Karen's Blog

Double Dutch Treat

8/17/2018

Being in one of Verizon's black holes (perhaps because we were near a body of water as one young Verizon employee explained to me once), my blog had to wait until we returned home. Here's the final update. Tuesday was a quiet day for us. The rest of the gang went to the State Fair while we opted for less walking (and eating.) We did get in a couple of bike rides and ran some errands in town. Before we returned to the campground, we drove out to see the damage left by a tornado a few weeks ago on the important Pella company, Vermeer. The damage seemed confined to the easternmost buildings, but that included fallen roofs and twisted flagpoles.

Wednesday began with a threat of rain and a meal known in the group as ‘Heart Attack Breakfast.’ It centers around French toast made with Jaarsma’s Bakery cinnamon bread and topped with Tom’s maple-bacon-apple-butter syrup. Then most of us went to town for a private tour of the Windmill Museum. We had visited the village behind the windmill before but had not done the museum. Gary is a volunteer docent who is a friend of some of our camping group and gave us an excellent tour. The museum includes a miniature Dutch village, built by various craftsmen, with over 100 buildings. All are replicas of a building somewhere in Holland.

The tour of the mill itself--the largest working windmill in the US--began at the top in the milling room. The mill was not actually working at the time because they were doing some painting on the blades. But the structure, its design and construction, and its function is an amazing story.

After the mill, we walked a half-block to the old Opera house. This has been rebuilt to look as it did in the early part of the last century. It includes a Wurlitzer organ on which we received an impromtu mock concert.

Thursday our trip to town for coffee, muffins, and internet at the Smokey Row Cafe only netted us two out of three. Their wifi was down. By the time we polished off the snacks, it was too late to go anywhere else because we had plans for a trip to Tassel Ridge Winery in the afternoon. Priorities, you know. The view of the fast moving storms from their sunroom was pretty spectacular and we were gratified when we returned to camp that all campers, awnings, etc. appeared to be intact. The day finished with a steak fry and a lovely sunset--a fine finish before our return home today.

Besides the Pella sites, we enjoyed the eagle watching, biking, and hiking at the campground. A sad note: there are many ash trees in this shady spot that will need to come down soon, judging from the bare branches. The walnut trees are doing well, which we can attest to by the bombardment our trailer roof received. We pictured nasty squirrels high above using us for target practice but perhaps it was just gravity.

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Dutch Treat

8/14/2018

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We are near Pella for what has become our yearly camping week at Howell Station, right below the dam at Red Rock Lake. There are six other couples with us and supper on Sunday night was quite afeast, including sweet corn picked that morning. We like this campground because the sites are shaded and level and there are decent bathhouses.

It’s very large--over 100 sites--and the campground roads plus the bike trail along the Des Moines River make for a lot of great bike riding that isn’t too much of a challenge for our old legs. Yesterday we took several short rides.

One drawback here is very poor internet and phone connection. In fact, there is a bench along the the river that is in the open enough to make a call. We call it the Internet bench.

Yesterday morning we made a trip into Pella for several important errands: a new cord for our percolator since ours gave up the ghost that morning, and a visit to Jaarmsma”s Bakery for some nice whole wheat bread and well--a couple of muffins, strudel and a few cookies. And then lunch at the Smokey Row coffee shop and a chance to catch up on our email, etc. Today we will return to the bakery to pick up some cinnamon bread one of our fellow campers ordered for tomorrow’s special breakfast and a little more internet time. But mostly we are relaxing and I am working on the second book in the Mystery Sisters series, tentatively titled Foliage and Fatalities.

On the agenda for the rest of the week: the winery, sales at a couple of the shops, and maybe some barbecue. Plus naps.

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Friends, Fairs, and Flies

7/24/2018

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This past weekend's camping trip included very spotty internet, so the blog had to wait until our return home. We returned to North Central Iowa and Beed's Lake where we had been a few weeks ago with the Midwest Glampers. Several of my classmates were going to be in town for the Franklin County Fair. The fairgrounds also include a historical village complete with blacksmithing demonstrations and an ice cream maker powered by a tractor.

