Grey Skies, Mushy Roads

From the Black Hawk County Engineers Office Face Book page.

All last week the temperatures hovered between 34° and 38°F with little variance day or night. Add in about 36 hours of rain and the nearly 30" of snow on the ground began to melt at a very rapid rate.

Most curiously, the ground, which wasn't frozen prior to these snows, remained unfrozen, so the snow is essentially sinking into the ground. Usually the scene would be that of a ton of run-off, but that happens only if the moisture cannot be absorbed into the ground. 

This week is forecast to be a little warmer, but fog continues to be an issue and clouds are not going 100% away. Hopefully we get some Sun. It's actually all good since we've had a bad drought for two years. But, it sucks for the gravel roads, which have turned into a mushy, dirty mess. 

In fact, as you can see from my snip from the Black Hawk County Engineers Office a& Secondary Roads Facebook page, heavy traffic is being discouraged at this time. I expect this situation to continue throughout this week until most of the snow is gone and only drifts remain. 

This also will - most likely - probably mean that the roads will be pretty torn up to start the gravel riding season. This hasn't happened for several years. I look for lots of rutting and mud coming through the base of the roads in several places. We won't likely have frost boils, but maybe.... Maybe a few. I don't see that being a big deal this Spring.

Scenes like this from 2017 are expected again this Spring.

Of course, we have no idea if Spring will be wet or dry or what. This will also factor into what we see this year to start out with on the gravel roads. But as I said, rutting and some forms of damage are quite likely no matter what. 

That'll be a big change over the last three or four years. Those were the years where we started out with dry roads and they only got dustier with a ton of fresh gravel being applied. That only served to accumulate gravel. That gravel never got pushed into the base of the roadway to form those familiar "three-track" smoother lines we gravel riders crave around here.That made riding harder and less fun. 

We'll see how it goes, but I don't see myself getting out until this weather gets either warmer, Sunnier, or windier. Maybe it'll take all three things to straighten up the gravel roads.

Where These Roads Came From

Just a line scratched out on the prairie....

Perhaps you might remember how I came across a book recently that I'd been trying to track down. It tells about how the paths and trails in this particular area became the roads- in many cases, but not all- of today. I was out riding this past week on that familiar stretch of dirt called Petrie Road and I was suddenly reminded of a few things that this book spoke of regarding roads. 

Early on, when these lands were inhabited only by the Native Americans, there were paths that were discernible, etched into the prairies by the people's movements. These paths were visible and follow-able to the early White settlers. They made a lot of sense because of how the Native Americans made these paths in the straightest way that made sense between points of interest. They veered away from sloughs, wetter grounds, and forded streams and rivers where it made the most sense to do that. 

Interestingly, this particular area attracted a lot of attention due to specific features of the land at the time. One was "The Big Wood", a large tract of hardwood forest, mostly maples, as I understand it, that was in the vicinity of the "Turkey Foot", where the Shell Rock, West Fork of the Cedar, and Cedar rivers converge. It was an unusual feature since most of the surrounding area was treeless and all grassy prairies. Trees typically only lined waterways. The "Big Wood" was different in that it stretched outard for an estimated five miles in all directions from the Turkey Foot. Making maple syrup, hunting the copious wildlife, and fishing were attracting humans in need of food for harder times, especially Winters, and pathways to get here were used over and over again for years, decades, and who knows how long. 

The Native Americans used a system of single file travel, so tribes and families would walk in long drawn out lines. Some reports describe lines as long as a mile or more of humans, and this sort of consistent traffic over the same lines is what started the 'roads' as we know them today. Over time, as White settlers came up these old, ancient ways, they settled here along the river at first. Eventually, settlers started taking prairieland for farming after all the riverside claims were staked out. 

Then, later on, other trails formed carrying more pioneers Westward, and these cut across claims on the prairie which made farming difficult. So, as Iowa became a state the Northwest Ordinance, set out in the late 1700's to help organize new territories for settlers in U.S. territories, was applied to Iowa. Farmers requested that roads be set along section lines, for the main purposes of stopping the trespassing of travelers over their lands on the ancient trails and newer ones. Eventually, this pushed rail development forward as a way to have passage through the rural areas for people heading through states like Iowa. By the 1860's. railroad travel started to solve the trespassing issues, and road development took somewhat of a back seat to that rail development. 

When early settlers found the ruts too deep, or the mud too bad, they simply went around, much like we still do today!

 Meanwhile, the influx of Whites pushed the Native Americans, who for the most part were not settled in any particular spot here in this area, Westward. As far as I can tell from the book I have, it was a thing that happened gradually and without animosity, but this book was focused on trails and roads, not Native American issues, so I may have that wrong. White settlers staked out claims and set up farms, while government was tasked with setting up schools and other things in accordance with the Northwest Territories Act. As money was tight, roads- when they were made- were more or less just wagon tracks or in some cases were scratched out by crude means in accordance with the grid system. 

