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Up in the Air...NOT!

8/24/2013

In an extremely unusual twist, yesterday went as planned. We did go on on a bike ride and we did do laundry! Check. Check.

The High Trestle Trail from Madrid to the bridge stretches through some shady areas with deep ravines on either side and some open country. At each end of the bridge are two forty foot towers that, according to the plaque, "speak to the cutting and slicing from natural forces that formed this river valley." In front of the tower, you see my adorable bike with its wicker basket. The pinwheel fastened to the front of the basket isn't very visible in this picture. Some 'serious' bikers in head-to-toe matching spandex, gloves, shoes, etc. look at it rather askance, but what do they know?

I can't speak to what the country is like beyond the bridge since there is no way in hell I am crossing it. It is a half mile long and at the center you are thirteen stories above the river. You are, because I'm certainly not. I can admire the wonderful sculptures framing the bridge just fine from one end. Here Butch and Harriet return from crossing.

After a pose with my lucky husband, we returned to Madrid, made a short visit to the Flattire Lounge, and headed back to camp. Ken and Harriet left on their BBQing adventure--cooking all night with a team, minding the smoker, planning the presentation of succulent bits of pork, chicken, and beef, surrounded by glowing fires and murmurs of secret recipes, and we headed for the local laundromat. I will just say that laundromats are the same everywhere.

Some interesting folks camping here-besides us, I mean. Two sisters are across from us in a 13-foot Scamp, one from Kansas and one from Wisconsin, meeting in the middle for a little quality sister time. At the other extreme, RV-wise, there is a motorhome here that is so big, it has three air conditioners on the roof. I think it creates its own ecosystem.

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Positively Positive

8/23/2013

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I just saw that the forecasted high for today is 87. Those who know me are aware that I am not a hot weather person and this is about twenty degrees above my preferred temps. However before I whined too loudly, I looked at the extended forecast and saw that by Tuesday it's supposed to be 97! So instead of thinking wistfully of the 70s from a week ago, I have made up my mind to remember all day that it is 10 degrees cooler than it will be in a few days.

Yesterday was moving day. We left Walnut Woods after three relaxing days there and headed to Ledges. One of our favorite things at Walnut Woods is the bird viewing area and made several visits. At left is one of the downy woodpeckers who frequently had lunch there.

On the trip to Ledges, we made a grocery stop and on the advice of Lee Wolf, also drove through Jester Park. Jester is a very large, well-developed county park on the Saylorville Reservoir. The sites looked great and there is lots to do so we will put it on our list of places to go. The fact that it surrounds a golf course I'm sure was not a factor in Butch and Ken's enthusiasm.

Ledges was filling up already when we got here--a last camping weekend before school? Is it possible that any school district in Iowa has shown enough sense not to have started school yet? I doubt it.

Anyway, it was a great evening with a nice fire and a glimpse of the International Space Station. Today will hopefully include a bike ride on the High Trestle Trail near Madrid and maybe even a laundry run. Ken and Harriet will not be judging at the Nevada contest tomorrow; they will actually be cooking with a team. This is one of the requirements of the Kansas City Barbecue Society to become a Master Judge. Since the cooking process actually starts tonight, we will be left to blunder along on our own.

And tomorrow, I will be doing a book signing from 11-1 at The Book Shoppe at 817 Story Street in Boone. Isn't that a great address for a book store? Anyway, the signing seems appropriate since Ledges is the basis of Bluffs State Park in The Blue Coyote. And tomorrow night oldest granddaughter Brooke, also known as the Princess of Quite a Lot, and her fiance Nick will join us for supper.

One last photo from Walnut Woods above. A dead branch on a gnarled old oak that I thought looked like a Chinese dragon and Harriet thought looked like a deer. Whatever, it certainly was interesting.

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There is No Hump Day...

8/21/2013

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...in a campground. Sorry, working folks. I am sitting outside at 7 am, listening to a woodpecker and watching a small hummingbird flitting along our string of lights that look like old fashioned red lanterns. I know he is wondering what idiot would use lights that resemble feeders.

Walnut Woods is a small delightful park on the south edge of Des Moines that contains the largest stand of native walnut trees left in the world, as well as some wonderful old oaks. They also have an excellent bird-viewing area where you can watch a huge variety of birds at work on the feeders pictured through a slit in a small building.

