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Ta-Da!

6/23/2014

Cover reveal for the Lady of the Lake! My early readers have the draft while I work on formatting, etc. This has been a fun one to do. Based on the state park, Beed's Lake, near my home town, it has been a real trip down memory lane. Except that I can change whatever I want to. Lots of old Hamptonites have posted or sent messages about their experiences at the lake, including a classmate of my brother Bill's who lived at the lake and remembers walking across the top of the dam! The background for the cover is the incredible dam at Beed's Lake that claims to be the most photographed dam in the Midwest.

I have also been working on a book trailer and had the advantage of some wonderful photos by Deb Primus, a friend of one of my sisters. Maybe there is an advantage to have five younger siblings. The link to it is here: http://youtu.be/-CAeVq24KVY

Meanwhile, I'd better get busy on that formatting!

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Chalk up Another One!

6/19/2014

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Poor reception made it nigh unto impossible to blog again while camping last weekend so here's the rest of the report.

The good news: The weatherman was wrong. The rain and storms predicted for Saturday and Sunday did not materialize. We did not have to take our awning down or mop up the chairs once. The gnats tried to make up for it, however.

The s'mores cones were a hit. The instructions suggested mini-chocolate chips but they're a lot like beebees--they go everywhere. I would suggest the regular size. Son Andy took the kids fishing. They caught three small ones which they took home to the aquarium. Two of them were named Carl and Luther; not sure what they settled on for the third.

One of the plusses of Johnson Sauk Trail Recreation Area is a lovely lake with a bait shop and boat rental AND a restaurant! We enjoy the cooking part of camping but it's a nice change to eat out, especially for a Father's Day brunch. I don't think they made much money off of us.

We also checked out a couple junk and antique shops in Kewanee and got some good naps in. (Not in the junk shops.) Besides fishing, the kids made good use of their bikes and the playground. I couldn't resist posing them for this photo, though. All in all, a great weekend.

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Glorious!

6/13/2014

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That was the description given by grandson Elliot last night of the feeling when he tagged an opponent out in a baseball game. Really, all people should get to be 10 a lot longer than one year.

We are at Johnson Sauk Trail Recreation Area in Illinois. The only thing we don't like about it is that the name is too long to say casually. Elliot played his game in Kewanee and then he and his sister Sophie came out to stay with us.

Our favorite campsites are in an area of tall pines planted years ago. The sough of the wind and the sway of the trees is hypnotizing. We had to make a grocery run this morning because we didn't have time to do it before we left. It's probably the most perfect camping weather today I've ever experienced and we have celebrated it this afternoon by doing very little.

We did manage to get in a few games of Chicken Foot. The winner shall remain nameless because he always cheats. Tonight we are going to try a s'mores version of mini marshmallows and chocolate chips and bananas in a waffle cone, wrapped in foil and tossed in the fire. A little research for the new book.

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A Fine Finish

6/9/2014

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...to a fine weekend. This photo was from the Oak-Savannah Trail at Neal Smith Refuge on Friday, but our Verizon hotspot was taking 45 minutes to upload a photo while on the road so I will include it here. On Saturday we managed a pancake breakfast outside before the rain started. What to do next?

For one thing, hop in the truck and journey to Pella. On the way we checked out a large county campground on the north side of Red Rock. Then a check of a junk store and the visitors' center before indulging ourselves at the Jaarsma Bakery for cookies, coffee cake and bread. Still raining, so out to the Tassel Ridge Winery. This is quite an impressive operation.

After a tasting, we took a glass of our favorites out to the new sun room--an excellent place on a rainy day. It includes remote controlled shades on the ceiling for sunny days and a large wood-fired pizza oven.

Back at the ranch--er, campground--the sun finally came out and we watched numerous orioles while we cooked salmon over the fire. We did have company Saturday night--one other camper and some men who were participating in a fishing contest on Sunday. Other than that, we had the place to ourselves.

It was so empty that on my Sunday morning walk, I startled a group of five deer in another loop who gave me a "What are you doing here?" look. It's a great park and will be better when the new shower house is operational in the non-equestrian loops. However, one cost-savings I would argue with. All campers are used to showers on a timer, where you need to keep pressing a button to get water. But when the lights and fan go off automatically while you are dressing---really? There's no windows. You could make them come back on by opening and closing the door twice, but when you're dressing? We never did see Mr. Ed.

