Copy: Just lucky, I guess, that we ended up in Bellevue. It was a timely place, a timely sunshine-blue sky day to stop and convince ourselves that Bellevue is the best place to stare at - well, let's call it be hypnotized by - the Mississippi River. High above the river, we sat on a swing, swaying back and forth, back and forth, eating an ice cream cone. Bellevue's founding fathers were smart enough to build the city high on a bench. The river runs below us and never floods the town. It looks a lot bluer, too, than the Mississippi that runs through the Quad-Cities. Depending on how you count, there are 25 blocks where you can drive along U.S 52, right smack in the middle of Bellevue, and admire the river. On one side are quaint, curious shops and lovely homes where you wish you lived. On the other side is the Mississippi River. It is all so neat, so quiet. No wonder, when a group of real estate people from the Quad-Cities gathered, they agreed that one of the best places to live within 50 or so miles of the Quads would be Bellevue. Those 25 blocks along the river are solid parkways and cricket-trimmed lawns with gardens full of daylilies and daisies. Everything seems to be just right and that includes the people. Everyone seems to be smiling. "People come here to visit and they stay," says Chris Frank, who runs Spruce Harbor Inn on the upper edge of town with his wife, Linda. Purple martins are soaring, screeching, chasing mosquitoes, when the talk turns to visitors who come to stay. John Conklin and Chris tell of two retired commercial airline pilots who live in the Bellevue vicinity. "They would fly high over Bellevue and say they were going to someday live here along the Mississippi. They did," Conklin says. Far out in the channel, the Wakonda slowly moves upstream through that blue water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat is replacing buoys. The Mississippi is wide, but at this point it separates us from a jigsaw puzzle of islands, sloughs and backwaters where it looks like you could get lost and no one could ever find you. However you admire Bellevue, it is the river that counts the most. Always, it is the river, a big, wide blanket, sliced by Lock & Dam 12. The locks are another attraction to watch when you sit in that 25-block-long parkway. We simply wander, which is best for travelers, listening to local talk and grisly stories about the Bellevue War. You wonder how such a "war" ever happened in this peaceful town. In 1840, 100 vigilantes and outlaws "went to it" in the fledgling town. Their fate was decided by a townspeople in a vote using colored beans as votes. They would be hanged or whipped 25 lashes and sent downstream on a flatboat. They were whipped and put aboard the boat, never to return. That war story is told by Dr. Darryl Eggers, who ran Bellevue's Potter's Mill as a restaurant and as a bed and breakfast for a decade or so. The tall red mill is the most-photographed landmark in Bellevue, but it is no longer a restaurant. "We're running it only as a bed and breakfast and are doing very well," says "Doc." He adds, "The restaurant business was good, but we were getting tired." He bought the place, which was built in 1843, and rescued it from falling apart. "It's for sale, $550,000," he says. "But I won't sell it to just anybody. It has to be preserved." Bellevue is a lovely town, curious in that the railroad runs right through it, not alongside it, so as not to spoil the view of the river. Businesses and homes are on each side. Be careful; there is only one crossing signal, and tooting of whistles is to be done only in close-call situations. Every small town talks about its friendliness, and how residents - once they're in town - come to stay and take care of each other. "There are so many friendly little things about this place," says Lori Michels, one of the family owners of the Carousel Cafe'. "For Mother's Day, some of the children of a resident named Vera came in and made a special order for their mom. Once a month, we're to bring their mom a quart of our soup and a big dish of our bread pudding." We keep wandering, admiring the old stone buildings in town. One was once a button factory; another was last used as a place to build speedboats. Always, though, the wanderings lead to Bellevue State Park, 770 acres of trails and the most awesome overlook on the Mississippi River. It is a place to stand and look and be so awed that you speak in whispers. Colleen Conklin, who heads the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, is not unexpectedly prejudiced about her hometown, but all residents seem to agree with her when she says, "I feel blessed to live here."

Offers: The main attraction is the Mississippi River, along with Bellevue State Park and places such as Mont Rest, a towering bed and breakfast on nine acres, Bellevue House Inn, interesting shops such as the Book Worm and all of downtown, which faces the river. Potter's Mill, along the flow of Mill Creek, is a place to visit and photograph; Spruce Creek campground is north of Lock and Dam 12 and has electrical hookups. Upstream is Bellevue Beach.

History: Bellevue, Iowa, and the vicinity is a lure, offering the best views of the Mississippi River in all of Iowa and Illinois. The historic old town, dating to the 1830s, won the 2006 Iowa Great Places Award. It has 2,500 residents.

About: Getting there: Bellevue is about 65 miles from the Quad-Cities, depending upon the route you take, and driving is not at breakneck speed. Plan on about 90 minutes of leisurely driving. You have choices in getting to Bellevue, Iowa, from the Quad-Cities. One of them, it's claimed (and we tried it out) is 10 degrees cooler than the other. On the way up, we chose U.S. 61, taking it straight through downtown Maquoketa, where you branch off to catch Iowa 62 at the edge of the fairgrounds. It's a wonder how, within 45 minutes of the Quad-Cities, you're in another world of steep hills and valleys where your ears pop. Suddenly, you're out of the flatlands and driving through what you may think is another country. Switzerland perhaps. The barns are redder, the sky is bluer. One of the mistakes travelers make is that they think U.S. 61 is the only way to reach Bellevue. We drove back to the Quad-Cities on U.S. 52, which leads to Sabula. This is an archway of trees and steep roadsides, lush with greenery. We were told the temperature from Bellevue to Sabula is 10 degrees cooler than any other route. We tried it on a day in the upper 80s and the thermometer dropped seven degrees. At Sabula, the way branches off to U.S. 67 back to the Quad-Cities through Princeton and LeClaire.

Amenities: About the series: With gas prices out of hand, Quad-Citians are ready for close-in vacation trips.

Categories: Staycations with Bill Wundram

Locations: Bellevue