Scrapbook page made by Pam!
Today was an intense and amazing day. We were camped behind a dumpster at the Yardarm/Dubuque Marina, and the first thing we heard was the BEEP BEEP BEEP of a huge truck backing up. It was a porta potty truck (whose slogan was "Come potty with us") Jake yelled "HEY HEY HEY" while clapping to get the guy's attention. He stopped backing up for a second and said, "I see you. That was a shitty wake-up call." (bah-dum-psh!)
I walked to a nearby cafe to have breakfast with Chuck Isenhart, Iowa House Representative, and he introduced me to water quality specialists Dean Mattoon and Eric Schmechel of the Catfish Creek Watershed Management Authority, a tributary of the Mississippi River. We talked for a while about water quality issues in Iowa and the Mississippi River, and then headed out for a day of tours: Water Resource Recovery Center, Swiss Valley Nature Center, and the National Mississippi River Museum.
That evening, Eric picked us up from the museum and we went to the grocery, headed back to his house where we had tacos and a really really fun evening with his family (Meredith, his wife, Frankie and Everett, their children, Pam, Meredith's mom, and Nancy, Pam's highschool friend and Meredith's best friends' mom). Dean and his wife showed up later, and they enjoyed a jolly time downstairs with Eric, Jake and Julie, while I stayed up and worked on blogs and drank tea with Meredith and Pam and Nancy. Pam and Nancy talked all about their hobby (scrapbooking), and made me a cool page for my journal! And we got to spend the night indoors. We had such a wonderful time there, THANK YOU, river angels!!!
I walked to a nearby cafe to have breakfast with Chuck Isenhart, Iowa House Representative, and he introduced me to water quality specialists Dean Mattoon and Eric Schmechel of the Catfish Creek Watershed Management Authority, a tributary of the Mississippi River. We talked for a while about water quality issues in Iowa and the Mississippi River, and then headed out for a day of tours: Water Resource Recovery Center, Swiss Valley Nature Center, and the National Mississippi River Museum.
That evening, Eric picked us up from the museum and we went to the grocery, headed back to his house where we had tacos and a really really fun evening with his family (Meredith, his wife, Frankie and Everett, their children, Pam, Meredith's mom, and Nancy, Pam's highschool friend and Meredith's best friends' mom). Dean and his wife showed up later, and they enjoyed a jolly time downstairs with Eric, Jake and Julie, while I stayed up and worked on blogs and drank tea with Meredith and Pam and Nancy. Pam and Nancy talked all about their hobby (scrapbooking), and made me a cool page for my journal! And we got to spend the night indoors. We had such a wonderful time there, THANK YOU, river angels!!!
We are now dumpster rats, not just river rats.
I like seeing paddling signs. In my head, "That's me!"
Dubuque has put permeable pavers in the alleys as a way to reduce stormwater runoff in an effort to reduce flooding and decrease pollution into the river.
This explains why permeable pavers (above) or porous asphalt is helpful.
I was given a Catfish Creek Watershed Management Authority tee-shirt--a beautiful logo and another shirt for wearing during laundry day!
Looking at the first corn fields of Iowa yet.
Jake mentioned that Julie and he used to share a twin bed, so when we decided to stay at Eric and Meredith's that evening, Meredith thought it'd be funny to put out a toddler's bed and a large blanket for the two of them as a joke before she pulled out the actual double blow-up-mattress. We laughed.
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