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Lost at Ledges

9/23/2015

Yesterday we hiked more of the trails here at Ledges. The first went pretty much straight up to Table Rock, a flat sandstone overlook, and then on up to the Council Ring. I backed off on the last flight of slippery-looking, tilted stone steps and let Letha take the honors. Next we took the much flatter hike to Lost Lake. Except of course, it isn't really lost because it's on the park maps. Go figure.

This is such a beautiful park, that it's a shame that budget cuts have made maintenance very spotty. Signage is missing or incomplete and one of the shower houses is definitely a D-. The other barely squeaks by with a C. The natural scenery keeps it as one of Iowa's most popular sites, but it would be nice if the amenities were maintained.

We all kicked back for the afternoon. Later, Letha and I walked the trail to the walk-in tent sites--some of which are a half-mile back in the woods. I have to hand it to those tenters. We returned to find our church choir director and her daughter had stopped for a visit. They had been hiking in the park and decided to check out the campground. The daughter recognized our trailer from my Facebook page! After a nice visit, Letha made homemade pizza and Vince cooked it on his grill under the awning as the rain moved in. The pizza was delicious. A rainbow finished the day and we retired to prepare for our trip home today.

The trailer will be going in next week for a little maintenance and then we will be planning and stocking up for our trip southeast in October.

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Crow's Nests and Butterfly Houses

9/22/2015

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Yesterday we walked a lot. In the morning, we hiked the trail here at Ledges to the Crow's Nest, a high point with a somewhat limited view due to the trees, Actually the trail is more steps than trail but this park has some stunning sites.

In the afternoon, we visited Rieman Gardens in Ames. We were especially fascinated with the butterfly house--over 800 butterflies of 250 varieties. There are other specialized gardens as well. The only disappointment was the InTREEging TREEhouse display. Apparently, in spite of Iowa States horticultural and architectural notoriety, they are unaware of where treehouses should be. I would be curious to see what kind of tree they would put the one pictured below.

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Returning to the Scene of the Crime

9/21/2015

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One of them, anyway. After a whirlwind weekend that cut short our stay at Red Rock, we returned to Howell Station on Sunday and hooked up the trailer to head north to Ledges State Park, the site of the The Blue Coyote. Saturday found us leaving the trailer and friends to return home and meet my cousin Georgiann and husband Mike from Idaho for a visit and evening at the Iowa-Pittsburgh game. George and I lived close together our first ten years and were more like sisters than cousins. Now we don't get to see each other often but she still reminds me frequently that she is younger (by six weeks). Mike, a graduate of the UI medical school, is still a diehard Hawkeye fan. Perfect football weather and a cliff-hanger ending seemed specially designed to welcome him back.

The great weather continued on Sunday as we drove through central Iowa. It is a favorite time of the year for me as the beans turn golden yellow and the corn crisps up, ready for harvest. All of the way here, the scenery looked like a Grant Wood painting. Except for the convenience stores.

Our granddaughter Brooke and husband Nick joined us for supper, along with their 'children,' Taco and OJ, both miniature dachshunds. I have decided that adult grandchildren are a special gift. It is so rewarding to get to spend time with them and know them as responsible caring members of society.

We have been in these same sites several times. They are a challenge to back into but are very secluded and peaceful. We plan to visit Reiman Gardens in Ames and hike as many of the trails here in one of Iowa's finest parks.

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Dutch Ovens, Dutch Towns

9/18/2015

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It has been a real techno-trial to even get into this website this morning, let alone get a blog posted. We seem to be very good at finding Verizon's black holes. Most of yesterday it was a teeth-grinding experience to even pull up the weather. And that would have been convenient considering the forecast earlier mentioned 'severe' and 'high winds' and other not so comforting phrases. We did go into Pella in the morning after a deluge and found a nice coffee shop with wi-fi and excellent salads. We then looked around a nearby courtyard and then hit the grocery store.

Two other couples who are part of this outing arrived in the afternoon and we decided to have supper planned and ready to go for all of us. Letha did her famous meatloaf in the Dutch oven (appropriate for Pella) and I did scalloped corn in mine as well as herbed potatoes. The ultimate camping comfort meal. We polished this all off with apple bread pudding, brownies, and ice cream. Good thing Letha and I got a long walk in early in the morning.

