day57 KEOKUK IOWA

DAY FIFTY-SEVEN Snively Access CG to KEOKUK IA 118km
Oct5 Friday D126.81 km M 42 A 15.2 PT7 h45 RT 11h total 4544.1km

Wind Oh I think I will remove this comment as it is head wind day after day! A lady in the tourist info said canoeist going down the Mississippi River complain about the south winds too
Temp Oh I need a big Sun ikon! Not a cloud all day and 30C
Road Condition Well was great until we had to go on the divided hiway with very minimal shoulder [maybe12”] and parts with no paved shoulder at all. All had a drop down gravel piece.
Food: Breakfast Well we had to flee from the mosquitos at Snively before we could have breakfast
Lunch We pressed on and on today to make it to Keokuk so lunch was on the bench at Burlington tourist info
Supper We pigged out on baked potatoes with beans, spinach filled nuggest, CINAMON BUNS! All home cooked as we are in a hotel by choice so we can tour around the city tomorrow
Overall: Well to all those decendants of Florence French [Tomlinson] if your reading this you know we are in KEOKUK IOWA the birth place of that same Grandma! We were 180 km north of here 2 days ago and I talked Ken [well didn’t take too much persuasion] him into diverting to down here. He thought we could come back in our old age, but I don’t think I will be coming this way again for a long time…. It is a long long way from home! By any type of transportation. Anyways what is a trip without looking up some geniology. We went racing to the cemetery where Great Grandfather and grandmother French are buried to find 7000 gravestones! Where to start? Well we road around until dark and headed back to the hotel to regroup and eat supper after a very long day in the saddle.
We spent the evening on the internet and low and behold I found a sight with the listing of the people buried in Oakland Cemetary Keokuk Iowa and found 4 : Frank and his wife Eunice, their son Fred and daughter Helen [Ada and Lillian are buried in Pella, Iowa so that will be another trip maybe] I must ask Thalia if she knows why they are over there. I do know they returned from Canada to Pella Iowa and lived there for a time, but I think as Fred was here in Keokuk that is why the parents are also.

Anyways we are also going to the address of the family home which I got off a postcard to Grandma when she lived here. Also I was able to get off the internet a city listing of names and addresses [they had no phones] for 1901 and it lists: Frank [father] Eunice[mother] Ada[Physician-dtr] Florence[dtr] Helen [dtr] as living at 521 Morgan Street so we will go and see what is on that sight today! Well tomorrow! I didn’t realize they had listings other than cencus so it’s kind of neat they did. Well off to bed.