A new route - new adventures

Piasa Bird Cliff Painting

on the road again

Elsah wildflowers

Yesterday Steve and I lit out for Alton, IL, the starting point for a new bike ride.   Directly underneath the cliff painting of the Piasa Bird is the parking lot for the Great River Road Trail.  The trail itself is older than many of the Madison County trails, and not quite as well maintained.  Still, it was fun to head north from Alton and bike to Pere Marquette State Park, a distance of twenty miles.

waterfall in Chatauqua

Along the way were many interesting little villages.  We made a small loop through Elsah.  The entire small town is very cute and historic.  At one time there was a  restaurant called Elsah Landing which was famous for its pies, especially lemon custard pie.  Alas, the restaurant is no more, and we didn't see any establishment at all for refreshment. 

site of Pere Marquette's
landing in Illinois

Just up the road from Elsah is Piasa Chatauqua, a sort of summer resort village. Founded in 1885 by Methodists, Piasa Chautauqua attracted thousands of people from the St. Louis area and other places in Illinois in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Arriving first by packet boat, and later by automobile or the trains that ran by as often as six times a day, vacationers were entertained, educated, and inspired by such luminaries as William Jennings Bryan, evangelists like Billy Sunday, and John Philip Sousa’s band.  We saw a brand new pavilion where it seems that people gather for worship or entertainment, even today.  A sign written on a large chalkboard promoted Wednesday game nights and a pig roast that will happen there this coming Oct. 22.  There is also a large swimming pool with a clubhouse and boardwalk surrounding the pool that looks in wonderful condition.  As in Elsah, the homes are quaint and perfectly preserved.  

The next town up was Grafton, and it is filled with places that looked like good stops for lunch.  Sometime I'd like to eat at either the Fin Inn (specializing in fish native to the Mississippi River) or the Hawg Pit (specializing in pulled pork BBQ).  On this day, though, we had planned to make it all the way to Pere Marquette State Park.

After puffing up  the hilly path from Grafton to the park, we locked our bikes on the rack and made our way into the 1930's style lodge.  Lo and behold, at 12:30 the huge dining room was completely filled, and we were told there was a 45 minute wait!  Apparently the month of October is an especially popular time for carloads of visitors seeing the bright colors of fall foliage.  We didn't ride all that way to go away hungry, so we sat on the deck outside with a view of the river in the distance.  Soon enough we were called into the dining room.  A specialty at the lodge is fried chicken, so that's what I ordered, and Steve had a girly salad (spinach, strawberries and grilled chicken).  Frankly, on the ride back I kind of wished I had also opted for the salad.  But when in Rome, etc., etc.  

The ride home seemed long though it was two miles shorter than the ride up since we did not make any side trips through the little towns as we had in the morning.   

Another 42 miles chalked up in fall, 2011!