I'll Be Gone In The Dark

Michelle McNamara tried to write I'll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search For The Golden State Killer. Unfortunately she died in her sleep at age 46 before it was completed. Two other crime writers and her ex completed the book for her. McNamara is credited with coining the term "The Golden State Killer."  The book was released in February of 2018 which was 2 years after her death and 2 months before the criminal was discovered.The criminal was Joseph James De Angelo, a former police officer.  McNamara's work kept up public interest in the case but didn't speed up or help the process.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Turkeys

I had some errands to run this morning at the library, the East Side Coop and Walgreens. As I walked past Edison High School (home of the Tommie's) I wondered if these turkeys were taunting the good people of Minneapolis. What do you think?

 

Tears Of The Giraffe

 Alexander McCall Smith is the author of Tears Of The Giraffe. This is a continuing story of the Ladies Number One Detective Agency that I read eons ago. Although entertaining, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the first one.

Ball Town

My friend from Saint Cloud sister-in-law grew up in Iowa and she suggested I travel to Ball Town. She said it was her favorite place on earth. So I went there at about 8 a.m. as I left Dubuque. When I left Dubuque a large flock of snow geese flew over my car. She was right. The scenery was awesome.

The temperature was 45 degrees when I left and 31 degrees when I arrived. The drive was beautiful.

Snow started falling in northern Iowa. I stopped at an Amish shop to buy a loaf of Amish bread. The clerk there said there is no Amish bread in Harmony. I would have to back track 3 miles to Canton. I decided against doing that.

I had lunch in Rochester and took my old computer to Best Buy so they could recycle it.

 

Second Hans Souls

 I listened to an audio book called Second Hand Souls this week. Christopher Moore is the author. The story is set in San Francisco. Somehow the dead people have gone missing. Their souls are not being collected. Death merchant, Charlie Asher, is trying to figure out why. His girlfriend, a former Buddhist nun had his body transformed into a short creature. Now she is looking for a man who will die soon so Charlie can live in that body. She does find a man. He has a job as a painter on the Golden Gate bridge. Later Charlie has to get used to living in a man sized body again. There is another death merchant who is 7 feet tall and his name is Minty Fresh. The is a police detective named Alphonse Riviera. Charlie has a daughter named Sophie. Sophie had two guard dogs but now they are missing. This was an amusing tale even though death and suicide are in the book.

 

 

Four Mounds

Tomorrow I am leaving Dubuque so today I packed up most of my stuff and put it in my car. Then I went to a park that is an 11 minute walk from here. That is the Mississippi River down there. Just to the left is the John Deere plant. I didn't know I was living so close to the river. I should have figured that out earlier as my address is on River Vista Lane.

I cannot remember ever eating a raspberry in November. I ate 6 of them and they were good.

Four Mounds Park was donated by a family member. The original owner raised pigs up here.

The scenery is amazing.

Some people live in this park. I'd like that!

I put these girls on I Nat and my phone told me they were jungle fowl. I fed them so weeds through the fence.

Then I walked down the hill near the entrance.

This is the entrance.

Heading back to my car I found this high ropes experience. A sign read not to climb unless the instructor is there. That's fine. I wasn't going to climb anyway. Twice I heard a Carolina wren sing. To me it sounds like the wren is singing "time to eat. time to eat. time to eat right now." Once in my car I continued my Duo Lingo program. I am on day two. I'm learning Japanese. So far I know sushi, rice, green tea, water, and, and thank you.

 

Mines Of Spain

As I was leaving today my host met me in the garage and asked me where I was going. I said I was going to a local park but I couldn't remember the name of it. He suggested I go to the Mines Of Spain. I wasn't going to go that far but I thought, what the hey, I'll go.

I am glad I went. Look at the beauty of this Horseshoe Bluff Interpretive trail. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

I hiked to the lookout.

Julien Dubuque's Monument.

This is above where Catfish Creek meets the mighty Mississippi.

This is a National Historic Landmark.

This is a sign inside the biffy. I thought it was funny.

This is one of Iowa's Watchable Wildlife Areas. I saw a butterfly, a belted kingfisher, and some woodpeckers.

I apologize for this picture being on it's side. It reads "Church of Christ. Site of first Congregational Meeting held in Iowa in a cabin 220 yards SW of this site. October 1, 1835 by John Gaugh." This park, just south of Dubuque has 1437 acres. This is archery/deer season so I wore my high visibility green sweatshirt.  I saw one other guy wearing high visibility clothing but everyone else didn't. I could hear guns shooting in the distance. I even heard an automatic rifle. I looked for gun clubs on the map but didn't see any near this place. I guess it was a local farmer practicing.

 

Galena

My host here in Dubuque told me to check out Galena, Illinois. So this morning I drove 30 minutes and parked at the Ulysses Grant house.

A totally amazing older lady gave me a private tour. She was so smart!

She was totally captivating.

She and her husband have lived in this town together for over 50 years. He was born here.

Grant's parents refused to come to his wedding because Julia's parents owned slaves. His family came to love Julia but his father and her father never got along.

I toured the second floor by myself. They had 3 boys and 1 girl. The eldest son had the smallest bedroom and the only one without heat. He wasn't home much though.

In the back of the kitchen, out of sight in this picture, was a copper lined bathtub. On Saturday nights the family would bathe. First the father, then the mother, then each child in descending order and all in the same water.

The daughter's bedroom.

Julia was often more popular than her husband. She was the first lady who was called First Lady.

I was fascinated by all this history. In a shed outside they listed all the President's pets. One had 2 elephants. One had an alligator. Most had horses, dogs, and chickens.

The youngest son was spoiled and a prankster.

Ulysses couldn't make a go at farming nor running a store but he was good at other things.

Such a small stove with a small wood box.

A list of his accomplishments.

After the tour I walked to downtown Galena. I hummed the Beatle's tune, Julia, as I strolled along.

I hung around downtown for an hour or so and then I walked back to Grant's house to have lunch in my car. After that I drove to the art gallery. I walked through the art gallery which is having a exhibition today. I was the first customer to see these paintings. After that I walked down the hill towards downtown. At the bottom of the hill a man was walking. I asked him if this was Main Street. He said it will be Main Street once we cross the highway. We walked together. He told me where to get the best cheese sandwiches. He said I should visit the Belvedere Mansion which was across the Galena River. I did go there later but it was closed today for some reason. The parade was supposed to begin at 2:30 but it actually started at 3. I got a necklace of blue beads! This was the shortest parade I ever saw.

Only five vehicles long.

But we had fun. I visited the River Bend Photography Gallery here. Owned by Geoffrey Mikol, the photography was amazing. Geoffrey has Down Syndrome and 99% of the time, he'll take a better photo than his father. I think it's cool that Geoffrey is making money and raking in a fortune. Then I walked back to the art gallery. I stopped at Piggly Wiggly and drove back in the dark to Dubuque. I had another amazing day.

 

Mathias Ham

Just 3 blocks down from Eagle Park was another historical park so I pulled in here at Mathias Ham Historic Site.

They have a green house.

He made much money selling ham and bacon.

His fortunes ebbed and flowed.

No way am I going in the lead mine. I have had enough exposure to lead working at the nuclear pharmacy where I had to carry radioactive injections in lead pipes.

The oldest one room school house was transported here from some where else. The school houses were also a community gathering place.