Mississippi River Day 4: Dubuque to Springfield, Illinois

This article is part of a series about our recent vacation traveling down the Mississippi River. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.

We awoke to yet another hot day. Before leaving Dubuque, we checked out a couple of things we found in the tour book. The first was the Fenelon Place Elevator, a cable car that goes up a hill near downtown. It was a quaint and enjoyable ride, and the operator, who sits in a booth at the top, was very knowledgeable about the area. We had planned on taking a fairly direct route to Springfield, but she convinced us to take the river road, part of the way in Iowa, and part in Illinois. We also stopped by the Dubuque farmers’ market. We were very impressed that it appeared the produce and crafts were being sold by the actual farmers and craftsmen who grew and made them, in contrast to other farmers’ markets we have visited.

As promised, this section of the Great River Road was scenic and enjoyable, well worth the extra time required. Just before we got to the Quad Cities (in this case, Moline, Illinois), we hit Interstate 80 and it was basically freeway the rest of the way to Springfield. The farmland was typical of the area, and much flatter than it had been further north.

Once again, it was unpleasantly hot. Springfield tied their high temperature record of 104. We are hoping the cold front will come through tonight and cool things off.

Mississippi River crossings: 1
July 7, 2012