Before leaving for Iowa, we spent one incredibly hot afternoon in Shipshewana (or Shopshewanna, as my friend says). As many times as we have been to this area, we've never made it to the huge flea market. We finally remedied that, but with record high temperatures, we didn't walk the whole thing. After all, we don’t buy much anyway.
We took two days to drive across Indiana and Illinois, into Iowa. This is the view we were greeted with when we arrived:
Acres and acres….and acres….of corn fields. Mile after mile. Of course, there were some acres of soybeans in there too, but farming is clearly the main business in Iowa. I searched the internet looking for something to stop and see that wouldn't be too far out of our way as we crossed the state. I found “The Kellogg Museum” nearby and thought it would be pretty cool to see where Corn Pops are made. But when I looked further, I realized that this Kellogg had nothing to do with the cereal. Oh well. We skipped the museum.
We decided to spend a couple of nights at the Core of Engineers Park on Lake Red Rock, near the small town of Pella.
Our interest in Pella was a sports bar-the Sports Page- that was showing the Patriots football game on Thursday night. We used it as an excuse to go out for dinner, and watch the football game. Dinner was actually really good, but we were the only customers left by the time half time arrived. We left a little while before the end of the game and listened to the last bit on the truck radio on the way home.
The next day we took off on the nearby bike trail. We had a pleasant 12 mile ride, and saw a fair amount of wildlife along the way. At least the weather has cooled off and it was only in the mid 70s.
This deer is barely visible in the picture, but he carefully watched us as we stopped to take his picture. Before I could get a clear shot, he decided he’d had enough and took off.
Along the shores of the lake we saw pelicans, great blue Herons, and a young bald eagle.
And, last but not least, the Monarch butterfly migrates through this area on the way to Mexico.
One of the things I've really enjoyed since we left Michigan is the price of the RV parks we've been staying in. Paying $35-$55 a night for a spot for the trailer gets pricey after a while. It feels great to pay $12-$20 !!
You're a week too early. There's an apple festival in Pella starting next Thursday.
ReplyDeleteWhere are you headed to?
ReplyDeleteWe will have to get used to paying anything for a site. Our first two weeks will be $450! But it's nearly in the city and we have to do it in order to do what we have to do.
ReplyDeleteLove the COE parks and the price is right. This is the site we do our research and scheduling with. You probably are already using it but if not here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reserveamerica.com/
Looks like a nice stop. Your view of Iowa is much better than the one we got last year when everything was dry and brown.
ReplyDeleteSue - just wanted you to know that the docent at the Sacajawea Center pronounces the way we always learned - with the jewa sound. She said that is the common pronunciation there in the valley where she was born.
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