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Drums on the Prairie

6/7/2014

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Steelpan drums, that is. The weather cooperated for a fun evening at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. This 5600 acre section of Iowa is the largest prairie restoration in the country. They said they are 24 years into a 150 year plan so I guess it's not a complete restoration yet.

The evening began with a wine tasting and hike along the oak-savannah trail. We could not see any of the buffalo or elk from this trail but it wound through a wonderful grove of old oaks. The wines were primarily from the Cover Bridges Winery in--you guessed it--Madison County.

Then we saw an exhibit of Iowa nature artists in the Learning Center and a supper of pulled pork, coleslaw and desserts was served. Former Congressman Neal Smith, now 94, gave a welcome after which Tropical Steel from the Des Moines area gave a fun performance including their rendition of "The Bison (or Lion) Sleeps Tonight." There's something surreal but awfully fun about listening to steel drum band on the Iowa prairie. The only downside was looking into the setting sun. We skipped the final twilight hike on the Overlook Trail because we spotted the buffalo herd at the top of a hill in the distance, so hopped in the truck and headed for the roundup. The Refuge currently has about 60 bison including 8 calves. This photo was not taken with a telephoto lens. We made a short pause, took a few shots, and somebody said "He's looking at us. Gun it!"

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Signs, Signs, in all the wrong places...

6/6/2014

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, as Mr. Rogers used to say. And the neighborhood is Elk Rock State Park on the south edge of Lake Red Rock. We are the only people in the non-equestrian campground so one would think it would be easy to find one's spot. Not so.

We came down highway 14 and crossed a long bridge over the lake. Almost immediately, we spotted a sign indicating the road to the park on our left. Too late, as we turned, we realized the road was closed and blocked with a gate. Normally this isn't a big deal. But pulling a 30-foot trailer, it is.

Larry and Frannie ran into this dilemma in The Blue Coyote but on a country road where there was no traffic. Besides, I can tell you for certain that it is easier to turn a trailer around on paper than on a busy highway.

As we were scratching our heads, trying to determine the best solution, a DNR pickup pulled up on the other side of the gate. We explained that we were lured down this road by the sign. The DNR guy assured us that there was a correct turn a little farther down the road and that they planned to removed the sign for the faux entrance. Good idea. My thought was maybe they could throw a pillow case over it until that chore was accomplished. Whatever.

However, Mr. School Bus Driver was able to back the trailer up onto the left shoulder, enough to pull back out on the highway with Ken and Harriet watching for traffic and flashing their emergency lights. It is harder to back up a trailer than a bus, but on the other hand there were not 50 screaming kids riding with him--only me and I was pretty quiet.

So we finally found the real entrance and headed into the campground. But although there are a plethora of signs for the entrance, there is a definite shortage in the campground. There are no signs on the loops indicating which sites are where. Part of the reason is construction of a new shower house (not operational yet, by the way) and destruction of the old one (also not operational of course). So the only shower house available is in the equestrian campground a half mile away. We aren't sure yet whether we have to share the shower stalls with Mr. Ed or not.

And in this park, the posts indicating the campsite numbers are placed right on the edge of the next parking pad. I mean, RIGHT ON THE EDGE. So first you'd better realize that when you finally find your site number, it's not the one the post is by but the NEXT one. Then when you back into your site, you have to be VERY careful not to take off the trailer siding or the truck side mirrors on the post for the NEXT site. Crazy.

Our sites were described online as having a 'slight' slope. I think we have a different idea of slight than the DNR. And the lack of much gravel on the parking pads means that level boards tend to sink in the soft ground. We are hoping that after the November election, the governor won't need that surplus as a campaign strategy and restore funding to the parks.

The good news? It wasn't raining and the gnats weren't too bad. Cicadas are another story. But we were shortly ensconced in our lawn chairs and later enjoyed a delightful supper and nice fire. You will also be glad to know that we solved all of the political problems in the country around the fire.

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Ta-Da!

Chalk up Another One!

Glorious!

A Fine Finish

Drums on the Prairie

Signs, Signs, in all the wrong places...

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