Adventure – Page 2 – Asbery's Echoes

Rainy Weekend Fun

Our Labor Day camping weekend sure flew by. We camped in Cascade, Iowa this year – a first for all of us. We had a rainy, hot, humid, buggy, sometimes cool, fun weekend!

We were the first ones there Friday. We got set up, Drew played with his legos then he and I went to bed. Joe stayed up and helped the others when they pulled in.

On Saturdy we explored the campground and just relaxed. Drew found a toad to play with which kept him entertained most of the afternoon and it was great to have Matt and Whitney visit in the evening. There was no tubing down the river. We woke up to rain and it rained most of the morning – too much rain means lots of muddy water!

Sunday was sight seeing day. We started out in Dyersville visiting the Field of Dreams. We didn’t stay long – it turned hot and humid and then it started to rain. So off to Dubuque we went.

First we went to Crystl Lake Cave. It worked out great – it stormed while we were touring the cave! They had had so much rain that we didn’t get to exit the cave by the usual route due to it being too wet – we actually had to backtrack and exit the same way we came in.

Next was Fenelon Place Elevator. Lots of giggles and laughs on this ride! We got off at the bottom – took an ice cream break and rode back up to the top. Joe and I had done this before, a couple of times, so we knew what to expect but it was fun to enjoy it through everyone else’s eyes. It’s a little scary the first time you’re on it – and even the third if you think about what would happen if a cable would break! We had also been to the Field of Dreams and the cave before but it was fun to see everything through other’s eyes!

Not sure why this poor guy was hanging off of this tire but he sure gave us a good laugh!

Supper was pizza at the Shot Tower – deliciously yummy pizza! Then back to the campground, a little time around the fire and before we knew it the weekend was over. We got up to rain, packed up in the rain, came home to sunny skies but 4 1/2 inches in the rain gauge, and a soggy chicken coop. Another fun Labor Day camping trip here and gone!

All Aboard!

Sunday saw us up early and on the road to Brooklyn. We didn’t tell Drew where we were going so we could surprise him. He and my dad love all things trains and Drew has been wanting to ride a train. Mom happened to see an advertisement for a strain ride in Brooklyn and we all decided to surprise Drew. It was so much fun! Joe and I had never ridden a train either so we were looking forward to the day.

It was not a long ride – just 45 minutes total which was just the perfect amount of time. The ride was set up as a fund raiser for the fire department and was the last trip this old steam engine was going to make before being retired and set up in Newton at the museum there. It was just neat to get to experience a steam engine – the black rolling smoke, soot and coal dust, the sounds of the whistle, the windows were down and we rode in authentic 1920’s railroad cars. The conductors were dressed up and they came through and punched our tickets. It was easy to imagine what it would have been like to travel by steam engine way back when!

I’m glad Mom ran across this opportunity and that we decided to go. Drew had so much fun and it was an experience we will always treasure.

Roberts Creek Park West – 2018

Roberts Creek – one of my favorite all time campgrounds. (I’m over a week behind on sharing this) We had to get a spot early as the campground fills up fast for the Sprint Car Nationals. So even though it wasn’t going to be used until Thursday, August 9th, by Joe’s friends we set it up the Sunday before, August 5th, on our way back home from camping at Clear Lake. We decided on the 6th, after Joe worked and Drew and I visited Aunt Konnie in the hospital, that since it was sitting there empty we would use it so off to Pella we went. We stayed Monday night and Tuesday night and then came home Wednesday night. Joe went to work both days while Drew and I relaxed, explored and enjoyed our time together. A quiet bonding time spent in nature after a hectic on the go friend filled time. It was just what we needed.

Drew found lots of creepy crawlies to keep him entertained. First he found this millipede while we went for a walk. He carried it back to the camper and we Googled millipedes to find out all about them!

Then came the walking stick – he was climbing the camper. I much preferred the millipede – walking sticks are a little too “aggressive” for me!

Isn’t this cute? We talked to the owner and he loved giving us a tour. He was from Colorado and was here for the races but his wife wouldn’t come along. He said she hates his little camper. I can’t say I blame him – it is awfully tight quarters!

I got a lot of stitching time in too! Love those little squirrels!

Iowa State Fair – 2018

Yesterday we spent the day at the Iowa State Fair. We got tickets on sale from Fareway then thought we weren’t going to be able to fit a visit in after all that has gone on in the last couple of weeks. Then we decided to just take the day and go. The weather was perfect, there weren’t a lot of people there and we took our time and slowly wandered around. I have no idea what other state fairs are like to compare but the Iowa State Fair is really something to experience. My favorite is the animals barns, Joe likes the tractors and Drew wanted to see everything and do everything!

