October 7, 2014. Following the Mormon Trail

CAMPGROUND:  3rd night Lacey-Kesosagua State Park

LOCATION:  SE corner of Iowa

WEATHER:  Sunny. Warm. Highs around 70

We have enjoyed this campground so much (especially the price) that we decided to stay one more night.  It feels like Camelot here....rains during the night and sunny and mild during the day.

We returned to one of the quaint villages around here, Bonaparte, for lunch. The entire town is on the Historic Register.  The most thriving business is the restaurant, called Bonaparte Retreat.  It is an old grist mill built in 1857.  

It is chock-full of antiques

.....including our 93-year-old waitress.  She was a real character, asking us about our travels.  When George asked if they have dark beer, she said..."I don't know much about booze", and grabbed a young feller waiter to help.  

George had their daily special, baked chicken with a heap of mashed potatoes, corn and homemade bread, all for about $5.  

The prices were really old-fashioned....huge hamburgers for $3.00.  I had a salad with blue cheese.  Our waitress Marie warned me that it would be a "slab" of lettuce.  :-).   It was delicious, with lots of Iowa Maytag blue cheese, also $3.00.

Then, we walked to the cash register to pay.  It is an old National brand, the kind I used when working in my dad's store many years ago.  Marie was there to "grab our money" as she joked.

 We walked along the town's riverfront and peaked into some of the empty buildings, some in stages of restoration.

This town is where Brigham Young led his Mormon followers across the river.  

Back at the campground, we took a hike on one of the park's trails, also one of the Mormon Trails.  

DINNER:  At the Mennonite general store yesterday, we bought a huge bag of banana peppers on close-out for $.69.  George grilled them.  Then I chopped some up, sautéed them with onions and garlic, added cooked rice, cilantro and cumin, then stuffed in the remaining peppers.  Pretty fancy and delicious!