Sunday, June 5, 2011

PIKES PEAK IS RAD

We took off for The Knuckle Shuffle this weekend with high hopes of hanging with our chopper buds,  got our start with a little rain and lucky enough the chopper gods pushed the rain south and it was clear sky's and killer riding all the way up......on our way up we decided to hit every little town and every little bar in the towns...this makes for a long ass day...about half way up we decided to hit up one of Iowas wonders Pikes Peak.....its a really bitchen view and one of the most historical sites in Iowa in my opinion....

History Lesson
The first Europeans to visit the area were Father Marquette and Louis Joliet. They arrived one June day in 1673 via the Wisconsin River, which empties into the Mississippi just opposite the lower main overlook at Pikes Peak. Leaving the great lake Michigan they paddled their canoes up the Fox River to the Grande Portage, now Portage, Wisconsin, where they accessed the Wisconsin. Native peoples, early explorers, and trappers used the Mississippi much as it is used today, trading, trapping, fishing and transporting their goods. In 1685, Nicholas Perrot established Fort St. Nicholas near present-day Prairie du Chien to protect the French interests in the fur trade. Pierre Paul Marin built a trading fort near the mouth of Sny Magill Creek in 1738, 4 miles south of Pikes Peak State Park, for trade with Sac, Fox and Winnebago Indians. An Indian trail that extended west across present Iowa was also located in this area.
In 1781, Michael Brisbois, the first independent fur trader to live in Prairie du Chien, established a good working relationship with the Indians and the area soon developed into a profitable fur trading post. A man by the name of Cardinal built a grist mill across the Mississippi River from the present day Effigy Mounds Monument in Mill Coulee. He traded with the Native Americans exchanging grain from his mill for furs. The primary furbearer that trappers caught in this area was the beaver. The fur was used for fur felt hats in France. Other furs gathered included mink, muskrat, otter, wolf, raccoon, and fisher from the far north. John Jacob Astor set up a post of the American Fur Company at Prairie du Chien in 1808 on St. Feriole Island.This corporation was important during conflict between the French, British, Americans, and Indians. Joseph Rollette managed the American Fur Company.In 1826, Hercules Dousman became John Jacob Astor's agent and in 1843 built the "House on the Mound."Dousman and his descendants acquired considerable wealth, which was used to purchase land and bring the railroad to the area in 1857.The Villa Louis State Historic Site  includes the country home of Hercules' son, Louis, built in 1870, a fur trade museum and this historic Brisbois House, all located on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien.
Lotta history and most important the riding is really rad.......







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