September 1-12, 2018
Our last volunteer week at the Lake Coralville Visitor
Center was Labor Day week which went by quietly, with rain and kids going back
to school there were few guests coming in. Wednesday afternoon we were once
again free to travel. Thursday was spent getting laundry done and packing all
set.
Friday morning we headed out, for the last time, from Sugar
Bottom Recreation Area and headed west to Prairie Flower Recreation Area on
Lake Saylorville in Ankeny IA. After an uneventful 130 mile ride we arrived and
headed to site A14, electric only but we had come with water in our fresh water
tank. After getting set up we took off for a walk, with the temps in the low
70’s and the humidity down it was time to get some steps in. Our walk ended up
taking us by our friends Cindy & Paul’s place, we already had dinner plans
but we stopped in any way since we couldn’t just walk by without saying hi. A
quick visit, dinner plans firmed up and we headed home. Dinner that evening was
at Watcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew where the meal was okay and Dave really
enjoyed the beer but the company was excellent. They gave us a few ideas of
things to do over the next few days.
Saturday we headed into Ankeny to check out their farmers
market, picked up a few treats and of course forgot to get any pictures. We
knew our friends Mark & Nancy wouldn’t be in till late afternoon so after a
walk around the campground (5 miles) we headed out to check out the High Trestle
Bridge Trail that Cindy and Paul had told us about. Iowa has lots of
bike/walking trails and this trail follows the old railroad line. It’s a
beautiful paved trail with a ½ mile bridge over the Des Moines River, with a
mile walk from the parking lot to the bridge we were certainly getting our
steps in.  |
| Site A14 |
By midafternoon Saturday our friends had arrived, dinner
that evening was cooked over the fire, Wannadingers (think biscuits on a stick)
made buns for brats and hot dogs.
 |
| Dave was having an issue with his Wannadinger |
 |
| Mark's slightly burnt hot dog |
Sunday morning we got more walking in, we then moved to site
C84 (forgot to get a pic) so we could be across the street from Mark and Nancy. We spent the rest of
the day hanging around camp. About 7pm we headed back to the High Trestle
Bridge Trail to see the bridge lit up at night.
Monday we spent once again around camp visiting and walking.
That evening Cindy & Paul joined us all for a steak dinner followed by a
fire. A great way to end our stay at Saylorville Lake. We won’t see Cindy and
Paul for at least a year L,
we’ve got plans in the works to see Mark & Nancy when we get back into the
states after our time in Canada next summer.
Tuesday morning we were on the road about 9am for our 60
mile ride to Howell Station Recreation Area on Lake Red Rock. We didn’t like
the site we’d reserved so moved to site 149 where we can get satellite tv,
Verizon signal isn’t very strong but enough to do a little web surfing. We took
a ride into Pella the nearby town, it’s home to Pella Windows and Vermeer
Manufacturing.
The town was settled by immigrants from Netherland and has a
rich Dutch history. We took the time Wednesday to tour the Vermeer Mill and
Pella Historical Village.
While walking around town we discovered the Jaarsma
Bakery…oh my, good thing we’re back to walking every day.
Surrounding the campground is the Volksweg Trail which we walked every day. The campground is below the dam so there was plenty of wildlife to see.
Off to MO, time to catch up with Curt & Glenda of Camp
Lowry for 3 weeks of fun.
Until next time…
You sure do pick some great places to stay. Love that trestle bridge. Great pictures of it. I agree with Dave's assessment during the day. I'd say you had the wildlife at your last stop. Are the recreation areas all COEs???
ReplyDeleteYes they were all COE's.
DeleteVery cool bridge! Love all the wildlife photo's great job!
ReplyDeletethanks, you know Dave, never without a camera. Next time we want to do some bike riding while in that area.
DeleteLove the pictures of the high trestle bridge. Glad you had a good time with your "other" friends. Haha. Dave is so full of knowledge on the windmills. Now it's our turn for fun.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to check out the bridge sometime, the cache's along it all had DNF's so didn't look for any. Dave is full of something, now it's your turn to deal with it.
DeleteSounds like you enjoyed yourselves in Iowa! Great pics and recap and you picked some great campgrounds. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. We really enjoyed our time in IA, best sweet corn we've ever had.
Delete