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Making New Memories, Reliving the Old

8/19/2020

For several years, we have been coming with a large group to Howell Station campground below the Lake Red Rock Dam near Pella at State Fair time. Several in the group had grandchildren showing animals at the fair and would drive up to Des Moines from here. Last year, this trip was the last time Butch successfully towed the trailer. He even rode his bike a short distance and participated in all of the gatherings. A month later he had started a steady decline of balance, speech, eating, and memory problems resulting from the whole brain radiation treatment he had had in the spring. But we made a lot of wonderful memories here--biking, hiking, campfires, trips to Pella and the Tassel Ridge winery.

So it has been bittersweet to return this year, but all in all, a wonderful trip. First of all, the weather has been fantastic. Chilly mornings, pleasant days with wonderful breezes, and cool nights. There is no state fair this year and we are missing some regular members of our group. But my long time friend Joanie agreed to join me and we make pretty good camping buddies. We agree politically and have similar likes and dislikes. We are both 77 but neither of us has fallen out of bed or tripped on the steps. Our group is still not sharing meals because of the virus, but so far Joanie and I have had pork chop sandwiches with coleslaw and sweet corn, brown sugar chicken and rice salad, and last night shrimp boil packets cooked over the fire. We have done a couple of hikes and of course made the requisite trip into Pella to the quilt shop and the bakery.

We have had a campfire every night beginning with a beautiful sunset. Last night we had a special treat with a concert from Ken on his guitar. I had a rough moment when Ken broke into "Working Man," Butch's favorite song with memories connected to our trip to Ireland ten years ago. But the choice was much appreciated because it seemed to make Butch a part of our campfire circle.

Today is another beautiful day. We will probably do some hiking and biking; maybe play a few games. Tonight, although we have not been sharing food, Vince and Letha will do a fish fry and we will each bring along our own sides. One of the few drawbacks to this campground is very poor internet. I am having trouble adding any more pictures, so I'd beet upload this if I can!

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That Was The Week That Was

8/16/2020

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And we're glad it's over, although the ramifications will be around for a long time. Remember that show from the early 60s? It focused on political and social satire, and although there's still plenty of targets in those areas to provide fodder for such a program, this week Mother Nature would have to take her fair share of hits. Because, besides a heat wave in the southwest and east and wildfires, Iowa and other Midwestern states got clobbered by a derecho (inland hurricane) on Monday. Crops and homes destroyed, trees toppled, and loss of power for almost a half million people across the state--some places for days. The photo above is one of hundreds posted of damage. Those were grain bins.

Unlike a hurricane, this thing had no warning. I was leaving Backbone on Monday morning to come home and checked the forecast. There was mention of "thunderstorms around" in the afternoon so I decided to get going early just to avoid unloading my camper in the rain. I mean, thunderstorms in Iowa in the summer are no big deal, right? I came by Cedar Rapids about an hour before the storm hit. With sustained winds of over 100 miles an hour, I have no illusions of what would have happened if that had hit my camper broadside. The storm was moving at 70 mph and arrived at home less than an hour after I parked.

I got off easy with minor damage and we only lost power for 12 hours. But with estimates of possibly a third of Iowa's crops being lost, and reports of every street in Cedar Rapids sustaining damage--not to mention similar issues in Des Moines, Iowa City, the Quad Cities and almost every small town in between, it is going to be a long time before things are back to any semblance of normal.

So I am reverting into my practiced response to the rest of 2020's dubious gifts--the pandemic, and the loss of my husband, aunt and several good friends. I will run away. This afternoon, several of us will head to Red Rock near Pella for four days. Camping not only offers me the renewing blessings of nature, but people to talk to in a relatively safe environment.

As after each trip, I have completed a couple of repairs/improvements to Agatha. I replaced the bulb in the outside light with a correct one and reglued the strip on the step. I also washed the underside of the awning in preparation for a couple of fixes there. Brother-in-law Ken put a bike rack on the back for me. And my favorite kind of fix: the storage compartment latch that was stuck decided to start working again!

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Learning from the Wilderness

8/9/2020

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Friday with the Glampers: We spent the morning making 'stone leaves using quick-set cement. Mine was not so good but the plus side is that I now know all of the things I did wrong. So not a total loss, right?

After lunch, we went for a 'stream hike'. We donned water shoes and old clothes and drove to the lower part of the park where a trout stream wends its way to the Maquoketa River. Betty and Ann had selected a section that looped around an area with a parking lot so that we didn't have to walk back upstream to get to our cars when we were done. I was very appreciative of this bit of foresight by the end. My shoes were old sandals with rubber soles that would have been fine had they also been designed to keep the sand and rocks out. I have several nicks on my feet from small rocks that got under the straps. But it was a beautiful walk and something I would do again with better shoes.

Supper was a baked potato bar and after the walk and all those carbs, I got a good night's sleep. Saturday morning I opted out of the kayaking and decided instead to do what I thought was a short hike around the campground to the road. It was two miles. Beautiful, but it put me down at the bridge with a very challenging climb back up the hill. By that time, a two and a half hour nap was in order to be ready for an amazing potluck supper. Afterwards, of course, a campfire and the glow of Sandy's chandelier.

Daryl, one of our 'manpers', taught me something else. My outside light has not worked since the second trip. I took the bulb in to get a new one so that would get the right one, right? However, it didn't work. Daryl checked it out and I found out that there are single contact bulbs and double contact bulbs. Mine was a single and I had bought doubles. So I will remedy that. This morning a sudden rainstorm cancelled other plans. Most of our group as well as the rest of the campground began the flurry of dismantling and packing up. Shortly after noon, a real downpour decided to hurry the process. I will spend a quiet afternoon and evening with some reading, writing, and a little TV. Tomorrow, back to the real world.

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Everybody Needs a Backbone

8/7/2020

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The Midwest Glampers July event is being held at Backbone State Park which is celebrating it's 100th birthday this year. The area's unique geologic features makes it obvious why it was chosen as Iowa's first state park. I arrived Wednesday when the only other Glampers here were the 'Traveling Teardrop Sisters' from Des Moines, Betty and Ann. However the campground was pretty full--unusual for mid-week except for the year of the Covid. We spent a quiet evening Wednesday and opted for an early night.

Yesterday morning I did some writing and hiked the Lake Trail. The trail has a lot of ups and downs but for the most part is hard packed. For the few slopes with roots or loose gravel, I was glad I had my trusty walking stick.

During the afternoon, the other Glampers arrived. For supper I shared a crockpot of beef stroganoff with Sandy and Shelly. Sandy got an upsetting text from her daughter that her 23-year-old granddaughter, who has Covid, was being rushed to the ER with low oxygen. She was much relieved later to receive word that the granddaughter was sent back home as her symptoms had improved. Scary times.

We finished off the evening with a campfire at Jackie and Harry's site. Jackie even provide marshmallows with chocolate inside (!) for roasting. And we were treated with a shooting star. This morning Sandy will direct a craft activity making stone leaves and this afternoon we will do a 'stream walk' in one of the trout streams in the lower park. Supper will be a baked potato bar.

As I said, the campground is quite full, and I have enjoyed watching families playing games, throwing a football, and heading out with fishing poles.

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Making New Memories, Reliving the Old

That Was The Week That Was

Learning from the Wilderness

Everybody Needs a Backbone

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