American Discovery 250 Relay

The United States celebrated its 250th birthday last summer, and while at times it seemed we were too busy hating each other to notice, some imaginative commemorations have taken place. One such is the American Discovery 250 Relay, on which various runners, walkers, and cyclists are carrying a copy of the Declaration of Independence the length of the American Discovery Trail from the Golden Gate Bridge to Cape Henlopen in Delaware. This weekend, the effort passed through Cedar Rapids. They began Saturday, October 3, in Waterloo; Sunday, October 4, the relay went from Cedar Rapids to West Branch, and then to Davenport the following day, before a well-earned day of rest on Tuesday the 6th.Remarkably, neither the website nor the news coverage I sampled described the origin story of this effort. Dave Whitson is the Relay Director. Numerous partner-sponsors along the way include the Linn County Trails Association and our neighbors to the north, the Cedar Valley Trails Partnership.After a…