Backbone State Park

With a rainy weekend in the forecast, and no patients on a beautifully warm, sunny friday afternoon, I decided to take off early from work and head out for a hike with Emily. Beings that we've now lived in Iowa City for ~10 years, and have exhausted every trail known to man in the immediate vicinity, we decided to venture outside of our 'comfort zone' and make our way north, for our inaugural venture to Backbone State Park.

Of course it was necessary to grab a pre-hike lunch, so on the way to the park, we first stopped at The Lincoln Café, our favorite place to eat in Mount Vernon.

It was a nice, hilly drive up to Backbone, which is located just adjacent to a small (really small) town called Dundee. Emily and I were making note that we should return once fall arrives, as there were plenty of vistas from the road that would make for nice viewing of fall colors. Beings that this will be coming up on our last year in Iowa, and hence our last year to enjoy each season, we're trying to make mental notes of places to return to before leaving.

And Backbone is definitely a gem of a park that has for whatever reason, remained obscured to us until now. While it is a good 2 hr. drive to get there (taking the scenic route), it is well worth the effort, as there are great hiking trails, gurgling creeks that actually house crystal clear water (unlike most muddy creeks in the midwest), and small (dare we say) "foothills", complete with a few "cliffs". If we were into rock climbing (we're not), this would be a place to bookmark.

Unfortunately, camera in hand, I realized that I had forgotten to recharge my battery, so only a few shots were in store (much to the delight of Emily). Perhaps that is motivation enough to return to Backbone.