We love watching the chainsaw artists – such talent!

I would have loved to have taken this bench home with me!

The famous butter cow – no trip to the State Fair is complete without visiting the butter cow!

I wandered over to look at the real horses and when I came back Joe was writing on the chalkboard horse.

Ye Ole Mill – we had to ride it twice – Drew loved it!

On the Sky Lift – it was a beautiful day – and not a lot of people which made the day so much more enjoyable!

The Mountain Man exhibit was interesting.

A giant sand sculpture – they were working on it while we watched.

Drew loved this – he got to take a bag of the cracked corn home. The chickens loved it!

We didn’t come to close to seeing everything there was to see but it’s impossible to see it all in one day. All in all we had a very relaxed and enjoyable time. I’m okay with going to the State Fair about every three years or so but Joe likes to go yearly so I’m guessing we’ll be back to see it all again next year!

Clear Lake Car Show Camping Trip – 2018

Our annual camping trip to Clear Lake for the car show went by like a blur this year. We enjoyed watching the cars parade around the lake Friday night, then Joe’s sister and brother-in-law came Saturday for lunch and then uptown to see the cars. An evening around the campfire with the whole group of us. Then up early to clean the camper and make it ready for friends to use. On to Pella to set the camper up before finally getting home. It seemed like a whirlwind of activity in a short space of time. I’m obviously getting old – it was fun but it wore me out!

Drew found some free time to paint a pretty picture with the paints Uncle Les and Aunt Linda brought him!

And They’re Off To The Next Town

Drew made a welcome sign to welcome everyone!

I don’t know how they do it. They ride bicycles for miles, spend the evenings eating all different kinds of food and drink, party and play, pitch a tent in someone’s yard to sleep, then get up the next morning, get back on their bicycles and ride for miles to repeat the process. All the while being surrounded by thousands of people doing the same thing. Or they drive the sag wagons – those who take a different route away from the bicyclists but heading to the same destination to set up camp and have things ready for when the bikes start rolling in. For seven days straight. But those 20,000 plus people who do it every year love it!

These guys set their tent up back behind the shop – they might have had a racoon visitor camping back there!

The white bus was called Team Good Grief with a Snoopy theme.

This group is called Team Detour. They tend to take breaks and catch up later – they do things like go kayaking at Lake Rathbun for the day. Some teams are diehard, bike every mile, bike the extra loop everyday. But some aren’t quite so serious – they like to enjoy the great opportunities for fun the state of Iowa has to offer. Some are very serious, some not so much but they all bond and have fun and enjoy their week!

I’m not sure how many people we actually had here. I didn’t get many pictures and no good pictures. We had two buses and I think five tents in our yard. The one group all slept in their bus while the others pitched tents and/or stayed in our camper. They ate supper, had some shaved ice, socialized, played bocce ball and ladder ball, had s’mores around the bonfire. We had beautiful weather, almost chilly by nightfall. It was all very low key and totally away from the crowds in town where they had food vendors and entertainment, concerts and I don’t know what all going on. It was great to spend some time with family. Joe’s sister didn’t ride this year but her daughter, son, and two of their kids did so she drove down and spent the night in the camper with them. We sat around the campfire until midnight and enjoyed each other’s company. And they were up and gone by 7:30 this morning. Some were gone a lot earlier than that. Off to Iowa City, their last stop before dipping their tires in the Mississippi River on Sunday before heading home.

RAGBRAI Is On It’s Way

A sculpture set up in town. Each community the bikers go through and spend the night at welcome the bikers with all kinds of fun things to see and do.

This years’s RAGBRAI – The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, started on Sunday. There are 20,000 plus riders from all over the United States and the world riding across Iowa from east to west. Add in the support teams that travel with them and you double the amount of people involved. They take a different route every year and this year they will be spending the night in our little community of 2,000 people on Thursday. There will be all kinds of entertainment in town along with food vendors and beer tents. And people. So many people! Needless to say I will not be going anywhere near Sigourney on Thursday! Eric has to work 9:00 to 4:00 at Casey’s and he’s not looking forward to it. The bikers will ride right past Casey’s when they roll into town and they will be hit hard!