Last night we had a great visit with former high school classmate, Lee Wolf, and his wife. We apologize to Lee on behalf of the squirrel who spent the evening raining pieces of acorn down on him from the oak tree above.

We did finally get to see one of the covered bridges in Madison County before we headed up here on Monday. This is probably the most famous of the six surviving bridges, the Roseman, and the structure inside really is amazing.

I am getting a little writing done and the first draft of Frannie's third adventure, Peete and Repeat, is nearing completion. I can't wait to see how it ends.

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It's BBQ, Baby

8/19/2013

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So yesterday, Ken and Harriet judged a barbecue contest in Winterset. Contestants prepared their offerings along one side of the lovely town square. We did our own awards: Best team name: Burnt Reynolds, with 2Shay a close second. Cutest smoker: pictured. Notice the cowcatcher and wheels on the smokestack end.

Since it was Sunday, most of the retail establishments were closed. One that wasn't was the old-fashioned Ben Franklin that seems to take up a third of one block. We spent 45 minutes wandering the aisles, purchasing socks and red licorice. They have a great fabric department, a wide selection of toys, and an assortment of Madison County memorabilia. Back at the campground, supper consisted of great leftover BBQ, sweet corn and a crisp salad.

The day before, we were fascinated with the number of shagbark hickory trees on one of the trails here in Pammel Park. It is also scary to note the number of ash trees providing the wonderful shade on our campsites that are probably doomed in the near future.

Still haven't visited one of the covered bridges, so that is on our agenda this morning after breakfast. Then we will take off for Walnut Woods on the south side of Des Moines. The weather has been so perfect, I am ignoring the hot, muggy forecast for the middle of the week.

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Pooping in a New Place

8/18/2013

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Yes, a little crude, and fortunately Aunt Rosamond won't be reading my blog. But last weekend at Galena, Harriet overheard a mother ask two little girls, "What's the best thing so far today?" and one said "Pooping in a new place." Sometimes it doesn't take much to make a place special.

I mentioned yesterday that we are at Pammel Park, near Winterset in Madison County. I can't say enough about the efforts of hosts Larry and Laura Silverthorne and Connie and Jeff Manny to make camping here special. Yesterday at 2:30, a honking bicycle horn sounded and Larry stood by the road handing out ice cream bars to campers. The last night, they had movie time. Laura, a teacher, had snagged an old screen that the school was

selling and they have rigged up a way to hang it from one of the slide-outs on their fifth-wheel. A small projector connected to a lap top and speakers completes the setup. At 8:00 last night, approximately twenty kids and fourteen adults were sprawled on blankets and in lawn chairs, ready to watch an animated feature, "Flushed Away." Lots of bathroom humor in today's blog. They even enjoyed fresh popcorn in red-and-white striped bags. Thank you, Silverthornes!

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The Fridges of Madison County

8/17/2013

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Okay, I admit, pretty weak, but it is a literary allusion that is appropriate for our location. The missing pillow turned up while I was cleaning the camper and meal planning seemed to come together pretty well in between several meetings this week. Still, as we pulled out yesterday, I had that nagging feeling I was forgetting something important. By the time we stopped for lunch, I knew. All of the breakfast makings and the lunch makings. I was concentrating so much on our suppers that the eggs, bacon, lunch meat, etc. are all still in the refrigerator at home. Of course, all items are easily replaceable from the nearest grocery store fridges, but meanwhile good food sits at home getting older. Sigh.

This is our second visit to Pammel Park. It has the unusual status of being a state park that is administered by Madison County. The campground is great and the sites are nice and level. Hosts Laura and Larry have become friends since our visit last year. Along with Conny and Jeff, the other hosts, they alternate months keeping this place looking spiffy. Last night the temperature dropped just enough by supper time to make the soup I fixed hit the spot.

We are near Winterset and will probably check out local sites today as well as possibly another attempt to find some of the famed covered bridges. Last year, in early spring, flooding had caused enough closed roads to convince us to give up after driving many miles one afternoon. So we will be looking for bridges and fridges.

Cereal and toast for breakfast this morning, a little exploring, plus some nap scheduling.

