The magic for Ron and I in our lifestyle is how much we love exploring places and meeting people but also the thrill we feel once we get on the road again towards new adventures.
We left Kalona yesterday around 10:30is I think. We knew the drive to the Mississippi was only about 2 1/2 hours with a Check-In at 4 pm. We had some time to burn!
Also we did not load up Rosalina so I was the lead car. It can be beneficial doing this as my husband likes to play his music and just relax driving Lucy with Keetna as his copilot, and Oliver and I can rock out to my playlist or at times listen to NPR. Especially if ‘Wait, wait… don’t tell me’ is on 😉 plus of course I can scout out the area ahead of us.
We found a great new Reststop for lunch and I learned something new again. We were standing in an area where the Underground Railroad was a strong force in Iowa. That quilts were used as maps! That Quaker brothers took arms even thought it was against their religion. How farmers moved blacks from farm to farm disguised as potato sacks and in bales of hay. Most movement above ground through farm country.
Leave it to Rest Areas to put nuggets of history lessons out. In every state we traveled through, each stop had something to learn about. I love it.
After lunch we aimed straight for the Blue Beacon (Bonnet 😉) that had been advertised for miles on I-80. Our girls needed baths badly and we had time to spare.
And of course we still arrived to early at the Thomson Causeway COE to early. 45 min to early. So we settled in and got to relax and wait at the entry but since Lucy can be a tad annoying in her size and the sounds she makes when idling the gate keeper came and checked us in earlier.
Our spot was a back in which I admittedly used to avoid but my husband taught me that he likes backing up and at times prefers it to pull thru’s so when spot 98 was the only one available at 75’ feet I booked it. With one try Ron got us into the spot and only due to both of us being a tad anal about parking straight and making the most of our area he did correct it slightly two more times.
Now this COE was the only one that had some camping spots available compared to about 5 other parks along the Mississippi. Reason being all the shoreline was flooded until only about 1 to 2 weeks ago. Most of the campsites where we are is still closed due to cleanup so only a small loop is open and that is where I was able to make our reservation. We lucked out as the access road is in low laying water on both sides.
We love our space and we can see the River from our dining room window. This is how we look at it most of the times as the gnats, bugs and mosquitoes are insane here! Bug spray and full body armor/clothing is it. I need a full jungle clothing outfit here.
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