Tuesday, February 27, 2018

McIntosh Woods State Park- This Time With Friends! 07.28.17

McIntosh Woods State Park is just a hop and a skip away from us, and as it turns out, is about the exact same distance for Jeff and Kathy, so we had an impromptu visit there in late July.


Our setup is getting a little more complex. LOL! But when I saw this cute little flag at Blossoming Creations, a local store, you know I had to have it!


So it joins our B@r T@b sign and flamingos, welcoming people to our campsite. It's fun!

Jeff and Kathy had a cool campsite next door, and Jeff and Andy had some fun finding places to relax.


Andy found a couple of trees that were perfect for his hammock.


Here's Jeff's idea for an area to sit back and relax. What could possibly go wrong?


Fortunately, he managed to sit for a while without even falling off the stump! It was pure luck, in case you were wondering.

Kathy and I decided not to sit and watch them sit, so we went for a nice walk. We found Smokey the Bear!


(He wasn't really that scary.) And there was also just some very pretty scenery along the trail.



Willem DeGnome came along, too. He rides with the Scamp.


We also took a side trip to Lake Time Brewery, our favorite spot, located in Clear Lake, IA. We ordered lots of tasty brews, and even took a few to go!


While it wasn't the most exciting trip, we enjoyed relaxing with friends, and we love being able to take the T@b places and use it!

Happy camping!
Peggy

Saturday, February 24, 2018

When Did Nebraska Become So Pretty? 07.21.17

All right, I'm mostly teasing. Iowa and Nebraska have traded friendly insults for as long as I can remember. I never really thought about Nebraska as a preferred destination spot, but I gotta tell ya, this trip may have changed that.

We took a quick weekend jaunt to the Nebraska Tailwaters Campground near Crofton, NE. The campground had some not so good spots (several long, skinny campsites packed in next to each other) and some pretty nice ones too. (Ours was awesome. May have even been the best!) We were at the end of the long row of campsites located on the Missouri River, and it was one of the most peaceful, relaxing, completely zen places I have ever been.


Let me start by explaining these sites. They are all waterfront. They are long sites, but are pretty close together. Some of them, like ours, had a little bit of wider space so we weren't on top of the campers next to us. Anyway, here are a couple of pics to help you see how the sites are oriented to each other and the Missouri River!


We are back a long way from the road, and the back of the campsites are chalk bluffs for lots of privacy.


Another perspective as to how big the sites really are!


Here's an angle that shows how close we were to the water. It was a gorgeous spot to sit with a beer and let the world go by...

So I did.


Just down the street, like literally within a mile, was a restaurant we were eager to try. The Google reviews on it were fantastic, and we wanted a simple trip that didn't require a lot of cooking on our part. SO... We checked out the Dam Fish Shack!


First of all, let's talk about this place's personality. Um, "hilarious" would be a good word to describe it. Just check out their cheeky little signs.


When you placed your order at the food truck area, they would ask for your name. When your food was ready, they'd announce via the loudspeaker, "Peggy! Your Dam order is ready!" That's too good not to share!


It also had a bar, very cleverly decorated and designed.


It's all in the details! They also had a self-serve drinks and condiment area.


The whole place just made me smile. Then the food came. There's a reason why the Google reviews were so high!


Fish tacos! Hello, yum!

Not gonna lie. This place was so fantastic, we returned the next day for one more meal!

In other sight seeing news, the Gavin's Point Damn and Lewis and Clark Lake were spectacular sights!



Am I right?!

The campsite did have one minor flaw. There were street lights, very well lit street lights, everywhere, which made the evening atmosphere a bit too bright.



That's my shadow, caused by the ridiculously invasive street light. Ugh.


Camper at dusk. Notice our cute new cooler?


Andy "warming himself" by the fire. It was about 87 degrees out!

We had a great time, enjoyed the scenery, the restaurant, the fellow campers, and the nice facility. Odds are, we will return soon!

Happy camping!
Peggy

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Back To Life, Back To Reality! 07.08.17

Sigh...We have to go home! This is the worst part about vacation, and it has me dreaming that someday, maybe, we could do a long term trip in our T@b. Until then, we will go back to reality.

Leaving Estes, there are tons of amazing views! Andy was very patient with me as I made him pull over repeatedly to catch a cool pic.


First, we tried to get a pic in downtown Estes Park. It didn't communicate the charm of the downtown, and traffic was busy enough that we thought it best not to keep trying, so down the mountain we went.

I made him stop for this one:


Little T@b, Big Thompson River!

