Page 4 - RAGBRAI2011

DAY 2 - ATLANTIC TO CARROLL THE MEHAFFEY SITE Pit feature at the Mehaffey site
Just west of the town of Atlantic, (13CA33).

a 4000-year-old Late Archaic site was Late Archaic Thebes point recovered
confirmed when the Office of the State Ar- from the Mehaffey site (13CA33).
chaeologist (OSA) began an archaeological
survey in 2002. The survey was done as a Middle Raccoon River at the Whiterock
part of the mitigation process for the con- Conservancy (taken by Joe Alan Artz).
struction of a new runway at the town’s
airport. In 2005, archaeologists from The
Louis Berger Group, Inc., returned to lead
data recovery excavations at the site, and
exposed over 50 archaeological features.
Among these features were fire pits and
surface hearths that appear to have been
used for roasting plant material, as charred
remains of hickory nuts, walnuts and grass
seeds were also found. The Mehaffey site
(13CA33) as it is now known, ultimately
revealed important data on the Late Ar-
chaic period in Iowa.

WHITEROCK

CONSERVANCY SOFT

TRAILS PROJECT
A few miles off the route on Day 2,
near the town of Coon Rapids, sits the
Whiterock Conservancy, a 4300 acre
outdoor enthusiast’s dream. The Whit-
erock Conservancy was initiated by the
Garst family, and formed in coordination
with the Iowa Natural Heritage Founda-
tion, as a way to protect their land and
sustain the family’s conservation practices
for years to come. The Conservancy was
recently awarded a grant in the amount of
$474,000 to create or improve 30 miles of
sustainable soft trails throughout its land
base. The Office of the State Archaeologist
is just one of many consultants on this soft
trails project, which when complete, will
give mountain bikers, hikers and horse-
back riders a unique and beautiful location
to enjoy their hobby.