Our weekend at Thomson Causeway was deemed a huge success. The only fly in the ointment was about five million mosquitos and gnats. But the weather was good, the food great, and the company stupendous. Glampers came from the Des Moines area, northeast Iowa and Illinois.
Friday, most of the group spent kayaking, biking, and hiking. Thomson has excellent backwater for kayaking and a variety of waterfowl, geese and turtles provide company. There are numerous "Caution: Turtle Crossing" signs on the road into the campground. I hiked the Hidden Slough trail, which loops back on itself in enough places to keep an old lady pretty confused. We finished off the day with an excellent potluck, campfire, and a lot of stories. Some of them might have even been true.
Friday, most of the group spent kayaking, biking, and hiking. Thomson has excellent backwater for kayaking and a variety of waterfowl, geese and turtles provide company. There are numerous "Caution: Turtle Crossing" signs on the road into the campground. I hiked the Hidden Slough trail, which loops back on itself in enough places to keep an old lady pretty confused. We finished off the day with an excellent potluck, campfire, and a lot of stories. Some of them might have even been true.
Saturday, we piled in four vehicles and headed for Clinton. Our mission was finding the four Giant Trolls recently installed there. Our first stop was to see Marvin at the Bickelhaupt Arboretum. He was fairly easy to find, stretched out under a hillside tree.
Next, we headed to Eagle Point Park to find the Hidden Troll. It took some doing. Most helpful were some kids who told us to go to the 'blue playground' where we found a parking lot and trail sign, which led us up and down hills to a twisted sculpture deep in the woods.
The third troll, Helmut, is busy planting a tree near the Sawmill Museum and the fourth, Warren is napping in a building near the old train depot. The trolls were created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, and Warren, Helmut, and Marvin are named for three brothers who lived near Clinton. An amazing display!
By that time, we were in need of sustenance and got to the Candlelight Inn on the river early enough that they could seat 16 people without reservations. The house specialty is Chicken George, which was a popular choice, but several of us enjoyed their seafood entrees, too.
All in all, a great weekend. When I arrived, everything worked on my camper except the propane. I didn't need the furnace and I rarely use the stove since I would rather cook outside, but the fridge switches to propane when I'm traveling. One of our very helpful 'Manpers', Duane, volunteered to check it out. After crawling under the slide to the propane access and finding no problem, he checked the stove and it lit! The lights on the fridge indicated it was working there too. Apparently the air had cleared out of the lines by that time. I love it when something fixes itself!
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