RAGBRAI Riders find fossils in Rockford

From Michael Morain - Des Moines Register

No khaki or pith helmet required: Hundreds of bikers-turned-archaeologists squatted in spandex to find 365-million-year-old souvenirs from the Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve in Rockford. The dime-sized clams (pelecypods) and snails (gastropods) from the Devonian Period were free for the taking – and plentiful.

Scott Wassmer, 35, of Valkaria, Fla., filled a small plastic bag during just a short break from his ride.
“Who ever thought we’d be beach-combing in the middle of Iowa?” he said, showing off the loot.

Nearby, 10-year-old Braden Heikens and his grandfather Randy Van Dyke, both of Spencer, scoured the dirt for brachiopod shells. The boy proudly displayed a few in his outstretched palm.

“I’m going to try to find more and put them in my room,” he said before heading off to celebrate the dig with a smoothie.

Floyd County Conservation naturalist Heidi Reams explained – many times over – that the site used to be a clay quarry for the Rockford Brick and Tile Company, which closed in the 1970s. The exposed layers of land now yield all kinds of critter remnants from Iowa’s prehistoric past.

She responded diplomatically when someone asked if she believed in global warming.

“On some days, yes, I do,” she said. “We’ve gone from being an ocean to cropland, so I’m afraid to see what’s next.”

But she spent most of the day simply helping people identify whatever they happened to hold up for inspection.

“Everyone has found something,” she said. “As long as you can bend over and get to the ground somehow, there are fossils there for you to find.”

RAGBRAI CYCLING NORTH - Great Parks along the 2010 RAGBRAI Route

Great Parks along the 2010 RAGBRAI Route - Sioux City

By now you have a lot of miles in the saddle and are probably anxious to be biking on RAGBRAI next week. You may even have packed your “Bike It” shirt from the Iowa Nature Store.

Map It - Stone State Park & Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center

After you arrive in Sioux City on Saturday and get settled in at a campground or with your host family, you will want to get a few miles in and stretch those legs a little. I suggest you will be very happy with a little ride north to Stone State Park and Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center. The center tells the story of the geology, plants and animals of the loess hills region of western Iowa and features a variety of interpretive displays, including a "walk-under" prairie, a 400-gallon aquarium of native fish, and natural history dioramas. A children's discovery area provides opportunity to handle furs, antlers, fossils, and other artifacts. Two miles of hiking trails exist around the nature center. The center is managed by the Woodbury County Conservation Board. A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was located in the northwestern area of the park from 1935 to 1939. The CCC were responsible for constructing the majority of the park's facilities, including: entrance portals, staff residences, the Calumet shelter, and the rustic stone lodge. The Nature Center will be open on Saturday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

RAGBRAI Next Week - Algona & Clear Lake - Find Refuge and Explore Natural Spaces Along the Way!

Monday and Tuesday - Find Refuge and Explore Natural Spaces!

So - You are heading out on RAGBRAI next week with 20,000 or so of your closest friends. You've downloaded and printed copies of the 2010 "Learn about the Land" RAGBRAI brochures to learn what makes up the landscape during the 2010 Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa and you've taken a look at our earlier post about Stone State Park in Sioux City.
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Now it is Monday afternoon and you're peddling into Algona. Be sure to take some time to visit Ambrose A. Call State Park. A. A. Call State Park is a 138 acre "oasis" of rugged hills heavily wooded with virgin timber in an area of gently rolling farmland. The park is located near the east fork of the Des Moines River.

Ambrose Call and his brother, Asa, were early settlers in the area who carved their claim, the first in Kossuth County, on a walnut tree at the present site of the park. The brothers spent their first night in Kossuth County on July 9, 1854. The next day, while Asa went for his wife and supplies, Ambrose and a traveling companion, William Smith, began work on a cabin in what is now the state park.

The two brothers founded the town of Algona, and in 1861 Ambrose established the ALGONA PIONEER PRESS, the first newspaper in that section of the State. For years these pioneers labored to secure railroads and develop their town and county, working also for the material interests and settlement of northwestern Iowa. Ambrose has acquired large interests in land and business enterprises in Algona and has expended his means freely in the improvements which have made Algona one of the most prosperous towns of northwestern Iowa.

Seventy-one years later, in 1925, Mrs. Gardner Cowles, (in 1904 her husband Gardnes Cowles Sr. purchased a struggling Des Moines newspaper that was $180,000 in debt and had a circulation of about 14,000 - later to become the Des Moines Register) made a gift of land to the state in memory of her father, Ambrose A. Call. The park was dedicated in 1929.