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Reload and Relaunch

8/12/2013

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As the washer spins and the dryer grumbles away, we puzzle the presence of silver and pink tennies and a black swimsuit and the absence of a good down pillow. We have polished off most of the leftovers from the weekend. Time to make a list of the staples that need replacing and think toward adults-only menus.

The Cousins Camp went well. They all enjoyed the amenities offered at the campground and we will seriously consider going there again, as long as we can get the same spacious spots we had this time. The only drawback were some people across the road who thought that the road was their private parking lot and that everyone surely wanted to admire their four children and three dogs at 6:15 in the morning. Fodder for the next book.

I had forgotten that playing miniature golf is a lot like playing golf while standing on a mattress.

Our next venture, another long one, starts this Friday and will include Pammel Park near Winterset, Walnut Woods on the edge of Des Moines, and Ledges near Boone. I will be doing a book signing at The Book Shoppe in Boone on August 24 from 11-1, so come in if you are in the ar

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Pell-Mell

8/10/2013

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In the last day and a half, they have thrown themselves off diving boards, circled the campground on rocket-propelled bikes, and hurtled down 2000 feet of Alpine slide at Chestnut Mountain. They have bounced golf balls back and forth across miniature golf greens and fallen in miniature creeks retrieving them. They have invented stupid games involving glow-sticks and rejected the perfectly reasonable ones I showed them. Had we told them at the pool: "You must play in the wading pool and can't go in the big pool," they would have hollered bloody murder.

But they have slept well and eaten constantly. The goulash the first night was a huge hit. After a breakfast yesterday of pancakes, bacon, and eggs mid-morning, we let them go to the nearby Culver's for ice cream for lunch. It's okay; their parents can straighten them out when they get them back.

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WooHoo!

8/9/2013

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Bats and Bones has been selected by IndieBRAG, LLC as a B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree! This is a very exciting boost for Frannie, her friends, and her creator. IndieBRAG is one of the best known websites reviewing and promoting the work of independently published authors. Check out their website for Bats and Bones and other indie books that have been so recognized. http://www.bragmedallion.com/

Independently published authors often have a difficult time getting credible reviews and several independent sites, including IndieBrag, have built up a reputation for screening indie works for editing and writing quality. Thank you, IndieBRAG!

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It's All Math...

8/8/2013

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A couple of weeks ago, I was preparing food and supplies for the 2 of us to camp for 9 days. This week, I have been readying for 'Cousins Camp.' We leave today and will be back Sunday, so I keep wondering why it doesn't seem a lot simpler. It must be because it will be 6 of us for 3 days so it still multiplies out to 18, right? That's my theory anyway, and I'm stickin' to it.

My cousin George and I in our adorable years.

Having spent my early years a long, long time ago in a town far, far away, where ALL of my cousins--14 on one side, 11 on the other--lived within 20 miles of us, I have a special fondness for the bonds that can develop in these really rather serendipity relationships. The saying is that you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives. Maybe we learn more about getting along with people when we don't have any choice in the matter. And if you do have a cousin who is also a friend, especially the same age and gender, you are doubly blessed.

Cousins Camp, 2012, at Backbone State Park

But our children and grandchildren have been much more spread out geographically from the beginning and rarely get to see each other. There's also sizable gaps in the ages of the first four. But the last four are much closer--three of them 10 months apart. So after I retired, I determined to get them together at least once a summer. And Cousins Camp 2013 starts today. Jack, 12, flew in yesterday from Texas. Grandpa is on his way to pick up Sophie, 12, and Elliot, 9 from Illinois. Steven, 13, will be in this morning from his home nearby.

We will be heading to a private campground near Galena, Illinois. There is a pool, miniature golf, and horseshoes, so there will be a few more things for the kids to do. Jack is a bit of a Civil War buff and we will take in the historical sites in Galena. There is even a geocache right in the campground. We have also printed the schedule for sightings of the International Space Station. We picked up water balloon slingshots, another water balloon toy, and diving sticks. We are stocked up on glowsticks, flashlights, and headlamps.

And what's on the menu? Goulash, chicken, hot dogs, sweet corn, cupcakes, mac and cheese--not our usual gourmet level, but appropriate for the clientele. We will not starve. Even better, the weather forecast is scarily perfect--and with the Iowa State Fair going on too! Stay tuned.

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