Heading home for a few days

Justin and I spent Friday morning shooting some of the sights in Dubuque before saying a final farewell to Mr. Checkers and Ms. Becky. We hope those crazy kids finally tie the knot someday.

Thursday night we stumbled upon one of Dubuque’s unique locations, the Fenelon Place Elevator. The elevator transports passengers to and from the bluff that sits above lower Dubuque. Some Dubuque residents still live in the mostly Victorian homes that sit on the bluff. The elevator was built by a wealthy banker named Graves back in 1882.

up the tracks of the Fenelon Place Elevator

This is the face Justin makes when your budget forces you to substitute a 127 year old cable car for cranes and aerials.

down the tracks

the view from the bluff

Here’s the elevator’s story: back in the day most people took a 1.5 hour lunch break at noon. Graves lived on the bluff and the roads that led up the bluff, and to his house, took 30 minutes one way for his horse and carriage to reach home. This left the poor guy a measly half hour for lunch. Graves liked to take a nap after lunch so he lobbied the city and ponied up the money to build his own cable-drawn rail car elevator. Needless to say, this guy is my new hero.

On our way out of town we got hung up by some tornado activity in Dubuque and eventually ended up back in Cleveland around Midnight. Many thanks to Mr. Checkers and Ms. Becky. We’ll never forget you.

waiting out the storm at the Dubuque regional airport.