Wednesday night we were able to gather for a pleasant campfire, although the loop we were in was so full of large RVs and campers, that it was hardly experiencing the outdoors. Saturday night we did another one, but borrowed a tent site down by the lake where it was less congested. Thursday, we were hit with heavy rains several times--part of the system that spawned 25 tornadoes throughout Iowa that day. Consequently we sampled some of the local restaurants as well as the fair food.

The recent heat wave combined with the rain apparently also spawned a record number of flies, so that the most useful tool in the camper was the fly swatter. However, the flow over the beautiful Beed's Lake Dam was back to normal from a few weeks ago.

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Cherry-Pickin'

7/14/2018

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It's an important family weekend--the second birthday of our great-granddaughter Olivia Jane. So we are at Cherry Glen campground seven minutes away from them. Our son Pat, wife Jill, and grandson Jack are up from Texas for the event as well. Like most of our camping this year, the weather could be better but the campground is full. That wasn't true when we arrived Thursday, but by last night all of these sites were full and the nearby playground was at capacity.

Yesterday Pat and Jill took Jack for a college visit at Iowa State, Brooke and Nick had to work, and Olivia was at daycare so we had to entertain ourselves. After a leisurely morning, we took a drive around Saylorville Lake, the recent scene of some very heavy rains and still affected by flooding. A number of roads were closed but we did enjoy the prairie flowers at Acorn Valley recreation area.

Later in the afternoon, we gathered at Brooke and Nick's for pizza. Olivia's presents this year from us are all hand-me-downs from our no-longer-used attic playroom: plastic dishes and food and a wooden rocking horse. She found the little toaster a challenge but bravely resisted any attempts to show her how to use it (she is two, after all). She allowed Great-Grandpa to pick her up only so she could supervise her mother's amazing job of putting rainbow frosting on her cupcakes, which she then decided passed the taste test.

Today her grandparents and great-grandparents will be charged with babysitting while her parents go to a wedding in Cedar Falls. I hope we meet her high standards. Fortunately, she thinks her Uncle Jack is pretty cool. Meanwhile this morning a lazy breakfast and some writing. I'm thinking the dumpster dumping truck that came around at 7:20 this morning probably didn't make any friends here in the campground.

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Ruminating on Reunions

7/7/2018

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It is a gorgeous weekend weather-wise and we are not camping. I hope it's not the only good one of the summer. But it's been busy. Friday we met some of Butch's classmates for lunch. We are getting so old that reminiscing about high school years has been done over and over and mostly we just catch up on everyone.

Then after supper, we stopped downtown at a gathering of the local class of 1973. This was my first class of eighth graders and I have been forever grateful that they were so easy on me. It could have been a short teaching career. I have a special connection to that class in that when I quit teaching 22 years later, one member of that class took my place and I went to work for another one--part time in her flower shop. It was really great to catch up with them as they now near retirement. One man (it's hard not to think of them as kids) said he didn't remember my face, but he remembered my voice. Hmmm.

In a little over a week, we will journey to my hometown for the county fair and an informal gathering of some of my classmates. I think reunions get better with age. I'm working on the first book in a new series right now that will be titled Reunion and Revenge. I hope that's not prophetic.

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A Wild Wrap Up

6/25/2018

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Saturday of our Midwest Glampers "Ladies On the Lake" campout began at Kim's trailer, "Goldie," with a mimosa and Bloody Mary Bar. The Glampers then hurried back to their own sites to prepare for the 11:00 tour of the campers. A number of people from the rest of the campground and from town took advantage of the opportunity to glimpse the insides of these 'tiny houses.'

In the afternoon, Ginge and I took a walk around the lake, a feat that only takes about an hour. That left time for a little rest before getting ready for the final event: the Trailer Trash Tragedy mystery game. Those who wished to participate received descriptions of their characters a few weeks ago and went totally crazy devising costumes. Midwestern thrift stores must be sadly depleted. The game involves four rounds. The first includes introductions and a white elephant gift exchange, the second appetizers and cocktails with clues, the third a potluck supper with more clues, and round four the solution--and dessert.

