I stayed one night, two nights ago, at Van Meter State Park, which interprets a nearby Indian village of the Missouri Indians who died out in the early 19th century. They were like the Indians of New England, decimated early on by disease brought by French explorers and traders, the War of 1812, and English speaking colonizers. Before "Americans" even really settled in the area from the 1820s, Lewis and Clark reported in 1804 that many of the Missouri Indians had died off from disease and predations from other tribes. The visitor's center is small but excellent, and interprets many Indian tribes in the Midwest, including the Sauk and Fox, who lived in Dubuque, IA, where I grew up. I learned more about Black Hawk, who figures large in the early 19th century history of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. By the time whites came to the park area (the Van Meters), the Indians were entirely gone. The campgrounds are alive with woodpeckers and tall trees, but the place is truly eerie. The trees groan in the wind at night and the area is very damp. One campsite across the way was 5 degrees colder. I imagine there was a spring, or seep, there. It is really dark at night, at a little scary. There is a campground host there, friendly but not intrusive. There are some trails to walk on, although muddy. One leads up to the Van Meter family cemetery, which is laid out next to an Indian Mound. I wanted to visit the lake with some more Indian mounds on the park property the next morning but the campground hosts had not unlocked the gate. Apparently they have had instances of thievery and vandalism. Hard to believe how. The area is beautiful farmland, but very remote. read more
