So, Black Friday found our family in Quincy, IL visiting with Julie’s mom. Never one for shopping on a regular day, let alone the biggest shopping day of the year, I was game for Julie’s suggestion that we get some fresh air along the mighty Mississippi River. Besides with lunchtime temperatures in the mid-70s, who in their right mind would want to be cooped up in a mall? An outstanding bit of nature, The River did not disappoint during the few hours we spent roaming and exploring.

First stop was a stretch of river walk just north of the Route 24 bridge between a couple dining establishments called The Pier and The Dock. This area featured several docks and a boat ramp. Along the way we skipped rocks, threw logs and found a pumpkin floating in the river. After fishing the pumpkin out of the water we had a great fun rolling it down the boat ramp back to its watery home.

Next up was Quinsippi Island which was accessible via a one lane bridge and featured a log cabin village, playground area and “secret trail” through the timber to the river’s edge. My boys called the river bank under the towering railroad bridge, “The Beach” and we enjoyed writing in the sand and discovering interesting animal tracks (some real and others imagined).

The road to Quinsippi Island

Toss in imagination…and some hot lava, or snake pit, or alligators…

And how about these raptor and T-Rex prints Zac “found”

Cool view of the “Mighty Mississippi”

Fun to watch the river do it’s thing

Zac points the way to some deer prints on “the beach”

The final bit of sightseeing was the Villa Katherine, a “Castle on the Mississippi” built in 1900. We were just in time to work in a tour of the site which proved to be quite interesting.  Further information on this landmark on the National Register of Historic Places can be found here.

Villa Katherine overlooks the Mississippi and is the current home of Quincy’s Tourist Information Center 

A look at the interior reflecting pool from the second floor balcony

Mississsippi River view from second floor of Villa Katherine

Quincy River Ramble Rating: 5.0 Marshmallows (scale 1-5 Marshmallows with 5 being tops, rating is average of six family member votes)

Location: Along the Mississippi River in Quincy. IL
Attractions: Bonansinga Drive River Walk, Quinsippi Island, Villa Katherine and “the beach” which was actually just a stretch of sandy bank exposed by low pool conditions.
Hiking/Trails: paved riverside trail off Bonansinga Drive, auto/pedestrian bridge to Quinsippi Island and unmarked river access on Quinsippi Island

Family Poll: What did you like most about Quincy’s Mississippi River stops?
Helena: “Walking on the dock, the pumpkin roll and Grammy showing me how to skip rocks.”
Carly: “The random pumpkin floating in the river and the log cabins.”
Zac: “The beach where we wrote our names and saw raptor and T-Rex prints.”
Mom: “The Quinsippi Island cabins, wish they were open for a better look.”
Dad: “The various river views and watching the kids simply enjoy some fresh air via a combination of random objects and imagination.”
Jayce: “I liked the beach and hated the part when we had to leave.”

Definitely a worthwhile bit of outdoor activity on an unseasonably warm Thanksgiving Friday. Much different than what thousands of others were up to as evidenced by encountering maybe ten people along the way. It was rewarding to hear my boy, Jayce, ask if we could come back after being told it was time to hike back to the vehicle from “the beach.” I told him that we have one of these, meaning a river, back home. Same mighty one, in fact. Talk to you later. Troy