It was fun to reconnect with such a diverse group and meet people we hadn't met before. This group is unique in that there are no dues and no officers. Events are organized by any members who want to take it on and others jump in to help. I think there's a little Peter Pan influence--no one really wants to grow up.

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Get Your Glamp On!

6/22/2018

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Think of a combination gypsy camp, wagon train, and flea market. The Midwest Glampers are meeting at my old stomping grounds at Beed's Lake State Park and our loop is a colorful riot of chaos. There are campers from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, as well as individuals from Michigan and Illinois. Most have restored or rebuilt vintage trailers. Some even have tents that have been glamped.

The weather on Thursday was threatening and chilly with low hanging clouds. We managed to get a book discussion in after supper because this is the locale that The Lady of the Lake was based on. Friday was a great improvement with some sun and gentle breezes. Many took a trip to town for a great lunch at The Rustic Brew and some shopping.

In the evening, things got crazy. Supper was a baked potato bar and things got cleared out of the way for a "Trailer Trashion Show." The little girls even got into the act by donning mustaches to ride their bikes around the campground. Two incredibly silly games entertained the group until dark--one involving shower camps, shaving cream and cheese puffs; the other a takeoff on bag toss with rolls of toilet paper and mounted toilet seats.

At dark, after a brilliant Beed's Lake sunset, Brody from the Franklin County Conservation Commission gave a talk about the legend of the Lady of the Lake and then organized us for a night hike interspersed with holes of miniature golf. I was certainly ready for bed after that!

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...and then the mouse died

6/6/2018

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It all started last Tuesday or Wednesday when our oldest son called and wanted his dad to join him Saturday in a benefit golf tournament for the school music department. Since driving over for the day would mean a very early rise, we decided to take the camper and spend the weekend at Johnson Sauk Trail State Park. We like the park and the weather was supposed to be good. We planned to stay Friday to Monday. We did a minimal load, food-wise, because we would only be about five miles from Kewanee and could make a grocery run if we needed to.

About halfway there, the truck started to make noise like an old-fashioned egg beater. We had had similar issues before and it was never good or cheap. Since it's hard to pull into a dealer for diagnosis on the engine while pulling a thirty-foot trailer, we nursed it along to the campground and unhooked the trailer. By this time, it's late Friday afternoon so Butch hot-footed it into town in time for them to do a preliminary diagnosis. It was the #6 valve or cylinder or something but beyond that, they couldn't tell until they tore into it. They would start first thing Monday morning and it might be something simple that could be fixed in a couple of hours and we could head home as planned.

However, it might be something much more complicated, requiring tearing the engine apart, and taking much longer. (Translation: "Maybe you should think about getting jobs in the area.") We know the No. 1 rule of car repair is that it will never be quick or cheap. So, through the weekend, the possibility of being stranded in a campground indefinitely, as well as facing bankruptcy, loomed over our heads.

Perhaps it was the stress, but by Saturday evening, we were both struggling with the beginnings of the Mother of all Summer Colds. We could have powered our camper if we could have harnessed our sneezes.

We had reserved our site through Sunday night, but found out on Sunday morning that it was reserved for Monday and the next four nights by someone else, so if we needed to lengthen our stay, we had to move. AND if we were going to move, we needed to do it before the truck went back in Monday morning. Sunday afternoon we moved across the road to an available site. We also realized that we were running low on food and water. Fortunately, we still had ice cream.

By Sunday night, my eyelids were looking like fat little raw sausages, and I was hauling the box of Kleenex around with me. It wasn't really Kleenex but some cheaper off-brand and was like blowing your nose on crepe paper. Besides the itchy, runny eyes, earache, and runny nose, another effect of this cold is that my hair sticks up all wacko. What's with that? When is cold medicine going to address that issue?

Our son's family brought pizza out for supper--much appreciated-- and Sophie's new kayak for a maiden voyage on the lake. The weather was lovely all weekend; we just couldn't enjoy it much.

