My Trip to Palisades-Kepler
Recently, I and my father spent a day going to a few parks
and hiking, enjoying the nice weather we were blessed with. This was on the
last nice day of January, right before our plunge back into proper Iowa
weather. We started out slightly past noon, with our sights set on Palisades-Kepler
State Park and a lunch packed and our dog ready for a few hour of hiking.
Before you even enter Palisades, you have to go on a bit of
a journey. This journey is the twisting road that leads to the riverside where
the park is situated. The first bit of this road is an uphill climb that's
relatively straight. However, once you crest the hill, there are curves and
turns all the way to the park. The road shows off the parks natural wonders,
the steep sides of valleys and an abundance of trees which has a canopy that
blocks out the sun when you’re under it. If you look closely enough, you can
even see a trickle of water running through a few of the valleys. If you’re
lucky, you may also see some of the native creatures that call this park home.
Whether it is deer or water fowl, hawk or squirrel, this park is home to many
of Iowa’s animals.
Before you reach the park, there's a development that you
pass that has its land bordered with fences and marked as private property. Past
this development by a minute or so is the park itself. The road branches off a
few ways once you enter the park, with trails along the sides leading into
valleys. The campground and cabins are one way; the river and day lodge
another.
We decided to drive to the parking lot by the river, or had
at least planned to until we reached the day lodge. The road after the day
lodge was completely blocked to vehicle traffic, and the parking lot for the
day lodge was nearly full of vehicles. However, there was still room to park,
and we had hours of daylight ahead of us for hiking. We parked, and quickly
discussed which way we would hike. We got out of our vehicle and ate a small
lunch made up from the food we had packed. Our dog, who we shall call Z,
watched us as we ate, hoping to have a small treat. My father had assumed Z
would be this way, and had packed some hotdogs for Z to eat. She ate her
hotdogs happily while we finished up our meal. Finally, after we had all eaten
our full, we put Z on a leash, and headed out.
We started the trek down the hill, following the road toward
the river. I led the way, my camera in hand, and my eyes scanning the trees and
ground for animals. My father followed, with Z in tow. She was darting onto the
grass and back onto the road, sniffing the ground for any animal that may have
passed by recently.
The road winded downward, with a hill growing on its right,
while a valley plunged downward on its left. The valley looked much like the
rest of the park, heavily wooded with uneven ground. At the very bottom of this
valley was a small frozen creek that led to the river. This creek caught my
attention, as it was not one of the temporary waterways created after heavy
rain, but was permanent. My father saw it as well, and suggested we make our
way down the side of the valley to investigate further. I agreed, and led the
way down the muddy side of the valley.
We made our way down carefully, trying not to slip. Z seemed
to glide down the side in comparison to us, and would have been at the bottom
of the valley long before we were if it weren’t for the leash which attached
her to my father. We caught ourselves on trees as we hiked downward, carefully
placing our feet to keep from tripping. Eventually, we all made it to the
bottom, and surveyed the creek we had come to see. It wasn’t very wide, about
five feet across at most, and was possibly three feet deep. We were unable to
accurately measure the depth of the creek because of the ice that layered it,
but I was able to estimate the depth because of a few trees that had fallen and
were submerged in the water.
One of these trees created a natural footbridge across the
small creek, which I crossed to get a better look at the other side. Z, not one
to be bettered by a human, also crossed the creek, but did so on the ice. She
then decided to walk up the creek on the ice, until she reached a point in
which it was no longer strong enough to hold her weight. As the ice underneath
her shifted, she jumped back to the side of the creek my father was on, and
opted to cross on the tree footbridge with him. However, she yet again decided
to show off and walked along the entire tree, instead of jumping off when she
reached the other side. My father did not want to balance that long and so
simply walked alongside the tree as she walked on it.
Fallen
Tree Footbridge
I decided to show Z that she was not the only one who knew
how to balance, and followed her along the tree until we reached its end. It
had been uprooted from the side of the valley, either by heavy rains or old
age. Near where it once had stood, there was another tree. This tree had
survived whatever had caused our footbridge fall, and now stood tall along with
its brothers. It was almost as if the trees were honoring their fallen comrade,
giving it one final salute as they too, slowly, gave way to age and decay.
