Davenport, Iowa

We were parkers on Saturday, Sept. 22, so we left the campground at 8:30 am, with the leaders and two other couples. We had to drive 107 miles this morning, we had 45 minutes to get set up at camp and be ready for the trailers by 1 pm. We had one hour to get everyone checked in, then the last GAM, before meeting at the Machine Shed Restaurant for dinner.



On Sunday, we had a free day. We had decided to go to the largest truck stop in the world and truck museum.











Monday, Sept. 24, we had to meet at the John Deere Harvester Works, for a tour through the plant where they make the combines. We had rode on a trailer, had to wear eye protectors and worn headsets so we could hear our guide. The most interesting part, was the painting section, where they dip the machinery into different baths before being dipped into the paint. John Deere is the second largest employer in the Quad Cities, after the Rock Island Arsenal.



We then headed to John Deere Pavilion, where we had a guide telling us about everything at was inside the pavilion, high speed dozers, tractors that steer themselves, and precision irrigation systems. He also told us of the history of John Deere.







After leaving the Pavilion, we had driven a short distance to John Deere Headquarters. They have a section where visitors can go in and see the different equipment they make and a lot of antiques from 1911 until 1937, all things that John Deere used during his lifetime.




Tuesday, we had carpooled to Rock Island Arsenal, there is an island between Iowa and Illinois, that is an active US Army facility in the Mississippi River. This arsenal is our nation's largest government owned and operated arsensal. We had visited the museum where there are a lot of artifacts from different wars, and is well known for its significant firearms collection.



We also visited the Memorial Park & Civilian Monument.



We also passed two cemeteries, Confederate and Rock Island National Cemetery


We then went to tour the Lock & Dam #15 and the Mississippi River Visitor Center. The Visitors Center is operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The center also provides an excellent vantage point to observe and learn about the function of the locks and dams system for the 9 foot channel project on the upper Mississippi, the operating of the Government Bridge, and the importance of the barge traffic on the river.







The bridge was built in 1896 and is a double decker bridge. It has double railroad tracks above and a roadway below. It swings span that can rotate 360 degrees for river traffic and is a rare engineering accomplishment.

This evening we had a social with pie and ice cream, celebrated Ken's birthday by singing and presented him with cake and a miniature John Deere combine.


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