Not the kind of lottery that makes a fellow rich in Trump meme bitcoin. On our second try, we won the lottery for a Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Permit. Looks like we may be hiking down to Bright Angel Campground sometime in November.
Time to get our backpacks out this fall and do some training. Julia has never backpacked before.
I’ve blogged about this area of the Mississippi River between Dubuque and Bellevue, Iowa on several previous occasions. We’ve always liked the summer vibe here: breweries, music, farmer’s markets, the slow pace, and the lower cost of living.
We are winding down our multi-day stay in Cedar Rapids. I don’t have any particular fond memories of this city, which is also known as the City of Five Smells: Captain Crunch cereal, cooking oats, ADM/Cargill food processing, the Cedar River, and wastewater treatment.
However, it was a lifelong home for my grandparents and great grandparents. It’s where my dad lived his final days and where my mom has chosen to live for church and friendships.
During our stay, we took a day trip to Mount Vernon to buy my mom some local honey and to walk the campus of Cornell College (the Iowa Cornell). We (Julia and I) also managed a beer at Big Grove Brewery, a lager house. My amber lager was quite good.
We also toured the Czech Slavic museum. My great grandmother was Bohemian and part of the large Czech community that formed in this part of Iowa. The clock tower goes off every hour from dawn until dusk. The characters represent different types of Czech workers/members of society.
There is a lake here, but it isn’t viewable from our campsite. However, the price is right with the 50% Senior Pass discount. We are close to Drs Moines and in a holding pattern to get to Cedar Rapids for an available campsite.
On our first day here, we ventured to a nearby brewery not worth mentioning. It’s never a good sign when the oatmeal stout is translucent.
Cedar Rapids is where my mom lives, so we will be there for several days this coming week.
We did get in our first campfire of the year last night and saw our first fireflies.
Look closely for the flashes.
The drive from Oklahoma into Kansas was mostly on two lane highways and without any breakdowns or unpleasant surprises. We pulled into Hillsdale State Park in the early afternoon and took Callie on a walk around this huge park with multiple campgrounds.
Then we headed into town for some Kansas bbq at Poppa C’s.
On the next morning, there was a beautiful quiet sunrise.
We spent that day relaxing. Julia rented a kayak for a couple of hours.
We picked up supplies at a local grocery store. I’ve never seen an entire aisle dedicated to bbq sauces.
Early the next day, we dumped tanks and were headed to Iowa.
Canton Lake is a Corps of Engineers dam project about ten minutes from the sad little town of Canton, Oklahoma. There’s a Main Street, but most of the businesses are closed, and many of the buildings are falling apart.
We read online that the town has lost about 30 percent of its population in recent years due in part to dwindling economic opportunities. Someone did paint a nice mural.
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| The lake is the attraction |
On the other hand, the COE campground and our lakeside campsite was really nice with full hookups and decent shower facilities for $12.50/night with our Senior Pass.We spent two nights here. By the end of our stay, temps were hitting 100 with added humidity, so it was time to move on.
Not the kind of lottery that makes a fellow rich in Trump meme bitcoin. On our second try, we won the lottery for a Grand Canyon National P...
