounds were constructed by ancient cultures about AD 650 - 1200.  Some mounds were conical mounds used for burial.  Other mounds were more complex and were oblong or in the shape of a bear or bird.

Overlooking the Mississippi River.

Large burial mound.

A more complex mound

An effigy mound in the shape of a bear.  It is difficult to photograph.  Sydney and I are standing at the bear's butt.

The Little Bear Mound.  The head is on the right, while the other shapes you see are the legs.

A squirrel nest in a maple tree.

A photo from the Effigy Mounds Monument website.  It gives an aerial view of some of the mounds, which wee just couldn't get.

    We have been hanging out the last few days in Mount Vernon. Iowa with David and his wife Kay.  The weather is sunny and warm.  David gave us a great walking tour of Downtown Mount Vernon and Cornell College.  Yesterday, we went to a little orchard and picked apples. The area is very nice and surrounded by corn and soybean fields.

Picking our own apples was a new experience.

 

Many of the apples have fallen from the tree.  The fallen apples are collected and turned into cider.

Picking apples with Uncle David.

A perfect midnight red delicious.

We also went for a walk in a local park.