Hennepin Canal Trail / Sylvan Island
Ottawa, IL to Davenport, IA | Hiking a Section of the Hennepin Canal Trail | First 2 Days in Davenport, IA | Hiking Around Sylvan Island | Hiking a Section of Duck Creek Trail | March 2024
Curtis’ third assignment this spring brought us to Davenport, IA and the greater Quad Cities area. We were excited to get to experience a new location, one we had driven through so many times but never made time to stop, even though we grew up less than an hour and a half away. It was also an hour and a half away from Ottawa, IL, so we had plenty of time to stop for a little walk halfway through the drive. We drove a little ways off the interstate to walk a section of the Hennepin Canal Trail, starting at the Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park near Sheffield, IL. We enjoyed an easy walk along the canal with our pokey puppy in the beautiful early March weather — hot, and even a little humid. Of course, hot and humid weather in March can only mean one thing — a storm is coming! Sure enough, we ran into a big storm just as we entered Iowa, complete with hail and high winds. We made it safely to our hotel for the month and waited out the rain before going out to pick up a rental car, some groceries, and dinner.
At first it sounded like Curtis would have to start work immediately the next day even though he had just come off of night shift, but the project manager was kind enough to give him an extra day to adjust. It would be his first real day off in a month that didn’t include driving and moving between hotels! Though it was a cold and somewhat rainy day, we wanted to make the most of it, so we went for 2 different walks to get out and enjoy the area. In the morning, we drove across the Mississippi back into Illinois to Sylvan Island Gateway Park. Sylvan Island is a small island in the Mississippi River, surrounded on 3 sides by Rock Island. We walked across the bridge and followed the trail that makes a circle around the island. We enjoyed the hike and being up and personal with the Great River — it was fun remembering how it was just 2 months ago that we were following this river down to Louisiana, and now we were going to be staying right next to it for a month!
After our walk, we returned to the hotel to warm up and rest, then went back out later for another walk. This time, we decided to walk a small section of the Duck Creek Trail, which is a long trail that goes across Davenport and Bettendorf, following Duck Creek. Today we started at Hollowview Park and walked from there to Veterans Memorial Park and back. Not a long way, but it still took a considerable amount of time going at Charlotte’s pace. It was great having this first day together to have time to familiarize ourselves with the area, and for Curtis to get some much needed rest before the next assignment. And thankfully this wouldn’t be his only day off for the month, so we would have more time to get to know the Quad Cities together!
