We arrived at the Hickory Haven Campground in mid-May. It was our home base for the next eight weeks, while Andy worked at the community hospital in nearby Ft. Madison.
We selected a spot at the back of the campground, with an open area behind us. It was a nice change from the parking lot style RV parks we had lived in for the previous seven months.
When making our reservation, we were told the park had WiFi. After we arrived, we discovered that the WiFi was NOT available to monthly guests. We also discovered that even if we had been able to use it, the signal would not reach us at the back of the park.
Instead of using all the data in our plan, we visited the local library. The WiFi was good, and we were able to get a temporary library card. They had DVDs of recent movies, and we checked out several every Friday and returned them on Sunday, in the dropbox outside. The librarians were friendly and told us about places to visit and local restaurants to try.
Strawberry Festival
We heard a Strawberry Festival was being held in Farmington, Iowa the second weekend of June. There would be carnival rides, art and craft booths, entertainment and free ice cream and strawberries. We decided to go and take Sadie with us.
Farmington is about 28 miles northwest of Hickory Haven Campground. The drive was scenic and took us through a portion of the Shimek State Forest.
There were only a handful of carnival rides, however, they were popular with the young children.
We hadn’t done our homework, or we would have gone inside the Hel-Mart. Later we learned that it contained a model train room with 1,100 sq. foot train display, a miniature dollhouse room, and other displays that we would have enjoyed. If you are in Farmington, Iowa, check it out and let us know what you think.
Sadie enjoyed the attention she received from young children as she walked the booths. We saw many items we were interested in, however, with the limited space in our RV, we did not make any purchases.
Justice Samuel Freeman Miller House
One of the places recommended by the librarian was The Miller House Museum. The museum is located in the home of former Justice Samuel Miller. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the home was built in 1859 by then-lawyer Samuel Miller. Within two years, he was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by Abraham Lincoln, where he served for the next twenty-eight years.
We visited The Miller House Museum on a Sunday in early July. The Lee County Historical Society was holding a meeting in the dining area when we arrived. Since we were the only visitors at the time, one of the members joined us on our tour to answers questions and provide additional information regarding the artifacts.
Upstairs we found many displays in the hallway. A couple of examples are this bust of Chief Keokuk and a fainting couch. The small note on the fainting couch read, “Fainting Couch was given to Lee County Historical by the Keokuk Post Office. It was appropriate to have these when women were first employed.” We were told that it was related to the tight corsets women wore at the time.Â
Chief Keokuk 
Fainting couch for women in tight corsets
The upstairs bedrooms are decorated with various themes.
Downstairs, we found the kitchen, laundry room and a replica of an 1800’s dentist office.
At the bottom of the staircase was a cabinet displaying medicine bottles from the Keokuk Medicine Company.
Next to the display case was this door. It is not historic. We just liked all the locks.
Rand Park
This 57-acre park was one of the most beautiful places we visited while staying in Keokuk. Overlooking the river, the park contains trails, an entertainment pavilion, and a wonderful flower garden. The park is also home to the Chief Keokuk monument.
Chief Keokuk
The city is named after this Sauk chief, who is noted for his diplomacy. Keokuk’s remains were moved to this location in 1880, and the monument was erected over his remains in 1913.
Flower Garden
In addition to the beautiful and well-tended flower beds, the garden is also home to several sculptures.
Local chainsaw artist, Al Moander, transformed these two trees in the garden into sculptures.
4th of July
Keokuk’s Independence Day celebration was held in Rand Park. We arrived a little before 8:00 pm. It was a hot, sticky evening, with a little breeze. After selecting a spot on the grass near the bandstand, we set up our chairs and walked around for a while.
We returned to our chairs when the band, Finnigan’s Right Hook, started playing. They are a local Kansas City band, and we were happy to discover they were planning in Keokuk. The grassy hill was starting to fill with families and friends anticipating the fireworks display.
After the band finished, dancers and a bagpipe band from nearby Nauvoo performed. The sun was setting and several of those in the crowd provided light from their cell phones.
Finally, it was time for the display to start. The crowd applauded and the children that had been running around settled on their families’ blankets. It was a great display.
Hickory Haven Highlights
Chainsaw sculptor, Al Moander, was one of our neighbors at Hickory Haven Campground. When he noticed a dead tree near the office, he offered to turn it into a welcoming sculpture. The owners, Ron and Mary, were happy to have one of his sculptures in their park.
We were walking our dogs when we saw him on a scaffolding working on the tree. Stopping to chat, he told us about the proposed sculpture. It was then that we realized he was the sculptor that had created the eagle and hummingbird sculptures in Rand Park.
When we pulled out of the campground on July 7th, Al was still working on the sculpture. Wanting to see the finished art, we contacted him for a picture.
One afternoon, an unexpected guest crossed my path when I was carrying trash to the dumpster. I had driven there and was glad the dogs were not with me.
I had just placed a bag in the dumpster when this guy walked across the road.
Al was walking by and stopped to watch the turtle. It continued to walk across as if we were not there. Al picked up a stick, and I took out my phone to capture it.
We want to share one last picture from our time in Keokuk. As mentioned previously, we visited the library at least once a week while we lived there. Not far from the library, this house sits on the corner of 6th and Concert St.
When Andy was taking pictures, residents from a nearby apartment building asked if we owned the house. “No, we’re just curious bloggers.”
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