PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 125 



world is not to be left in darkness tonight. One evening in every lunar 

 month the full moon rises as the sun goes down. One may see both 

 the silver and the gold at the same time one to twenty-eight in the bi- 

 metalism of the heavens. 



On no other night for twenty-eight days may this unique sight be en- 

 joyed the full moon rising and the sun setting at the same time. And 

 in no other spot in Iowa may the phenomenon be observed under such in- 

 spiring scenic surroundings. 



PILOT MOUND'S BEAUTIES. 

 By Winifred Gilbert. 



Years have been added to the multitude of buried ages since the glacial 

 period when Iowa was a beautiful sea of ice; as this melted and vanished 

 and spots of land became visible there was found all over the state many 

 bluffs, valleys and lakes, but far to the north majestically and proud 

 above all the rest, rose Pilot Mound or Knob definite, rugged and ap- 

 proachable, a thing of pride and a source of wonder. 



Near the boundary line that separates Worth and Cerro Gordo from 

 Winnebago and Hancock is a range of low irregular hills zigzaging their 

 uneven prominences from the southern boundary line of Minnesota south- 

 ward, near this intersection of the boundary lines of these four counties, 

 but solely in Hancock county, afaout four miles from Forest City and four- 

 teen miles from Garner the hills are more prominent. 



The one that shows its bald head above all the rest is Pilot Mound, 

 its altitude is about 1,400 feet, it is not the highest point in Iowa but it 

 offers a wonderful panoramc view of the surrounding country, now in a 

 high state of cultivation, happy homes, well kept farms, fine cattle, and 

 large fine wooded timber lands, all doing homage to the mound, and makes 

 a lover of Iowa proud of the fertile acres that stretch before him in every 

 direction. 



From the top of Pilot Knob on a clear day one can see seven railroad 

 stations, and the winding valley of Lime creek for perhaps fifteen miles, 

 dotted with planted groves which makes the whole country look like a 

 wonderful garden. 



The road leading up to the summit of the Mound climbs at first by 

 easy ascent but at the top ascends abruptly and one sees the rest of the 

 zigzaging hills covered with timber, consisting of oaks, basswood, black 

 and choke cherry, elm, quaking aspen, black walnut, wild plum and crab, 

 and a thick undergrowth of hazelbrush and near Forest City along Lime 

 creek a few sugar maples are found. 



About half a mile southwest of the Mound is a body of water covering 

 about two acres, called "Dead Man's Lake," it is bordered with low tim- 

 ber and in the lake are three kind of lilies. 



Pilot Mound in the autumn is a wonderful sight, when nature turns 

 the sumac red and the maples try to imitate the sunset, the Virginia 



