If you have followed my blogs over the years you can probably guess where I chose to go this morning when I tell you the name of the town..Fort Madison. Forts, museums, palaces, old churches rànk at the top of my list.
Twenty or so miles south of our boat in Burlington, Fort Madison claims to 
be the oldest fort in the upper Midwest. I’m not sure how that happened because Zeb Pike in exploring the Louisiana Purchase recommended Burlington. The fort, actually a trading post, has been rebuilt at a different site by some “residents” of Fort Madison’s other industries… inmates at the high security prison, using original mitre and no nails. The fort got caught in the war of 1812 when Tecumseh allies besieged it and the army burned it and evacuated to St. Louis. The other claims to tourist fame include a
railroad museum with a railway express display, the original home of Schaefer pen (easier to fill without leaking) and 60 to 89 trains a day. Walt Disney sold newspapers in the area and a Disneyland train station is modeled after the old Santa Fe station in Fort Madison. Like many of the river towns it battles to stay dry, and has fond memories of making money off settlers moving west.
Burlington seemed more successful. While it did not get the fort, it got government. It was briefly the capital of the Wisconsin territory, and boasts famous sons Aldo Leopold and Fred Merk
who loved Lucy on TV, and elegant homes on the National Register. One, the former Des Moines County public library, is now a history museum with a stained glass window of Hespacia. and recently added the third largest collection of crinoids in the US, the gift of an alert quarry man. Snake Alley in 
Burlington claims to be the most crooked steepest street in the US, but I
didn’t think Carolyn’s wheelchair could navigate it. A local criterium has bikers going up and down 21 times! Finally, troop 19 stayed at camp Eastman near here, the gift of a Burlington family.