Not us, but the people who built this place. Wapsipinicon State Park, just outside Anamosa, Iowa, has a unique history. It was created when citizens of Anamosa, concerned about logging on this beautiful piece of land, raised money in 1921 to purchase about 180 acres and donate it to the state to create a park. It has about doubled in size since then with interesting trails and caves which we intend to explore today. During the Thirties, when a number of Iowa's parks were being improved by the Civilian Conservation Corps, prisoners from the state penitentiary in Anamosa built the roads, bridges, and shelters at Wapsipinicon.
This was a spur-of-the-moment trip when our camping friends decided to camp here this week because of a granddaughter's softball tournament tomorrow. Although the campground is small, there were plenty of spots available. This is no doubt because the campsites are desperately in need of improvement. Level is not a word used on any of the site descriptions on the state park website. There was much gnashing of teeth yesterday as we tried to achieve that condition with blocks, jacks, etc.--not totally successful. Roger Rabbit was here to greet us and supervise, although I'm sure he was thinking if we were content to dig a burrow in the ground, we wouldn't have to worry about all of that leveling stuff.
The scenery is beautiful and one would hope as the centennial of the park approaches, the legislature would release the funds necessary to improve the campground. The Ranger tells us that there was $30,000 designated last year for such work but it was snatched back before it could be used.
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