Wildcat Den State Park

 The sunrises are worth getting up for at Shady Creek.

Wildcat State Park is less than two miles from Shady Creek COE, and we always make sure to hike the trails here.  When we arrived at about 9 a.m., there was a small wedding taking place.  We backtracked to a different trail so we would not intrude.  

Grist Mill

 

Edmond, Oklahoma

 We got up early this morning; said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 7 a.m.  

We encountered heavy fog in Iowa, along with occasional black ice and temperatures in the mid-teens.  We had decent weather for driving in Missouri, but then had rain changing to snow back and forth through Kansas and Oklahoma. We pulled into a cheap dog-friendly motel in Edmond, Oklahoma, putting in a ten hour, 655 mile day. 

After unloading our gear, we went out for brisket and a local IPA.

Mississippi River: Iowa Nice

From October 2021

During our week at Blackhawk COE, we drove across the river to see whether things looked any different on the Iowa side.  Perhaps it's psychological, but we've always had more fun on the Iowa side than the Wisconsin or Illinois side.  The Iowa towns are well-kept, prices are lower, and people seem friendlier. Wikipedia

On the other side of the river from our campground via Hwy 82 is the town of Lansing, Iowa.  

 

Up a steep road (for Iowa) is Mount Hosmer Park.  It has a nice trail system overlooking the river and was a great place to take Callie for a hike.  Alltrails shows only about a mile, but we found other connecting trails and lookouts.

 

 

 Later we walked around town.

 

We found  a place called Safehouse that had good pizza and craft beer. 

 

Urban Camping

I have camped in Little Rock and Raleigh. So it may be a stretch to describe my campsite in Clinton, Iowa as urban camping. Clinton is a small city of 25,000. But until recently, it boasted a minor league baseball team.

Due to Major League Baseball’s minor league contraction in 2020, Clinton now has a more modest claim to a collegiate summer team.  Why have I posted a photo of their stadium?  Because my campsite backs up to their downtown property.

I will say that Riverview Park is the gem of Clinton, a city which seems to be really struggling. The park included a riverboat theater, pickle ball courts, a swimming pool, and a great walking/biking path.

These are some of the nicest courts that I’ve ever seen. Eight beautiful courts, and no one played during during a weekend.  Too cold or windy, I guess.

Callie and I walked about eight miles up and down this path each day of our stay. Watching the barges work is always a good time.

April Camping: Take Two

 Our early April camping attempt met nasty weather. Last week, Julia started a kitchen cabinet project that drove me out of the house to the safety of the Scamp. The cabinet guy is good at what he does. In fact, he installed the original cabinets in this house thirty years ago. But I didn’t need to be around while the kitchen underwent open heart surgery.

So I fled for Iowa and the Mississippi River. Callie was happy to go too since she would have been staying in a basement crate to keep her out of the way. We decided to stay at Clinton’s waterfront park, which is an urban campground associated with the Clinton marina. 

First come, first serve, I picked a concrete slab furthest from the train tracks and the inoperable bathroom(waiting for parts).  For the inconvenience, camping was only $15/night and included electric, water, picnic table, fire ring and dump station.

Muscatine, Iowa

We have grown to love the little towns of Iowa along the Mississippi River. Muscatine quickly became our favorite. 

This is the town that Mark Twain worked as a young newspaper reporter. 

We camped at another Corps of Engineers campground just north of town.

We spent one day hiking all of the trails at nearby Wildcat Den State Park. No entry fees.

And, of course, there was time for a brewpub. Muscatine has a really good one: Contrary Brewing.

That concludes our Midwest trip through Illinois and Iowa during early May. Our next trip in late May headed weat.

 

Pikes Peak State Park

No, not that Pike’s Peak.  This state park is in Iowa across the Mississippi River from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.  It is located on a high point in Iowa, but not exactly a 14,0000 foot mountain.

What drew me here was the cheap price of camping, compared to a similar high spot on the same river in Wisconsin. There is no admission fee to Pikes Peak, and the camping was only $16/night with electric hookups.  But the amazing thing about my visit to Pikes Peak State Park is that it coincided with a fiberglass camper rally, which I had no idea was happening before I arrived at the campground.

