Not the fanciest Motel in town, but the price was right through Expedia.com for just a room for a few hours. But it was clean and you can see the trail from the parking lot.
Right next door is the Stone Hearth Inn, great neighborhood
type Bar and restaurant. Friendly staff and great food!
Another good reason to stay here!
Soon we were on our way, the trail starts out from this point, rather flat and no real scenery. That will change soon enough!
There are several artwork pieces along the way, this is called "Walking with the Birds" looking out over the bluff. Not too bad a place to stop, but it is on an uphill section.
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Up the trail a ways you come around a bend and see this sight, too good to pass by without a picture. But a steep incline for a distance to get started again. But we made it up, getting started was hard.
Video here
About 3/4 of the way into the ride you come to the Trout Hatchery. This is just a small sample of the trout in this water. I stepped onto the metal grating that is used to feed them and the water boiled with fish! Though I got that picture,
but it didn't click!
Over in another pen there were larger trout, almost ready to be released. The netting is there to protect them from the eagles that lurk nearby.
This young bald Eagle is an example, he was sitting nearby, calling to his mother, who was about 100 yards away, to come feed him. He kept calling to her and she flew off and he followed! No Trout Dinner for him from the Hatchery today!
Here I am coming up on the "River Horizon Archway"
by Iowa City artist Bounnak Thammavong, his impressive sculpture called River Horizon Archway is visible from Highway 9 and honors the area's cold water trout streams.
This view is from the front.
See the trout at bottom right of the arch.
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All along the way are all type of wildflowers.