By the late 19th Century, what we have as roads across Iowa- gravel roads and dirt roads- were pretty much laid out as we know them now. Of course, they were merely dirt paths, not unlike Petrie Road, which has a mile section that - more than likely- has never seen gravel. This is what struck me. That this 'path' may never have ever had gravel on it since the county was formatted. 

And what of those roads that don't follow the grid around here? Roads like old HWY 218, which probably traces out the original footpaths that the Native Americans made on the West side of the Cedar River. Roads like Waterloo Road, between Waterloo and Cedar Falls, some of which is now called University Avenue, are also on old Native American trail. The trail South is pretty much where 4th Street comes off the Cedar and then starts to veer over toward Black Hawk Creek and eventually becomes Eldora Road, passes through Hudson, and traces of that diagonal trail are still evident today in the form of gravel road sections Southwest of Hudson, Iowa. 

Trails that existed North and east of Waterloo have, for the most part, been obliterated by "The Grid" and have long since been covered by farm operations. But according to the book I have, one can still map out and imagine where these old trails went. I find it vastly interesting to think about while I am out on rides now. Trying to imagine the land mostly treeless, without buildings, and looking like a rolling sea of grass. 

But that isn't always easy to do when we have everything organized into rectangles and cultivated with tall corn and beans and more. But one can try. One can imagine the old roads and paths while traversing the ones we have now, and try to understand where these roads all came from.

Where These Roads Came From

Just a line scratched out on the prairie....

Perhaps you might remember how I came across a book recently that I'd been trying to track down. It tells about how the paths and trails in this particular area became the roads- in many cases, but not all- of today. I was out riding this past week on that familiar stretch of dirt called Petrie Road and I was suddenly reminded of a few things that this book spoke of regarding roads. 

Early on, when these lands were inhabited only by the Native Americans, there were paths that were discernible, etched into the prairies by the people's movements. These paths were visible and follow-able to the early White settlers. They made a lot of sense because of how the Native Americans made these paths in the straightest way that made sense between points of interest. They veered away from sloughs, wetter grounds, and forded streams and rivers where it made the most sense to do that. 

Interestingly, this particular area attracted a lot of attention due to specific features of the land at the time. One was "The Big Wood", a large tract of hardwood forest, mostly maples, as I understand it, that was in the vicinity of the "Turkey Foot", where the Shell Rock, West Fork of the Cedar, and Cedar rivers converge. It was an unusual feature since most of the surrounding area was treeless and all grassy prairies. Trees typically only lined waterways. The "Big Wood" was different in that it stretched outard for an estimated five miles in all directions from the Turkey Foot. Making maple syrup, hunting the copious wildlife, and fishing were attracting humans in need of food for harder times, especially Winters, and pathways to get here were used over and over again for years, decades, and who knows how long. 

The Native Americans used a system of single file travel, so tribes and families would walk in long drawn out lines. Some reports describe lines as long as a mile or more of humans, and this sort of consistent traffic over the same lines is what started the 'roads' as we know them today. Over time, as White settlers came up these old, ancient ways, they settled here along the river at first. Eventually, settlers started taking prairieland for farming after all the riverside claims were staked out. 

Then, later on, other trails formed carrying more pioneers Westward, and these cut across claims on the prairie which made farming difficult. So, as Iowa became a state the Northwest Ordinance, set out in the late 1700's to help organize new territories for settlers in U.S. territories, was applied to Iowa. Farmers requested that roads be set along section lines, for the main purposes of stopping the trespassing of travelers over their lands on the ancient trails and newer ones. Eventually, this pushed rail development forward as a way to have passage through the rural areas for people heading through states like Iowa. By the 1860's. railroad travel started to solve the trespassing issues, and road development took somewhat of a back seat to that rail development. 

When early settlers found the ruts too deep, or the mud too bad, they simply went around, much like we still do today!

 Meanwhile, the influx of Whites pushed the Native Americans, who for the most part were not settled in any particular spot here in this area, Westward. As far as I can tell from the book I have, it was a thing that happened gradually and without animosity, but this book was focused on trails and roads, not Native American issues, so I may have that wrong. White settlers staked out claims and set up farms, while government was tasked with setting up schools and other things in accordance with the Northwest Territories Act. As money was tight, roads- when they were made- were more or less just wagon tracks or in some cases were scratched out by crude means in accordance with the grid system. 

By the late 19th Century, what we have as roads across Iowa- gravel roads and dirt roads- were pretty much laid out as we know them now. Of course, they were merely dirt paths, not unlike Petrie Road, which has a mile section that - more than likely- has never seen gravel. This is what struck me. That this 'path' may never have ever had gravel on it since the county was formatted. 

