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www. FavoriteRidesAndDestinations. com | ridermagazine. com
FALL 2016 ISSUE 02 / VOL. 01
down the side of the road. Someone walked a dog. In a field, a bull mounted a cow. Each, in its way, winding the watch stem that turns the world.
We stopped for breakfast in Wabash, a small town of immaculate brick buildings, home to the Delta Queen paddlewheel riverboat. We parked near a statue of an important Native American chief, whose name was spelled differently on each block of the city. The attentive waitress topped off our coffee every three sips, and told us stories about the town, the kind of detail no plaque can capture.
We decided to go old school, to get information face to face. A group of bikers coming in for brunch told us the Iowa side of the river was worth exploring. They were not mistaken. The road caressed the flanks of 600-foot high hills— bluffs carved by the river’ s relentless quest to return to sea level. You cannot follow the river without sensing that power. There
Left: The bluffs on the western side hold the highway close to the river. Right: On the eastern side you find quaint towns like Prairie du Chein, home to Pete’ s poached burgers since 1909.