The Mighty Mississippi

adventure found us between photo shoots

What do you do in Burlington, IA, with a few hours on your hands? We recommend a trip to the primitive shore of the Mighty Mississip’.

Heading southeast on Main Street from downtown, we stumbled upon Crapo Park. At first glance, the park didn’t appear to offer more than a limited-by-treetops view of the river. A closer look was needed.

We headed into the woods to hike down the limestone bluffs and found a trail, then — as unexpected as an oasis in the middle of the desert — a cave spring spilling over mossy rocks.

The history is as deep as the beauty. This is Black Hawk Spring, named after Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk tribe. The spring provided for the legendary warrior and his people when they camped in the area nearly 200 years ago. Take a moment to imagine Chief Black Hawk, with scalp lock and ornamented ears, wading the cave for a drink.

After exploring the grotto, we followed the springwater chute to the Great River. We relaxed in the trees — sand, limbs, and mollusc shells beneath — and looked out at a mighty memory.

Ryan Borts

Ryan Borts is a producer/director at Canoe There. He prefers to paddle-travel and has since high school when he and a friend were unofficial Skunk River guides. Ryan’s always on the lookout for new adventures, which typically revolve around paddling, summit hikes, fly fishing, and disc golf. Find more about Canoe There at @canoe_there, on Facebook or at canoethere.com/about-canoe-there/.