And what of those roads that don't follow the grid around here? Roads like old HWY 218, which probably traces out the original footpaths that the Native Americans made on the West side of the Cedar River. Roads like Waterloo Road, between Waterloo and Cedar Falls, some of which is now called University Avenue, are also on old Native American trail. The trail South is pretty much where 4th Street comes off the Cedar and then starts to veer over toward Black Hawk Creek and eventually becomes Eldora Road, passes through Hudson, and traces of that diagonal trail are still evident today in the form of gravel road sections Southwest of Hudson, Iowa. 

Trails that existed North and east of Waterloo have, for the most part, been obliterated by "The Grid" and have long since been covered by farm operations. But according to the book I have, one can still map out and imagine where these old trails went. I find it vastly interesting to think about while I am out on rides now. Trying to imagine the land mostly treeless, without buildings, and looking like a rolling sea of grass. 

But that isn't always easy to do when we have everything organized into rectangles and cultivated with tall corn and beans and more. But one can try. One can imagine the old roads and paths while traversing the ones we have now, and try to understand where these roads all came from.

Found It!

"Crossroads On The Cedar" by Clarence W. Baldwin.

 Quite some time ago now my friend, Tony, lent me a book he had which was one part history of the Cedar Valley, one part geography, one part geology, and one part about how humnas traversed this area from antiquity up until the 20th Century. 

I found its contents fascinating, because I live here, but also because I have become intimately familiar with the land in and around Black Hawk County. I knew vague tidbits and hints of the past, but this book unlocked the secrets of this area and made my eyes see why things have developed as they have over the past 200 years in this area. 

As I say, Tony's book was a loan, so I read it once, scanned some maps in it, and gave it back to him. I then started looking for a copy, but then one thing led to another, and well that idea got driven clean out of my head. That is, until I started digging around again recently concerning the plat maps of 1910 for Black Hawk County, and ran across more history of the area. 

There was a reference in one story about a really well researched book concerning the old trails in Black Hawk County and that the author's name was Clarence W. Baldwin. A little sleuthing revealed that this was a reference to the very same book Tony lent me. I found a single copy on Amazon, ironically a retired copy from the Waterloo Public Library, and bought it. It's a little beat up, and the maps are mostly missing, (fortunately I scanned Tony's copy), but I was stoked to get my hands on this resource over the weekend. 

It's got a lot of great information regarding where the old Native American trails ran, why they ran that way, and how those trails influenced immigration to this area. It tells the tale of where these trails were likely to have informed current highways, and why many faded away due to farmers not liking trespassing wanderers who were seeking ways to the West. It tells the tale of Waterloo and Cedar Falls early days and now I kind of know why the streets ran parallel to the river instead of along the compass points in the original plat. (This really screwed up subsequent additions and is partly why Waterloo is a nightmare to navigate for new folks.)   

So, between this and the 1910 Atlas of Black Hawk County I have found online I will be having a bit more interesting rides than I used to. Again, like I stated on Friday, I encourage anyone that rides in a rural area to dig into their local history. It is enriching, and enlightening, and you will have a treasure to pass on to future generations.

Found It!

"Crossroads On The Cedar" by Clarence W. Baldwin.

 Quite some time ago now my friend, Tony, lent me a book he had which was one part history of the Cedar Valley, one part geography, one part geology, and one part about how humnas traversed this area from antiquity up until the 20th Century. 

I found its contents fascinating, because I live here, but also because I have become intimately familiar with the land in and around Black Hawk County. I knew vague tidbits and hints of the past, but this book unlocked the secrets of this area and made my eyes see why things have developed as they have over the past 200 years in this area. 

As I say, Tony's book was a loan, so I read it once, scanned some maps in it, and gave it back to him. I then started looking for a copy, but then one thing led to another, and well that idea got driven clean out of my head. That is, until I started digging around again recently concerning the plat maps of 1910 for Black Hawk County, and ran across more history of the area. 

There was a reference in one story about a really well researched book concerning the old trails in Black Hawk County and that the author's name was Clarence W. Baldwin. A little sleuthing revealed that this was a reference to the very same book Tony lent me. I found a single copy on Amazon, ironically a retired copy from the Waterloo Public Library, and bought it. It's a little beat up, and the maps are mostly missing, (fortunately I scanned Tony's copy), but I was stoked to get my hands on this resource over the weekend. 

It's got a lot of great information regarding where the old Native American trails ran, why they ran that way, and how those trails influenced immigration to this area. It tells the tale of where these trails were likely to have informed current highways, and why many faded away due to farmers not liking trespassing wanderers who were seeking ways to the West. It tells the tale of Waterloo and Cedar Falls early days and now I kind of know why the streets ran parallel to the river instead of along the compass points in the original plat. (This really screwed up subsequent additions and is partly why Waterloo is a nightmare to navigate for new folks.)   

So, between this and the 1910 Atlas of Black Hawk County I have found online I will be having a bit more interesting rides than I used to. Again, like I stated on Friday, I encourage anyone that rides in a rural area to dig into their local history. It is enriching, and enlightening, and you will have a treasure to pass on to future generations.