Return to Iowa (temporarily)!

May 31-June 5, 2020

Prior Lake was a fantastic place to establish ourselves as “full timers” in our fifth wheel, but our intentions were to travel, so we decided it was time to leave Prior Lake. It’s been so wonderful having Lauren and Adam close to us. I’m going to miss being able to see Emma and Eli frequently.

Before heading off to new territory, we wanted to spend some quality time with Maggie and Luke. We camped at Jester County Park near Granger, Iowa. We arrived to find another camper set up in our site. They hadn’t realized that it was reserved (never mind the neon orange “reserved” post on the site)!  It didn’t take them long to pull things together and move to another spot.

We stayed in site 117.  It offered 50 amp electricity as the only service, so we filled our water tank on the way into the campsite.  It was a lovely site at the end of the loop.  It was fairly secluded with the woods to the west and north sides of the site.  The woods blocked the heat of the late afternoon sun.  The north side had a nice open area that Frankie enjoyed playing frisbee in!  A bonus was a short hiking trailhead on the north edge of the woods!

Site 117 at Jester Park

Maggie and Luke (who live in West Des Moines) joined us for dinner and a campfire. They brought a delicious apple pie their 97-year-old neighbor had made!  I hope if I make it to that age, I have the energy to make homemade apple pies!  The evening was busy as Luke purchased the Hyundai Azera from us, so we had a little paperwork to do in making the sale official.  Hard to believe we are still selling things!





During our stay in the DM area, Maggie and I spent some time choosing fabrics for the baby’s crib quilt. I’m looking forward to pulling out my sewing machine again!  It’s been a few years since I’ve made a baby quilt!  A highlight of our stay was when Maggie called me over to her side.  Maggie is officially halfway through her pregnancy with our newest granddaughter.  Baby was being active and I was able to feel the tiniest little movements of the sweet Bumpkin!  A moment I'll never forget!

Maggie and Luke had us over for dinner several times during our stay.  Luke has a smoker and he certainly has mastered the art of using it!  In addition to grilling dinners, Luke smoked some jerky for us. It's honestly the best jerky I've ever had!  We thought we had the camper fairly well organized from our stay at Prior Lake; however, the storage of a collapsable ladder was still left to figure out.  Dick was talking to Luke about various storage options and before we knew it, Luke had pulled out some plywood and other wood and had made a shelf to fit in the RV's "garage".  Problem solved!  Frankie had a blast playing with Pippin and Rosie during our stay.  Frankie has some serious competition for that frisbee!



Our time flew by way too quickly.  Before we knew it, it was time to leave Jester Park and begin our trek to Salt Lake City.  One more stop with family before we head off to new territories for us.

Up Next:  Salt Lake City!

Comments

  1. SallyJuly 6, 2020 at 5:36 AM

    You were so close to me! Our home is just west of Jester Park! Happy trails to you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Land of Fire and Ice

Image
 Reykjavik! June 6-8, 2025 The Adventure Begins! Our first day of this grand adventure was a crazy combo of never-ending amazement  and never-ending exhaustion! The Beatles’ poetic way of describing such a “Hard Day’s Night” pretty much sums it up!     Sorry if I just started an ear worm! This day started out with a four-hour drive from Waukee, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota where we met up with Lauren, Adam, Emma and Evie before heading to MSP to catch our flight to KEF in Keflavik, Iceland.  Once our bags were checked and we made it through security, it was time to eat the delicious sandwiches Lauren had made and wait to board our 7:58 pm flight!  It was then that the hard day’s night officially began.  Sleeping on a plane has never been something I’m good at, and this flight proved to be no exception!  We landed on time at 6:40 am (1:40 am Iowa time) and hit the road running!   We had arranged a transfer to get from the Keflavik Airpo...
Read more

New England Fall Foliage Tour - Part 2

Image
September 30 - October 12, 2024 Portland, Maine was the official beginning point for our Fall Foliage Tour, as it was the Portland airport that Brad and Kathy flew into.  This trip was planned along with these longtime friends from Cedar Rapids, so I guess it was only fair not to leave them stranded at the airport! We arrived in Portland the day before Brad and Kathy’s scheduled flight, giving us the opportunity to have lunch with Carla and Art.  It’s amazing that Carla and I have not only managed to stay in touch all of these years, but continue to see our friendship grow closer and closer.  Our father’s friendship began in 1946 as fellow sailors on the USS Fresno.  I believe our dads would love that their friendship with each other has continued for the next generation!  Now, how do we get our kids to meet?! At breakfast the next morning, we talked to a couple who told us they had enjoyed a delicious lobster dinner at The Porthole in Old Portland.  That ...
Read more

On to the Ring Road!

Image
Day 4 Having seen the sights along the Golden Circle, it was now time to begin our 6-day trip around the Ring Road!  This island is filled with active volcanoes and some of the largest glaciers in the world, appropriately giving it the title, “Land of Fire and Ice”.  Containing such imposing features, the interior of the island is mostly inaccessible.  The Golden Circle is as close to the interior as we got.  Highway 1 (the Ring Road) follows the perimeter of the island taking you to some really incredible sights along the way.  The southwestern coast of “The 1” was our agenda of the day, as we will be driving the Ring Road counter clockwise.   Seljalandsfoss was our first stop.  Donned with raincoats and rain pants, we boldly began our approach to this stunning waterfall.  The water descends from the glacier Eyjafjallajökull, spills over a cliff and into a pool below.  There is a cave like path behind the waterfall where you have an ama...
Read more