Even though we won’t be going anywhere near town, we are hosting two different teams of bikers. Our nephew and niece (brother and sister) and their team and a team Joe knows from work. It looks like 20 some people will be setting up camp in our yard. We plan to feed them supper so I will spend today getting ready for tomorrow! I can’t even imagine spending a week on a bike cycling across the state of Iowa but so many people love it. It really is something to see.

Spur of the Moment Adventure

We decided spur of the moment to take Drew on an adventure. I casually mentioned to Joe that we should take Drew to Columbus Junction to the swinging bridge. I didn’t think he would say yes as we have so much worget done around here but the next thing I know we’re in the car and headed to Columbus Junction. And then onto Muscatine and Wildcat Park, and then across the Mississippi River to Moline, Illinois so Joe could show us where one of his accounts is located. Then back through to Walcott and The World’s Largest Truck Stop, back through Coralville for supper at Popeye’s and finally home. (We discovered none of us care for Popeye’s!) What was going to be a relatively quick trip and then home ended up being an all day adventure! We had lots of fun, Drew really enjoyed the day and Joe said it was a much needed getaway. Sometimes you just need to take off for the day and have fun!

It had been years since I’d been on this bridge. It’s approximateliy eight stories high and it is impossible to walk across it without it swinging.

Drew was okay with it until the young girl in front of us started making the bridge really swing. Then he was not a fan!

On our way through Muscatine we ran into Santa Clause!

Wildcat Den State Park – we had been here before with Dad and Mom but we didnt venture down to the Grist Mill. What an amazing structure. We spent a little time exploring this building from top to bottom and all around outside!

I would have loved to have taken this home with me!

This guy loves exploring and he couldn’t wait to go up the stairs and down the stairs to see what he could find!

A view out of the second story windows at the back of the mill.

It is amazing what our forefathers were able to build without all the modern conveniences of today.

You cross this bridge to get to the water behind the bridge.

This little guy kept me company while I took pictures!

An old schoolhouse that sits up the hill from the mill. The doors were locked so we couldn’t get in.

Next we headed to the trails at Wildcat Den. The rock formations are amazing.

There was so many pretty wildflowers and ferns growing.

Another trail led to a quiet out of the way area of the creek.

And then onto Moline. This was the bridge we crossed to come back home to Iowa.

And our last stop – The World’s Largets Truck Stop.

And Drew finally got to see the inside of a semi. He thought the truck stop was the best part of the day. I thought the mill was the best and Joe enjoyed the hiking.

And Drew’s souvenir. A little wooden snake he bought at the truck stop! He plans to scare Grandma with it!

We had such a great day together. Drew started calling us the Three Muskateers! Spur of the moment was great but next time we’ll plan a little better. I’ll wear tennis shoes instead of flip flops (which aren’t good for climbing trails) and we’ll pack a lunch, drinks and snacks. We left home around 10:30 and got home around 7:30. It was such a beautiful evening – we fed and watered the chickens then sat out on the new deck and chatted about our day. It was nice to do something fun and then come home and enjoy the deck, something we had been working so hard on!

Gravel Roads

I love gravel roads! I love when we take off in the car for a drive and Joe decides to head down a gravel road. I really like taking off with Joe on the four wheeler on the gravel roads around our house. There’s just something about the unknown – not knowing what you are going to see over the next hill or around the next corner. Of course we live in southeast Iowa so there’s not much that’s going to surprise you – even when you don’t know the road. But I love seeing the old houses and old barns, the cows and pigs and the corn fields and the timbers. We were actually headed to Bettendorf while on this gravel road. Joe left his billfold at the campground when we went home to get cleaned up and rather than backtracking to the highway from the campground he took gravel. I was okay with that – I’d much rather travel a gravel road than drive along on the highway anyday!

A Perfect Day For Wandering

After being cooped up in the house the last couple of days with all the rain, Drew and I decided to go for a walk around the yard. We ended up in the neighbor’s field! I’m thankful they haven’t planted anything here for the past couple of years. Although I enjoy the corn fields I really enjoy the beauty of it just growing wild. The sky was beautiful while we were out and the wildflowers are really blooming. All the colors just amaze me. You can’t enjoy the beauty of it without walking out in it and really looking though. I enjoy the flower beds around the house but I just love the wild beauty of a field overgrown with grasses, wildflowers and weeds.

While I was enjoying the flowers and the view Drew of course was exploring what he calls his favorite place – the hay bales. He loves to play around and on these hay bales. They are lined up along a fence line between our place and the neighbor’s field and he makes forts and secret places between the fence and the bales. It’s a great place for a little boy to use his imagination! I’m very grateful we’ve been able to raise the kids out here in the country!