March 24 – April 7, 2020 ~ After leaving Mayport Naval Station’s Pelican Roost RV Park, we were on a mission to reach Iowa to ride out the gathering storm clouds of the Covid19 pandemic. We have family in the midwest and wanted to be near them during these strange times. It took us five days of driving from Jacksonville, FL to reach Mt Pleasant, IA. This was our destination because it was the northernmost campground in Iowa with the water already turned on for the season …Crossroads RV Park, in Mt Pleasant.
Aptly named, Crossroads RV Park is situated at the intersection of US 34 and US 218. We did hear some traffic noise, but since the noise was from trucks bringing goods to areas of the country that were in the throws of the Covid19 pandemic, it was a comforting sound. Our site was level and the hookups were in good condition. The office person was friendly, and was adhering to social distancing measures. The campground is well designed for easy in/easy out. There appeared to be a few permanent residents and there was a steady stream of overnighters on their way to somewhere else. Our plan was to stay here until a campground in northeast Iowa, closer to our relatives, with full hook ups opened. We ended up staying here for two weeks.
In fact, we were there long enough for a bird to decide that underneath our slide out was a great place to build a nest. Luckily we found it before any eggs were laid. We moved it to a tree in the campground and hoped the bird would find it and still use it. At any rate, moving it before there were babies was the right decision because we knew we would move before any babies would fledge the nest.
Our favorite activity in Mt Pleasant was riding our bikes. Scott figured out a route that gave us a chance to stretch our legs, passed by a number of interesting site, and included a place to stop for a picnic lunch. After an easy ride through a neighborhood, we would circle through East Lake Park then pass a cemetery with graves dating from the early 1800s. Our ride also included the fair grounds of the Midwest Old Threshers. There is a museum dedicated to the farming heritage of the area, a mock up town, and steam engines. The museum was not open, of course, but the grounds were and we enjoyed including it in our bike ride.
Once we stopped at Forest Home Cemetery, which was on our bike route. There were a lot of interesting grave stones there. One family had their territory staked out with “logs” made of concrete. There were also chairs and planters all in the same theme. It sure looked like real wood from afar.
Another neat find at Forest Home Cemetery was a monument to a soldier who served in the Revolutionary War. Born in 1763 in Baltimore, MD Charles Shepherd served in the revolutionary war as a private before moving to Iowa. The State of Iowa and the Daughters of the Revolution both worked to erect the monument to this African American soldier in 1909.
Scott and I don’t mind living small in an RV full time. But during the pandemic when we were trying to stay home as much as possible, some days that RV got awful cramped for the both of us. On those days, if we couldn’t go on a bike ride, we took to getting in the car and just driving around town. Once we noticed the local movie theatre was selling Popcorn To Go.
In a true sign of the times, one day we saw huge rolls of tubing sheathed in white plastic to keep them clean. The first thought to pop into my mind? Toilet paper!
Another day, we took a leisurely drive around the countryside. It was a cool, sunny day. We found ourselves in Athens, Missouri and followed a sign leading to the battle ground where the Battle of Athens was fought on August 5th, 1862. The Battle of Athens is the northernmost battle west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. The battle lasted only two hours, and COL David Moore’s pro-Union Home Guard was victorious over COL Martin Green’s pro-secessionist State Guard. Home Guards were comprised of pro-Union men who stayed close to their communities to protect them against secessionists. Local men fought on both sides of this battle, and this led to bitter feelings that lingered in the town, even within families, well after the Civil War ended. Pre-Civil War, in the mid-1850s, Athens was a thriving town of around 500 residents built around a steamboat port and was a grain, livestock and manufacturing center. Pro-South sentiments during the Civil War led to Athens missing out on a railroad connection to the town, thereby decreasing the usefulness of the town’s port, and led to it’s drastically reduced size of about 50 residents by 1900.
There are a few original buildings from the time period there to see. Of course, they were closed due to the pandemic. One building of note is the Benning House. A cannonball fired from the artillery of the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard hit the house during the Battle of Athens. The cannonball entered the house beside the kitchen door, went through the kitchen without causing injury, and exited out the rear wall.
Perhaps our most memorable find in our travels around southeastern Iowa was stumbling upon the American Gothic house. You may recognize it from this painting by Grant Wood…
There is a nice visitors center, closed for the pandemic. According to signage, they will lend out the appropriate clothes and props so you can dress up and take your own version of American Gothic! The house was built in 1881-1882 in the style of Carpenter Gothic. Identifying features of Carpenter Gothic in the house are board and batten siding, a steeply pitched roof, and the iconic pointed-arch windows. The windows were believed to have been purchased through the Sears catalogue. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name the Dibble House after it’s original owners.
American Gothic was painted in 1930 by Iowa artist Grant Wood. He is also known for his paintings of the rolling Iowa farmland. The painting is supposed to represent a father protecting his daughter, and the daughter’s acquiescence.
Our time in southeast Iowa came to a close when our intended destination campground in Clermont, IA opened for the season. All in all, a big thank you to the town of Mt Pleasant, IA and its environs for making our stay bearable during these strange pandemic times.