Day 5- Strawberry Point to Dubuque

The last day is upon us! The previous night was amazing and brutal. Earlier that day we sat in a restaurant in Waverly and discussed the location of where we would camp. There was some small campsite showing up on Google maps yet upon further inspection it seemed to not actually exist. My trust in Google Maps was strained on this trip to say the least. A new search had an RV right in Strawberry Point. So many RV parks don't allow tenting so without much optimism I gave this place a call to see if they would allow us to tent there. They said they would have us! We rolled in about 7 PM and were met with so many blessings.

Wally and Dana Rowcliffe own Lil' Bit of Country RV Park. They greeted us and shared with us their heart for a ministry in Haiti. While we love the Dominican Republic, we love Haiti as well. Hispaniola needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wally offered us a trailer with a carpeted floor since rain was coming and it was awesome. We had an incredible bathroom and laundromat and trailer. Anytime we don't have to unpack (and repack) the tent is amazing. Thank you Wally and Dana Rowcliffe!

Given the weather situation and the forecast for day 5 we left our bags in the trailer and raced for the boarder! Sharon had been riding with about 35lbs while I was pulling about 45lbs so to ride without all the weight was AMAZING.

Did I mention it was cold. MAN IT WAS COLD. Leaving our luggage behind meant we had to make decisions about stuff... and I made the wrong decisions about stuff. I had a long sleeve T-shirt and a rain jacket but that wasn't really cutting it with the 46 degree temps!

This angle of the camera doesn't show you the hill that is behind us, but it was fairly large and was one of Sharon's first big hills.

About this time we received this message from Pedro Juan at the school in Santiago.

It is good to be reminded what we are doing this for, especially on cold, rainy days.

This last leg of State Highway 3 was so beautiful. The weather was super gray but the view and the roadway was absolutely fantastic.

The wind was blowing across us for most of the day which added to our gratefulness that we did not bring all our gear.

We love these signs for obvious reasons...

After all the bad luck we had had with train track trails we tried one more as we entered the city of Dubuque. This one was legit!

After riding for several miles on the trail then weaving our way through the back streets of town (thank Google Maps!) we made it!

It was incredible and would have been more incredible if we weren't frozen to the bone!

Ride for the Dominican 2018 had covered 340 miles from Akron, Iowa to Dubuque, Iowa in 5 days.

Mega kudos to Sharon who rode these miles with very minimal practice!

The Mississippi River has always been an awesome spectacle/mystery even from my youth. I love its hugeness and grandeur! The City of Dubuque is so awesome along the river as well.

It was a great place to end a ride!