Le Claire

Le Claire hugs a stretch of the Mississippi where the river used to run fast and shallow over limestone shelves — the Rock Island Rapids, long since drowned by a downstream lock and dam — and that riverboat-piloting history produced one of the town’s more unlikely native sons: William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, born here in 1846 before his family moved on to Kansas. The small museum near the riverfront tracing his path from local farm boy to Wild West showman was more engaging than either of us expected, full of original posters from his touring show that once played to crowds across Europe.

Antique Archaeology

Le Claire’s bigger modern draw, though, is Antique Archaeology, the original picking shop made famous by the television show American Pickers, housed in a converted garage a block off Main Street. Lia had watched the show for years and treated the visit with something close to reverence, working through crates of rusted signs, old bicycles, and vintage advertising with real focus while I people-watched the steady stream of fellow fans posing for photos out front. It’s touristy, sure, but the shop’s roots as a genuine picking operation still show through in the inventory.

The riverfront and Lock and Dam 14

We spent the evening walking the Mississippi River bike trail that runs right along the water, watching boats work through Lock and Dam 14 just downstream, its viewing platform giving us a clear look at the chamber filling and draining. Main Street itself runs one block back from the river, a tidy line of restored brick buildings holding wine bars and ice cream shops that fill up fast on summer weekends with visitors up from the Quad Cities. We ended up at a riverside patio with a glass of local wine, watching the sun drop behind Illinois on the far bank.

Getting There

The Quad Cities International Airport (MLI), just across the river in Moline, Illinois, is the closest airport, about twenty-five minutes away by car. From Chicago, it’s roughly a three-hour drive west on I-88 and I-80. A car is the easiest way to reach Le Claire, though once you’ve arrived, the riverfront, Main Street, and Antique Archaeology are all within easy walking distance of each other.