An authentic log cabin sits on the property and is constructed of elm logs, some exceeding 18 inches in diameter, which is typical of cabins built by the original settlers in the area. Four men were needed to put the logs in place. The cabin in the park is located in the approximate location of the first log cabin in Kossuth County. It was moved from the August Zahlten homestead to the park.

The rugged and heavily wooded park offers two miles of trails that wind through the forest, down a ravine, and along a picturesque winding creek. Many species of shrubs, flowers and trees can be found at A.A. Call.

Map It - The park is located in Kossuth County, approximately 1.5 miles southwest of Algona.

Perhaps your support team will want to venture north to Union Slough National Wildlife Preserve near Titonka as a side trip. From Algona, take Highway 169 north to Bancroft; turn right (east) on county road A-42, and proceed six miles.
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After an easy ride from Algona, you'll be coasting into Clear Lake on Tuesday afternoon. You'll be close to three areas of natural interest while visiting the Clear Lake area. The 992 acre Ventura Marsh Wildlife Management Area is located on the west end of the lake.

In June of this year we experienced some history in the making. For the first time in more than a century, wild sandhill cranes are successfully nesting in Cerro Gordo County. In June of this year, a single crane chick [more properly called crane colt] emerged from a nest located in a remote and boggy section of the Ventura Marsh. Within hours of hatch, the ever vigilant parent cranes were already shepherding their gangly newborn across the area's thickly vegetated terrain in search of high protein menu items. The state’s last known nesting of sandhill cranes occurred in May 1894 on a marsh located to the north of Hancock County’s Eagle Lake. The nesting attempt failed when collectors pirated the eggs.

Along the north shore of Clear Lake you'll find McIntosh Woods State Park. The park has a point or peninsula of land jutting out into the lake. This area includes an unsupervised beach which is popular for swimmers of all ages.

Map It - McIntosh Woods State Park is located on the northwest shore of beautiful 3,684-acre Clear Lake. The 60-acre park, purchased in 1943, is an oasis of nature in an area of residential, commercial and agricultural land.

Along the south shore of Clear Lake you'll find Clear Lake State Park.

Map It - Clear Lake State Park is located on the southeast shore of beautiful 3,643-acre Clear Lake.

Clear Lake is one of the major outdoor recreation features of northern Iowa. Although the state park is only 55 acres in size, it offers a tremendous diversity of outdoor recreation opportunities due to its location on the lake as well as its natural beauty. The park is characterized by gently rolling ground with open, mature groves of oak trees. Several small draws and thickets provide habitat for owls, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, rabbits, many species of songbirds and an occasional deer. Scenic Woodford Island is a 3-acre island managed primarily for wildlife habitat and is an excellent spot for fishing.

Clear Lake State Park began in 1924 with the acquisition of land now occupied by the picnic area. In the following year, the remaining area of the present beach was purchased. In the 1960s and 1970s, additional property was acquired in order to provide enhanced outdoor recreation opportunity and visitor enjoyment. Woodford Island was donated to the state in 1971 by the Woodford family.
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Clear Lake is a spring-fed lake formed by glacial action some 14,000 years ago. It has a surface area of about 3,600 acres and measures seven miles long and two and one-half miles wide. The elevation of the lake is 1,247 feet above sea level and it is nearly 100 feet above the surrounding countryside, giving it the appearance of an inverted saucer setting above the area around it. Its elevation is actually higher than the top of the tallest building in the neighboring community of Mason City.

RAGBRAI 2010 "Learn About the Land"

RAGBRAI 2010 "Learn About the Land" Brochures Now Available Online

Going on its sixth year, RAGBRAI enthusiasts can find out what makes up the landscape during the 2010 Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa with the "Learn about the Land" seven-day set of RAGBRAI brochures.

This joint project between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, and Iowa Limestone Producers Association highlights the land, history, parks, and other natural resources that cyclists will cross this month. This year's route has the distinction of crossing over all of Iowa's major landform regions in one of the flattest ride's ever.

Maps and cross sections included in the seven-day series will help participants locate nearby parks, cities and landmarks, including West Bend's famous "Grotto of the Redemption," on day two, and Rockford Fossil and Prairie Park on day four. Bikers will also learn about resources buried beneath their feet, like the Manson Impact Crater, near Varina, and the benefits of harnessing geothermal energy.

To view, download and print copies of the 2010 "Learn about the Land" RAGBRAI brochures, visit: http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu or http://ia.water.usgs.gov.

To get high quality paper copies of the brochures, check out the "Human and Natural History Partners" booth at Expo in Sioux City. In addition to the brochures, Office of the State Archaeologist, U.S. Geological Survey and Iowa DNR staff will be available to answer questions and help find the subtle beauty of the Iowa landscape. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will also have copies of the brochure at its booths along the ride.