Dubuque Trip - Sunday, August 5, 2012

Our day started with a walk along the Port of Dubuque and then we headed to Crystal Lake Cave which is just south of Dubuque.  This is a really neat cave that is quite a bit different than other caves we have visited in that there aren't any big open rooms in the cave.  The cave consists of lots of narrow (and short) passageways along with many cave formations.  The one bad thing about the cave is the tour guide who was lacking in any knowledge of caves and who rushed the tour.  Plus off of many formations hung signs indication what the formation looked like.  If they could get a good tour guide who really understands caves, this could have been an incredible tour because the cave itself was pretty cool.

Crystal Lake

From there we headed to lock #12 along the Mississippi River.  We were able to see a 15 barge go through the locks which required it being split into two different groups as the locks are not large enough to handle something that large.  The weather was absolutely perfect so we sat for a while and enjoyed a subway lunch on a picnic table where we could watch the lock.  The one bad thing about this lock is that there was not an observation platform so we were viewing the locks through a chain link fence making it a little difficult to get good pictures but I did manage to get a few.

The next stop was lock #13 which has a free tour of the locks every Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  For those with any interest in locks, this is a cool tour.  Our tour guide was a park ranger who was pretty knowledgeable.  He took us across the doors of the lock to get a closer look at both the lock and the dams.  It was probably the highlight of the trip for me.  This lock is also nice because it does have an observation platform so you can get a good look at the locks.  Cormorants and pelicans were common at this lock and others we visited.

Our next lock was lock #11 in Dubuque.  We decided to watch boats go through the lock from Eagle Point Park in Dubuque.  This park has great views of the Mississippi River and of Illinois and Wisconsin.

For supper we stopped at Happy Joe's Pizza.  You can't beat their taco pizza.  To end our day we explored the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.  This place was breathtaking even with the fact that it has been such a dry summer that flowers were struggling to survive.  I can't imagine how beautiful it must look when there has been ample rain.  If we lived closer I would visit regularly just to relax.  Here are just a couple of pictures.