At the base of the tree near the footbridge, there was a
hole, which obviously housed a small critter of some sort. Pilled on the ground
outside this hole were nuts and shells that the creature had discarded from its
home. My father guessed that it was either a squirrel or ground squirrel living
down there, even though a chipmunk may have also taken up residence in the
tree. There were no tracks on the ground outside, and neither of us could
understand dog, so asking Z to use her nose to determine what the creature was
seemed useless.
Animal Home
We then decided to travel up the hill we were on, which was across
from the one we had just gone down. The goal was to see if we could view the
river from the top. Careful not to slip, we hiked our way upward and eventually
reached the crest.
Climbing
the Hill
Ahead of us was the
parking lot we had originally intended to drive to, and to our right were the
road and a small overlook. I was interested in going to the overlook, and so
headed over that direction, hoping to see the river from there. The overlook
wasn’t much of an overlook to be completely honest, just a rocky outcropping to
our right that dropped down to the bottom of the valley again. Ahead of us, not
quite at the overlook, was a path that led down to the parking lot. I went and
stood above the outcropping, and from here, I caught the first glimpse of the
Cedar River. From so far away, I couldn’t really make out details, but the
water glistened, reflecting the sun in mesmerizing flicks of light that danced
across its surface. It was a beautiful sight, even from so far away.
Outcropping
After gazing at the river for a few short moments, we began
to make our way to the parking lot. My father and Z decided to go on the trail
that was away from the overlook, while I went down the natural steps of the
rock outcropping. I reached the bottom of the valley and followed a short path
through weeds to the road.
I met back up with my father and Z and we began to walk up
the road. After a short stop at a bathroom, we made our way to a paved trail
that led along the edge of the river and to a dam. The trail itself was
situated on top of the small bluff that rose out of the river bed, and was
fairly flat. As we walked along the trail, we passed by a large sign that
warned boaters of the presence of the dam, and stopped to take in the sight of
the river.
To say the least, it was natural beauty. But I hardly ever
say the least. The water rushed by below us at tremendous speeds, sending
flashes of light with it as the river caught the sun. In the midst of the river
there was a sandbar. The sandbar stretched from the dam down along the river
until it was nearly across from the parking lot. The dam spanned across the
river, with a small opening to let water rush through it, which turned white as
it came through. Across the river were black bluffs that were a stark contrast
to the blue and white that lay below them. They rose up for possibly a hundred
feet, towering over the river almost as if they were stern fathers watching a
child play.
River and Bluffs
We looked farther
down the river, hoping to catch sight of any Eagles that may have been taking
advantage of the nice weather, but it appeared as if there were none. Still
looking at the river, we continued along, stopping for brief moments to take
photos or just watch the water. Eventually, we reached a part of the trail that
was directly beside the dam.
View of dam from trail
Here, the trail split
off, leading along the bluff one way and up the hill the other. At first we
couldn’t tell how we were supposed to get down to the dam. My father is the one
who found how to get down. He had either heard someone behind us or just looked
back at the hill, but when he did he noticed the steps leading down to the dam.
He showed me, and after looking over the dam a little bit longer, we made our
way down the steps.
The
steps to the dam
These steps led under
the path we had just been standing on, and stopped beside two small indents in
the side of the bluff, not quite caves but visibly different from the rest of
the bluff.
Once we were down on the dam, we realized just how rundown
it was. The concrete was still mostly intact and bits of wood hadn’t rotted out
of the middle yet, but it was visibly old. Rocks were scattered across the
concrete, forcing you to constantly tilt your feet as you walk to avoid
becoming unbalanced. Water seeped through the rocks in places near the flow of
water, and many rocks could spill you into the water if you weren’t careful
about how you walked.