That’s me on the left side, still hooked-up to the truck for a quick getaway to home after a social evening.   Everyone was very nice, especially since I dropped in on their activities without registering beforehand.  Even though the official tours didn’t happen until later, several people showed me their “eggs.”
The biggest egg was this 1988 Bigfoot Silver Cloud, affectionately nicknamed the “egg carton.”

You know it’s still an egg because of the belly band dividing the fiberglass top mold from the fiberglass bottom mold.  “It’s got rooms,” exclaimed the owner.
At the other end of the spectrum were the 13′ footers. The one below is unusual in that  it doesn’t have a belly band.  Made by U-haul (not for many years) the molds run from top to bottom.

Escape Trailers were well-represented, considering they are made and sold in the Vancouver, Canada area.  This was the original trailer that I wanted to buy.  I still like them a lot, but you learn to love (and hate) the trailer you’re with. There were also a bunch of Scamps and a couple of Casitas.

The weather was cold.  I ended up wearing two fleece pullovers and my jacket.  Temps fell into the 30’s, and I let my electric heater run overnight to take the chill off.

Callie and I still had time to check out the trails and views.  We did get a little lost following a ridgeline trail that turned into a steep descent and eventually a game trail.  I think we were supposed to stop at the bluff before heading down. It was slick and steep enough that I had trouble on the way down.  Going back up, I took Callie’s lead and used all four paws (hands and feet).

We were up early the next morning, dumped tanks, and headed home.  I had a great trip, but it will be good to be home for awhile. There’s a bunch of family stuff going on.  Julia’s dad and stepmom are moving into a new, more accessible apartment.  Julia  got a new Subaru and sold her old Subaru to my daughter Allie.  And spring has finally come to Wisconsin.

Amana, Iowa

I stayed at the Amana RV Park and Event Center for two nights for two reasons.  First, it was a convenient base from which to visit my parents in Cedar Rapids.  Second, It was cheap ($18/night) with my Passport America discount card.  However, I probably wouldn’t stay there again.

The campground is a huge, flat Iowa field with many campsites laid out on a grid of gravel roads.  There were some amenities.  I did laundry.  I took advantage of the flush toilets. I took a couple of showers.  There were three showers in the men’s bathroom:  one was out of order, and another only had cold water.  I gave up being politically correct and took a quick, hot shower in the accessible stall on my last day.

I had a nice visit with my parents  We visited the newish Cedar Rapids City Market and also the Czech Museum.  I didn’t know it before, but I’m apparently part Czech on my Dad’s side.

One night, I dined on sauerbrauten at one of Amana’s German restaurants.  It was very flavorful, although it seemed a little mushy to me–just on the wrong side of tender.  Maybe that’s just because of the lengthy marination time.  I had a dunkel beer, which is a dark lager.  It confirmed for me that I like hoppy ales better than mild lagers.

After about a six-week trip, I’m almost home and will camp at Pike’s Peak State Park on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River for my last stop.  Callie and I are both ready to do some hiking, and the state park should have some good trails.

Iowa

I was born in Iowa, but I never really lived there.  My parents brought me home from the hospital and took me to their small trailer in a small trailer park in a small Iowa town.  Within a short period of time, my Dad got into Stanford to get his PhD in secondary education and we moved to Sunnyvale, California.

My parents both grew up in Iowa and met at the University of Iowa.  After retiring, they eventually moved back to Iowa.  I’ll be visiting with them in a couple of days.

When I was in high school, I spent summers in southwest Iowa, working on my uncle’s farm and getting into mischief with my same-age cousin, Tim.  We remain friends.  He’s a social worker-turned-truck-driver-for-the-money.

Tonight, I’m camped in south-east Iowa, a part of the state that I’ve never visited.  There are lakes, woods, hills–pretty much everything I like about Wisconsin.  Callie and I took a couple of loops hiking around the lake.  Then we drove to town where I had some difficulty finding a beer to buy that had any flavor.  Nothing local, but I did find a Deschutes Juicy IPA at the local Hyvee.

I’m having one of my favorite simple meals, prepared in the cast iron skillet:  a thin ribeye, sautéed mushrooms and spinach.

Here’s my campsite at Wilson Lake County Park ($20/night).

I have no plans to ever move to Iowa, but this is a nice, quiet campsite.