We Boldly Go South

Continuing south on our voyage from Wisconsin to rendezvous with other campers in Missouri we stopped to see some interesting transportation sights along the way.

28 September 2025 – Sunday

Enjoyed sunrise over Coralville Lake

0919 75,378 64°F Leave Sandy Beach COE Campground

0945 75,412 64°F Barretts Bakery
From the long lines, it is a popular place on Sunday morning. We decided to skip the line and hit the road, so don’t know if it was something special.

When looking at the route ahead, we both thought Riverside, Iowa sounded familiar. If you are a Star Trek fan, you might know why…

0925 75,434 69°F Riverside, Iowa

Another clue was this float beside the road.

Next we parked in front of the local Post Office under a “Beam me up Scotty” banner.

Another clue was found by the front door.

Along with a few themed stamp posters around the side of their building.

Finally, next door, we found the official memorial of a future event.

A statue in the town square park was the most professional tribute to Captain Kirk.

Riverside History Center is open from noon to four Monday through Saturday. Of course, we are here on Sunday.

Though we weren’t headed for warp speed, we did engage our Pentastar engine and left Riverside behind at 1058.

1215 75,498 85°F West Point, Iowa
Made lunch in St Mary’s Church parking lot

1236 75,509 86°F Fort Madison, Iowa

Parked at the Fort Madison Depot in the shadow of a bright red Santa Fe caboose.

The caboose is open so visitors can explore the interior.

Opened in 1910, this was the Santa Fe’s only passenger station in Iowa. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief service still stops here twice a day providing service between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Inside the station we learned that Fort Madison is also home to Sheaffer pens. There is a Sheaffer Pen Museum, but it isn’t open today. Fountain pens were produced here from 1912 through 2008. The pens are now produced in China and owned by an Indian company. Far Eastern countries, with complex letters, use fountain pens more than those of us in the west.

Back outside, I found a pedestrian bridge over the tracks. Now if only a train would pass underneath…

Looking past old Fort Madison and across the river, the engines were just about to reach the far shore. Cars and light trucks use the bridge’s upper level, while two trains can pass on the lower deck.

The tail end of the train cleared the station platform after the engines were in Illinois. We didn’t count the number of container cars, but it was a seriously long train.

Here’s the same bridge opening for river traffic. The mile long toll bridge was opened in 1927, so has been connecting Illinois to Iowa for almost one hundred years.

Stopped at the museum next door to the station in an old Railway Express office. The docent is a retired bridge tender who shared some insights on his job. The bridge rotates on a large gear, but the gear is lowered out of the way by hydraulics before trains pass over. He told me that “only” 70 trains pass through per day. “There used to be 90, but the trains are getting longer now.”

Here’s a map showing barges reaching the bridge. Beth often uses marine traffic apps to identify ships we see on our travels. Click this link to view this area in their desktop version.

The last bit of train memorabilia here is the 1944 Santa Fe 4-8-4 steam locomotive number 2913. The mechanism that covered and uncovered the smokestack was something I hadn’t seen before. Does anyone know more about it?

This sign was posted at the station and made me wonder if we could stealth camp here in our little van. On second thought, it might be better to find a spot without so many trains passing through!

We did finally get on the road again at 1421. Both of us chuckled when passing the Fort Madison Pallet Company as they had a perfect motto on the side of their building: “Life on the Skids.”

1530 75,533 83°F Keokuk, Iowa

Beautiful old homes overlook the Mississippi here.

1552 75,538 Entered Missouri

1711 75,614 84°F Monroe City, Missouri

Frank Russell Campground – US Army Corps of Engineers. Site 41 with a modern picnic table, full concrete pad, water, and electricity was another great COE bargain at $24 ($12 for senior pass holders).

We could even see a little patch of Mark Twain Lake out our windows.