We made our way along the dam, and then eventually started
to make our way to the sandbar that had developed behind it. The sandbar was
disconnected from the land only by a small stream that turned into nothing more
than a trickle at its thinnest point. We made our way to the sandbar, and
walked on it to the very edge, where the river made its way through the opening
in the dam. The water rushed by loudly, forming swirling currents and
whitewater conditions before eventually calming down farther along the river.
We watched the water pass by for a long moment, marveling at its speed and the
sound it created. After a few moments of silent observation, we started down
the sandbar.
Water
rushing through dam
We were on the low section of the sandbar, where the water
actively washed away sand. The high section was about waist high when standing
on the low section of the sandbar. We decided to stay on the low section as it
had firm ground. Z decided to be different and walk on the higher section, and
was eye to eye with us for quite a few minutes as we walked along the side of
the river. We watched the water rush by as we went, and paused many times to
take photographs. Somewhere along that walk, my father found a very interesting
looking rock. The rock had been partially hollowed out, and was colored very
strangely. My father decided to hold onto it, as my mother loved collecting these
types of rocks. We also found a few shells along the river, but left them where
they were for others to enjoy. While walking down the sandbar, I noticed that
Eagles now soared above the river, hunting for fish. I pointed them out to my
father, and we watched them as we walked along.
Eventually, we reached a point where we could move across
the sandbar and reach land again. However, before we did this we needed to get
to the high section of the sandbar. My father attempted to climb up the small
ridge that separated the two sections, and in doing so caused this ridge to
collapse. He stumbled back down to the lower level, while I hopped up onto the
high section. Father eventually made it up, and we made our way across the
sandbar. When we reach the point where land and the sandbar were closest
together, my father and Z jumped across. I quickly put my camera away and followed,
jumping across and avoiding the mud on the other side as best as I could. We
made our way back up the hill, failing to avoid the mud completely, and
continued on towards the road.
The road you take to the day lodge splits off two ways once
you get down the hill. The left path led to the parking lot, but we didn’t know
where the right road led yet. We got to the fork in the road and decided to
venture down the right road. As we walked, I heard someone talk about an Eagle
and point above us. I turned and look, and soaring above us was a Bald Eagle.
Its wings were spread, and it swung itself in a lazy circle, watching us all as
we turned and watched it. It seemed to have little interest in our presence,
and didn’t seem to mind the watching eyes. Eventually, I lost it in the trees,
but for the minute or so that it was visibly I watched it circle and float.
Although I see Eagles on an almost daily basis anymore, I still enjoy watching
them whenever I can. There’s something about watching a bird soar that sets my
mind at ease and sometimes it’s just what I need.
Eventually, we made it to where the road led, which was a
small parking area with a view of the bluffs and the river. The view was much
like the one farther down the river, just without a sandbar. There were benches
and nice greenery, along with a flock of geese resting by the river. The most
interesting part of this stop was on the other side of the river, where a swan
led a small group of geese along the river toward a rock that seemed to be
disconnected from the bluff. We almost expected the swan to disappear behind
the rock, but the swan simply passed it by. We watched the swan and its
entourage for a few minutes, and then started the short walk to our car. We
were going to follow the road, but then we noticed that just up the hill behind
us was the day lodge. I suggested climbing the hill to our car, and my father
agreed. Yet again, Z decided to show off by reaching the top first. My father
and I struggled after her, but neither of us was able to top her speed. We made
it to our car, let Z in and buckled ourselves up.
We drove back onto the road, and turned towards home,
leaving Palisades-Kepler behind us for the day.
Hello everyone! It’s Christopher again. I hope you all enjoy
this short little story about a few hours I spent at Palisades-Kepler State
Park. This park is truly a beautiful place to go and hike around in, and I plan
to visit back more when spring comes. For any camping enthusiasts, there’s a
campground with campsites that you can rent. If you have a week to spend, rent
a cabin and sleep under a roof. Or, do what we did and just go for a day. No
matter how long you stay or how much you do, Palisades will be an experience
that you’ll remember.
I wish you all a good
rest of your week. Safe travels and happy adventuring everyone!
-Christopher
Albirdyn
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