A Visit to the Upper Mississippi River

… on our left and under our feet, the valley between the two barren hills through which the Mississippi wound itself by numerous channels, forming many beautiful islands, as far as the eye could embrace the scene; and on our four boats under full sail, their flags streaming before the wind. It was a prospect so variegated and romantic that a man may scarcely expect to enjoy such a one but twice or thrice in the course of his life. fromThe Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: To Headwaters of the Mississippi River through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the years 1805-6-7. Vol. 1

And I remember Muscatine – still more pleasantly – for its summer sunsets… They used the broad, smooth river as a canvas, and painted on it every imaginable dream of color, from the mottled daintiness and delicacies of the opal, all the way up, through cumulative intensities, to blinding purple and crimson conflagrations, which were enchanting to the eye, but sharply tried it at the same time. from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. 1883

The Mississippi River basin drains two thirds of the lower 48 states. Anyone living in the Midwest should spend some time either on it or alongside it. From Kansas City it is a 6 hour drive to the Muscatine and Davenport area of the Mississippi – the upper part of the river that Mark Twain describes at the end of his book, Life on the Mississippi. This area of the country had changed enormously between Zebulon Pike’s exploratory journey and the journey that Mark Twain made some 60 or more years later. From wilderness to prosperous farmland to today’s aquatic highway, the river has been intertwined in the affairs of humans.

Nothing stays the same – Columbus Junction

In early August, we loaded our bikes on the rack and set out to join another couple at the town of Columbus Junction, Iowa. The plan, which was generally successful, was to ride our bikes to the Mississippi River city of Davenport where we would listen to a jazz music festival celebrating one of Davenport’s own, Bix Beiderbecke. In Columbus Junction we pitched our tents on the county fairgrounds as workmen finished packing up a travelling carnival.

Columbus Junction is in many ways like any other Iowa farm town, with one glaring exception, the large meat packing plant just outside of town. That plant attracts a large influx of immigrants. While one could get a basic fried dinner at the roadhouse on the highway, we also were able to enjoy an authentic Mexican breakfast – and picked up some Tamarin snacks at the Asian grocery. A medley of humanity hung out on Main Street.

Watching the River

Our first bicycling destination was the Fairport Campground, outside of Muscatine, and overlooking the Mississippi. The route was pleasant along mostly low traffic roads with a river bluff to one side and farmed lowlands to the other. That night we watched the famous sunset over the river. Barges pushed their cargo upstream as the colors of the sky and water merged from day to night. Dana remembered her childhood summers visiting an Aunt’s riverfront cabin, sitting on an outdoor swing, watching the barge lights go by, and listening to the radio with her grandfather next to her.

Pearl Buttons and the demise of the river’s fresh water mussel beds

Mussel harvester statue. Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine is home to the Pearl Button Museum, a fascinating short story in environmental history. From 1835 to 1915 many workers were employed at sawmills in Iowa and Illinois river towns where they turned flotillas of White and Norway Pine logs that had been floated downstream from the North Woods, into lumber. When the forests were depleted, other jobs were needed.

An unusual source of employment arrived via a convergence of factors. High tariffs made it difficult to import buttons from German factories for the new mass produced clothing. An enterprising German button artisan decided that if he couldn’t ship buttons to America he would move to America and make buttons here. After arriving, he began looking for appropriate raw materials and stumbled upon the vast freshwater mussel beds of the Mississippi . Combine the abundant resource, a willing work force that enjoyed escaping the factories to camp out on the river banks and harvest mussels, and inventive new machines and you get an industry churning out up to 1.5 billion buttons a year. Piles of mussel shells grew outside of shops.

The local mussel beds were soon depleted, forcing the button factories to use shell fish from as far away as Arkansas and Tennessee. By the 1950s plastic buttons replaced the once popular mother of pearl buttons and the industry was no longer an important river town employer. Freshwater mussels have long and complex life histories and though now protected, native mussels remain scarce.

Bicycle Trails in the Quad Cities

Fossils in the River Wall. Davenport, Iowa

Our final destination was the four river cities known as the Quad Cities (Davenport, Moline, Rock Island, and Bettendorf), communities that have taken great advantage of their riverfront. In Davenport, a park with band shell for fresh air concerts and a picturesque minor league ballpark draw people to the river. Bike trails on both sides of the river are connected by bridges that include bike/pedestrian lanes and a small ferry with bicycle racks. We peddled both sides of the river watching barges, sculling boats, pelicans, and gulls. Oh, the music was also great!

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