Iowa Lakes Region

February 18, 2025

Ten Degrees and Getting Colder

Cold Sunrise That's just the name of the song written by Gordon Lightfoot. It was actually -13 F when I got up this morning (wind chill -24). Tucson may have pulled back into the lead! There's a lot of weighing pros and cons of Colorado vs Arizona by the wood stove. Not much else to report. I did enjoy a few games of pool and a beer with my brother this week. We don't get together very often, so it's good to try to keep the lines of communication open, especially with my mother celebrating her 86th birthday next month. He lives in Milwaukee and just started semi-retirement. Our opposing politics and lifestyles keep things very casual and surface-level. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's important to find common ground. He and his wife have started going to concerts and recently saw the Steve Miller Band. Music is one of our common interests.

From June 2021

I spent significant parts of my youth in southwest Iowa, working on my uncle's farm and getting in and out of trouble with my same-age cousin, Tim. I remember others talking about the Spirit Lake area of northwestern Iowa, but never visited there until last year on the way home from our Colorado trip.

Technically, we found our campground in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. Robertson Park, a small county park, was just across the Iowa border. Our campsite was on the water and equipped with electric, dump station, and shower for $20/night.

There are small and big lakes dotting the landscape all over this part of Iowa. Spirit Lake, Iowa is the town in the middle of it all. There were brewpubs, Tiki bars, and restaurants. Most had large outdoor spaces--always a nice thing during the pandemic.