Meandering the Country

July 10 - 17, 2020 Our first stop in Wisconsin was at Fireside Campground outside of Lone Rock.  This was a very rural campground in the middle of hilly cheese country!  The rolling green hills comprised a mixture of crop farmland, dairy farmland and forests.  I grew up with farmland surrounding me in Eastern Iowa; however, the rolling hills presented a new look at farmland!  Beautiful! We spent a day hiking and picnicking at Governor Dodge State Park .  We've been here before, only on our past visits it has been to cross country ski!  This provided a different look at some of the same trails we have undoubtably been on before! One of the effects COVID-19 has had on our lives was attending Sunday Mass.  Churches have adapted quickly and have been providing Mass virtually via various social media venues.  Although, this has been amazing, we have really missed not attending mass in person and not being able to receive the Eucharist.  We...

July 3-10, 2020 Frankie had fun with Pippin and Rosie! On our way from South Dakota to Wisconsin, we found ourselves in Iowa once again.  We spent a couple of days in West Des Moines with Maggie and Luke!  They had begun a kitchen remodeling project the week before we came.  Lauren and Adam and the kids came down from Minneapolis to start the demolition and do some of the electrical work the previous weekend.  While Luke did most of the work while we were there, we were able to support the effort with a little painting and drywalling. Always a highlight while visiting is connecting with our granddaughter-in-waiting who we anticipate being able to hold later in October!  She was kicking up a storm the evenings we were there.  I like to believe she was excited to have Nana and Papa visiting! We happened to be in West Des Moines for the 4th of July.  While COVID-19 cancelled all of the fireworks normally displayed, we certainly didn't lack f...

June 25 - 30, 2020 South Dakota has been calling to us since March.  COVID-19 kept us away until now; however, it's time to get to know our new "home" state!  Badlands National Park was directly on our path to Sioux Falls, so we couldn't resist spending a few days taking in its sights. We stayed at Badlands Interior Campground which is located 1-1/2 miles from the southeast entrance to the park.  Our first day of exploring the park happened to be on our 38th wedding anniversary, so we wanted to do something really memorable!  Notch Trail sounded like just the adventure for us!  It is a 1.5-mile moderate to strenuous hike.  After meandering through a canyon, this trail climbs a log ladder and then follows a ledge to the "notch" for a stunning view of the White River Valley.  It was a thrilling hike! Door Trail and Window Trail were at the same access point, so we took in those trails as well.  The day was warming up pretty well, so we ...