July 11 Clay Tiles and Millions of years old

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/96225878
There was a thunderstorm early this morning, so we weren't in a hurry to leave and left about 8:40 after a great breakfast of baked oatmeal with Karin and Pastor Jason.  Shortly after leaving, a light drizzle began, which we rode in for about the next 20 miles.  We again rode through a lot of very productive farm land.  We had also heard from Pastor Jason how their country church building is kept unlocked, and how they will see people stop there to use the restroom or borrow a book from the library.  So we found that to be true twice today.  After the rain stopped, we twice had partial rainbows on the top edges of clouds like a sun dog located below the sun instead of on either side. 
 We also had a wind from the WNW and the majority of our route was straight east so we had easy pedaling most of the day. We stopped at Fossil and Prairie Park where clay had been mined and used to make bricks and clay tiles.
                       old kiln at the park 
 They worked 24/7 for a number of years and closed in 1977.  Their tiles helped to make a lot of Iowa and other land more productive by taking care of excess water.  Interestingly enough, Iowa used to be under water and so this clay quarry also has a layer of limestone full of fossils. You can pick up fossils from 360 million years ago and this is one of the few parks that it is ok to do that.  We had 2 different people ask us today if we were a part of the RAGBRAI ride.  It is starting soon and is going through this area.  
Our Warm Showers host makes parts for silo unloaders as many of the original manufacturers no longer supply the parts. His company is able to make these replacement parts so he supplies parts to a number of states.  Their children went to small Christian K-12 school just a few blocks from home, business is near home and all their sibling live in or very near this town.  Makes us a little jealous!

Comments

  1. Bill and PennyJuly 12, 2022 at 9:33 AM

    So many good stories and rich memories you are making. Love the country church story and how they can leave it unlocked and folks come and go. Glad you had some easy pedaling for a change and enjoying all your explanations and photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pastor Jason July 13, 2022 at 4:43 AM

    Karin and I enjoyed having you stay with us. It was wonderful to catch up and be a part of your journey.

    ReplyDelete

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