We sat around for a little while bemoaning the bugs, the loss of the breeze, and the distant lightning and finally gave it up. This morning is much cooler but more promise of rain. Fortunately, there's a number of inside attractions. Like the bakery.

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Rockin' at Red Rock

9/16/2015

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One of the very minor downsides of camping is TV reception. I say minor, because in my opinion, the more channels we have, the less there is worth watching. Anyway, we are at a great campground on Lake Red Rock called Howell Station. We get exactly one channel. And last night, after we came in from a good dinner, great campfire and beautiful evening, the only thing on was one of those screaming shows. You know: the audience screams, the contestants scream, and the bobble-head emcee laughs a lot at his own jokes. And occasionally screams. I went to bed.

Our camping buddies will join us today but a lot of the campsites are occupied. You have to wonder if anybody works any more. As I said, this is a very nice campground below the dam at Red Rock with five small, but well-equipped and clean, shower houses. There is also a bike trail that goes both directions from the campground. Nearby Pella has, among other things, a top-notch bakery and quilt shop.

Our site is very spacious and behind us is a beautiful sycamore with five trunks. We are not far from the river or the shower house. We were also not responsible for choosing the sites so we're glad we have friends with good judgement. One oddity that is a little disconcerting: there is apparently a gang of recumbent bike riders camping here. Everywhere you turn, they are sneaking silently by. I haven't seen any chains or leather jackets yet but I'm keeping my eyes open.

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Celebrating Work

9/7/2015

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I think Labor Day has come to have so many secondary meanings for us: the start of school, the end of summer, one more picnic and barbecue, a three-day weekend. But of course, it's original intention was to recognize the efforts put forth by this country's work force. And although laws have improved working conditions greatly for the majority of employees, there still are many companies taking advantage of their employees in various ways. And lots of people are working today: those in the safety and protection fields, those helping others celebrating the holidays (food service, health services, vacation spots, convenience stores, and of course, park rangers.) I thank you all.

Yesterday was a hot day and we did a lot of sittin' around. I tried an early walk around the other campground loop, hoping the hills would be a little less treacherous but was disappointed. And winded. In the afternoon, Letha got the Grandmother of the Year Award by taking 11 kids from about 4 to 16 into the Coralville pool. (The beach at the lake here is closed because of algae and ecoli.) But supper was one of those that starts with "We have meat to grill and I'll put potatoes in the crockpot." "Okay, I've got green beans" and ends up with coleslaw, beets, muffins, and apple crisp also.

After a couple of games of dominos, the forecast for possible severe storms encouraged us to take down the canopy and put some things away. It did rain in the night but didn't blow us away. Happy Labor Day!

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Red Hot Mama

9/6/2015

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We debated. When Ottaways suggested earlier in the week that we camp this weekend, we looked at the forecast. 90s and humid. We said "Who wants to go camping just to sit inside in the air conditioning?" We also said, " If we're sitting inside, we could just as well be camping." The deciding factor for me was that if I'm home, I feel like I shouldn't sit--I should clean or something.

So Thursday we brought our 'baby tent' out to Kent Park, perched it in the spot next to Ottaways and paid our money. Then home to finish cleaning the camper from the last trip, restock, and pack. Forgot a few things--to refill the drinking water jugs, for example--but managed to get back out here Friday morning and replace the tent with the trailer.

We did have other schedules to keep: we met Kate and her boys for supper Friday night to celebrate Ty's birthday while Ottaways went to their grandson's football game. But because we're camping, we have spent more time outside than we would have if we were home. With the opening football game going on in nearby Iowa City, the campground is especially festive.

It is warm. Very. And I don't like warm. But I did manage a walk on the very hilly campground road yesterday morning. An old window fan from home helps the air circulate around our lawn chairs when Mother Nature falls down on the the job. And it is a beautiful county park. I do wish Johnson County would take a page from Muscatine County's book and put in a shower house big enough to serve 86 campsites with paper towels or air dryers and more than two showers.

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Lost at Ledges

Crow's Nests and Butterfly Houses

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Dutch Ovens, Dutch Towns

Rockin' at Red Rock

Celebrating Work

Red Hot Mama

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