I’m not going to lie. Last night was rough. I picked up Allie at
O’Hare in Chicago at about 11p.m., dropped her off in Milwaukee, and
arrived home at about 2 a.m. She was sick and understandably upset about
saying goodbye to her boyfriend for who knows how long after having the
time of her life in the Greek Isles. Once home, I slept for maybe four
hours, off and on.
Then, with the help of a full French press pot of fresh-roasted
Brazilian coffee, I began making my way west. I was originally going to
stay off of the interstate, taking Hwy 60 and then Hwy 18 across
northern Iowa. However, there was extensive flooding along that route,
so I opted for Interstate 90, boring but not flooded. By afternoon, I
was making frequent bathroom stops to balance out all of the coffee
consumed and was singing loudly to myself with the windows open to stay
awake.
We arrived at the Magnolia City Campground at about 4 p.m. It’s a
typical Midwestern small town with no services except for this nice
campground less than a mile from the interstate with full hookups for
$10/night. A café offers breakfast but closes at 2 p.m. There’s a
campground sign that says no discounts are offered because the rates
are already so cheap. I can’t disagree: electricity, water, showers,
dump station, good Internet coverage from T-mobile, and a bunch of free
digital tv stations.
Unfortunately, there’s no grocery store or even a convenience store.
I haven’t really stocked my fridge, so it’s a cold beer and scrambled
eggs and cheese for dinner. The good news is that I’m ahead of schedule
and hopeful that I’ll be in the Badlands tomorrow night.
Elvis is very excited about this trip. Or maybe he’s just ready for supper.
