Tuesday, September 30, 2014

September 29, 2014. Adventures in Iowa

CAMPGROUND:  Lake MacBride State Park.  Very nice Iowa state park.  Electricity, water for pump, dump station, nice bathrooms with good showers, and nice wooded sites.  $16.  5 stars
LOCATION:  Near Iowa City in east central Iowa
WEATHER:  Indian summer-like weather. Highs around 80

When I was growing up in Iowa, our family did not take road trips around the state, except to our favorite lakes for boating.  So, I referred to my book "10,000 Places in the USA and Canada To Go Before You Die" for guidance on our Iowa adventure.

We left Pike's Peak Campground and followed the Great River Road south.  We drove through quaint little  towns like Gutenberg, with its high church steeple, located next to  a lock and dam on the Mississippi.  Feeling a bit like we were in Europe, we passed through Luxembourg and  New Vienna, with its sign proclaiming  it the "eNVy" of a Iowa.  Haha

The farms are huge and appear to be very prosperous.  Huge, new homes in every town and on the farms.  

We passed through Dyersville, home of the movie "Field of Dreams", then to Anamosa, where Grant Wood painted American Gothic.


The picture is in the Art Institite of Chicago, but at least we saw the landscape.

We found this nice state park.  It is on a small lake adjacent to the more popular Coralville Lake.  We took a hike along the lake.  So far, all Iowa state parks have been surprisingly nice.  

DINNER:  I bought some frozen shrimp to cook with leftover grits for a shrimp and grits dinner.  We started with a shrimp cocktail, then salad, then the main course, made with a smoked Gouda cheese.  Good!

No comments:

Post a Comment