He got home Friday morning, loaded the kayaks (they are too d*mned heavy, and I'm too d*mned short to load them by myself)...and headed out of town.
We arrived around 9:00 am or so. We spent a while trying to find three campsites all together...that were relatively flat for tents. It wasn't an easy search. :-)
Once we settled on the spots, we got them all paid for, and set up our site.
We drove around the park a little, to check things out...then sat down to play some cards.
There was a bird in a tree not far from our campsite. In about 3 seconds bursts, he popped out bird call after bird call. Bob Whites, Robins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, the works. I actually think it even did a rousing mimic of R2D2, and maybe a random cell phone ring here and there too.
(I came to work today and asked what it was. Jean is telling me it was probably a Thrasher....relation to the Mocking Bird...found in this area.)
Or campsite was located near a water faucet. The farting faucet, as I will forever call it.
We eventually had to move into our tent to play cards ...the forecasted rain had finally arrived.
Danny got to the campsite about 2:00 or so. It was pouring buckets!!!!
Actually, that's probably a gross understatement.
The three of us set up his tent and this nice sun tent he purchased on the way to the park, and we got soaked doing it!!!!
But thank goodness he stopped and purchased it. That tent was a life saver Friday, let me tell you.
It rained and rained, and rained and rained...and rained and rained....well, you get the picture. :-)
The three of us played Canasta and drank bottled beverages the whole afternoon.
We had to sit with jackets over our backs, because it was still raining in through the screen sides of the sun/bug tent.
It finally cleared off around dinner time. Anything we could find to hang wet things off of, was fair game.
Mot made kabobs for dinner. Chicken, beef, onion, peppers, potatoes. Y.U.M.M.Y.
The view from inside Danny and Steve's tent. Mot was cooking, I was helping Danny inflate their air mattresses.
Dinner was served! Kabobs and a buffet of Pringles. :-)
Mel, Sheila, and Mel's brother Patrick showed up about 8:00 or so. We all pitched in to help them get set up before it got dark (or started raining again).
After everyone was settled, we circled our chairs around the campfire....and sat and talked.
Eating donuts (notice the mud and grass on the bag...nothing was spared from the rain).
4 comments:
Okay, one, I've been to Iowa. I don't believe you when you say you had difficulty in finding places "flat enough for tents".
Two, according to this site, the northern mockingbird is found in Iowa, so it could have been a mockingbird. They're very common down here, and I can attest to it's mimicry abilities.
@ mjenks.....THROUGH Iowa, or TO Iowa. There is a difference. :-)
We were well off of the Interstate 80 flat lands, as I like to call them. Ask someone riding RAGBRAI how flat the state is...usually gets a frown or two thrown your way. :-) :-) :-) :-)
Granted, there are no mountains. Even though it's very hilly,it's still lacking in the topography that makes my heart do flips. love the mountains!!! :-)
I read once that the terrain in the state of Iowa is the most affected my humans....due to farming. It looks the least like it did when the US was just a baby, than any other state.
I wish I could have seen the bird closer up. We didn't bring binoculars, and he was pretty far up in the tree. It could very well be a Mockingbird, from what I've been reading online since I posted. He kept me entertained all weekend. It's strange that I've never heard one before in this area. I've camped here all my life.
I haven't been camping in forever. I see you brought a six pack...of Pringles. YUM!
And yes, Iowa is generally flat like Illinois (where I live) and we call it the 'Corn Desert', but you do encounter some areas of elevation...some.
@ #3699 - Danny brought 6 flavors, and Mot and I brought a couple. And, somehow, we ended up with the cans that didn't get eaten. So I've been eating Pringles with my lunch all week. :-)
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