October 6, 2014. Villages of Van Buren County, Iowa

CAMPGROUND:  2nd night at Lacey-Keosagua State Park

LOCATION:  Far SE corner of Iowa

WEATHER:  Beautiful, sunny fall day. Highs in 60s

We took a 3-mile hike around the state park, circling the lake.  Then, we drove into Keosagua for lunch, and to start our tour of the Villages of Van Buren County.  The county is sparsely populated, and the towns are all quite small.  We visited historic Bentonport and Bonaparte along the Des Moines River.  There are lots of antique shops and historic old inns.  There is a Fall Scenic Drive Festival this weekend here, and I'm sure the towns will liven up for that.  We are glad to be here without the crowds.

Then on to Cantrill, where there is a large bulk grocery/ general store run by Mennonites. Their pumpkins, squash,  and mums were beautiful.

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We bought some vegetables and farm-fresh eggs.

 On to Milton, which has a creamery.  We bought some cheddar cheese and some cheese curds, made from milk from nearby Amish farms.

On our way back to the campground, we passed by Amish farms, all so tidy with their buggies parked in their barns.  We passed a teenage boy in his summer buggy (no top).

George made a good campfire.  Previous campers left their wood, so we have plenty to burn.

DINNER:  Home-made pork 'n beans from some dried pintos I had on hand.  Used some of the leftover pork we grilled the other night.  We baked  a butternut squash that we bought today at the Mennonite store.....halved it, took out the seeds, dotted each half with butter, sprinkled on salt and pepper, wrapped the halves in aluminum foil, and cooked on the fire.  Yummy!  Flavors of fall.