We settled in that evening with a bad movie and ice cream. But then the mouse for my laptop died. Now, the track pad is fine for browsing the Internet but very awkward for me for writing and editing. My brain wasn't working that great anyway. We doctored ourselves with some honey, cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper elixir and whined a lot.

Monday morning a couple of hours after the truck had been returned to the dealer, the news was as we expected. A major overhaul for big money, but it might be done by close of business Monday; otherwise first thing Tuesday morning. Of course it was noon on Tuesday. By the time we hooked up the camper, dumped the tanks, and stopped on the way home for cough drops, sinus medicine, Kleenex and a new mouse, we arrived home to unhook and unload in the hottest part of the day. Camping anyone?

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Back to the Basics

5/22/2018

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It seems that for the past ten months or so, our camping trips have either been a result of a family event--weddings, 90th birthdays, and last week a granddaughter's graduation--or part of a longer expedition where we needed to stay on schedule to keep reservations or get mechanical issue taken care of. Not to belittle any of those trips; the reasons were exciting and the results fun.

But it's been nice the last couple of days to just camp for the sake of camping. We decided last week to take off Sunday and try to get spots at Morgan Creek, a lovely little park near Cedar Rapids, Iowa that features the county arboretum. But it's first-come, first served and all 36 sites were taken. So we returned to an old favorite, Tailwater West on the Coralville Reservoir.

This campground has several things going for it, by our criteria. The sites are spacious and the cement pads are level. There are water hookups and the shower house is nice. There's a good walking path and wildlife to watch. All this is available to us for half-price with our senior passes.

The campground is below the dam and it's always fascinating to watch the water rushing through the overflow tube. Some sunny mornings, the neighborhood turkey vultures spread their huge wings out on the rocky side of the dam to dry them out. Yesterday was rather gloomy, with rain off and on but it cleared enough to cook salmon and asparagus in foil packets on the fire. Today Ken has plans to smoke a beef roast. This is real camping. Well, by our definition.

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The High Points

4/6/2018

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It occurred to me, looking over my blogs from this trip, that many readers, especially non-campers, might want to call me personally and yell "Are you crazy?" Maybe so. In a little over two weeks, we encountered paralyzing traffic jams, tornado warnings (not just watches), mechanical issues, and communication breakdowns--not to mention that we are both 75. So why do we do it?

There's no easy answer to that question unless it would be yes, we are crazy. But for us, it does balance out. There's the people. We got to spend time with my equally crazy sister and her family and our blossoming granddaughter. We got to meet our granddaughter's boyfriend and hear about their exciting plans for their lives. And the casual acquaintances in the campgrounds--the woman, who after traveling the world in her career, wanted to see our own country and decided an RV was the best way to do it. She had sold her house and just begun full-timing. The couple who had camped for years within twenty miles of their home and were trying to get up the gumption to take off on much longer trips. The young couple who had just bought a small trailer with plans to go off-roading. The hosts who were always helpful.

There were sights that you don't see touted in every travel brochure but well worth our time. The Old Stone Fort in Tennessee and the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina were both fascinating. The waterfalls in Tennessee and Georgia were beautiful. We prefer parks to private campgrounds because they were usually chosen for reasons other than proximity to an interstate. The land may have been donated simply because the owner wanted to share its beauty. Or the motive may have been to preserve a piece of history, such as Old Stone Fort or the Cherokee lands in Georgia at Vogel State Park or, as our last stop, Lincoln's New Salem Village. There were the interesting small towns, such as Blue Ridge, Georgia, who have revitalized themselves as shopping and craft centers.

And of course there's the scenery. We spent a lot of time in the mountains of Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama. We enjoyed the lowlands of Mississippi and the plains of Illinois. I am a sunset fanatic and those are easier to miss if you stay in a hotel. We like having the comforts of home with us and don't think its any more hassle to set up an RV than to haul luggage into a hotel and pack it back up and haul it out at the end of a stay. So call us crazy. We probably are, but don't bother us with that--we're busy making plans for the next trip.