Then, I thought this pic would be even better:


This is a pic of the T@b and the Big Thompson River. Again.

Then I thought this would be a pretty picture:


Yeah, it's almost the same...

So then we tried this one:


Too much power line, not enough river and T@b...

So, this one?


Lots of T@b and mountain, but no river. Pretty though...

Next:


No T@b at all, but that was a really pretty bit of scenery, so... had to be done.

Back to T@b pics:


Am I ever going to get one I like? Sheesh. Like I said. Andy was very, very patient with me.


I give up.

While I never got THE picture I envisioned, I sure enjoyed stopping a lot and seeing the pretty views!

We drove straight outa Colorado and into the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG state of Nebraska.  On the way, desperate for some sign of life and/or entertainment, we kept seeing signs for Fort Cody Trading Post! The signs made promises of a museum and shopping and souvenirs and history...the list goes on! We figured we HAD to stop...right?


Oh dear. Well, maybe it was a bit of a tourist trap. But it least it made for a couple of good photos! HA!



We stopped for the night at Bessey Recreation Complex near Halsey, Nebraska. Interesting factoid about Nebraska: it has FORESTS in it, and this was where Bessey Recreation Complex was located. Who knew?


Here we encountered our first real issue with our camping reservations. Andy had made the reservations here before we ever left home, knowing we would need a stop somewhere on the way home, and this looked like a winner: on the Middle River, in a National Forest area. Our kind of spot! Andy reserved a site right across from the river.

We arrived and drove to our site, at the end of a long, bumpy dirt road. (I should also mention here that Nebraska was experiencing a significant heat wave, and it was about 95 degrees with no breeze.) Anyway, we find our reserved site and see that a very large camper was set up there, with no indications they would be leaving soon. Hmm....

Doing the smart thing, we drove back to the campground host's site and got their attention. A lovely woman came out to help us, listened to our predicament, consulted her clipboard, then told us to hang tight, and she'd be right back. She zipped off in her golf cart, down the long, bumpy dirt road to see what was happening.

She came back soon enough and informed us that she had made a rather large mistake. Our reservation was on page 2 of her clipboard, and she hadn't realized it was there. When a camper came up as a walk-in looking for a spot, she gave them ours.

Fortunately, the campground was not full that night, so she helped us find another spot to our liking. We assured her we were easy going people, and as long as we didn't have to get back on the road and drive any more today, we were happy with whatever we could get. We ended up with a shady spot, right across the road from the river. Nice!



Not too bad, huh?  We did a minimal setup, as you can see, because we were only here for the night and planned an early departure the next morning.

We enjoyed the private campsite and sat outside listening to music. We walked to the river and sat out watching all the floaters coming in after a day on the river. A very relaxing experience, all the way around.


The T@b's air conditioner worked like a charm that night, and we enjoyed a peaceful, restful, comfortable night's sleep before heading home the next morning.

The entire trip was simply fantastic. We packed so much fun and activity in, but managed lots of soothing easy moments as well. 10 out of 10 would recommend again!

Happy camping!
Peggy

Sunday, February 18, 2018

The Day I Accidentally Climbed Half A Mountain 07.07.17

I really did. It was not a pleasant experience, exactly, but it is worth bragging about a little. Meet Emerald Mountain:



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Kathy and I set out to go for a nice, relaxing walk. Andy was on his way to go check out a lake for possible fishing options, and gave us directions to a path that would be easy to walk and would be sandal friendly. Great! Off we went. Me, wearing my Sketcher's sandals:



So, a moment to be real. I actually find these sandals extremely comfortable, and can wear them on long walks, shopping, day to day stuff...but I do NOT recommend them for climbing half a mountain.

It started off innocently enough. Nice curving path through prairie grasses. Even this nice little trail map that doesn't clue us in to anything unusual.



Do YOU see a mountain on this map? Me neither...

After a nice saunter through the prairie grasses, the trail took a turn...well...up. This was the gentle beginning of the problem, but we reasoned it would flatten out "somewhere around those trees."


We reached a plateau and thought it was a brilliant time to rest, (hello, heart rate!) and met another walker who took our picture with this fantastic view. After gulping down water and getting my heart rate back to something not death worthy, we kept on climbing, figuring it would flatten out "somewhere around those trees..."

Well, as we reached "those trees," we encountered two hikers coming DOWN the path. I inquired, "At what point does the trail even out and stop going up?" Their reply?

"Well, if you keep going on this path, you'll follow it the rest of the way up to Emerald Mountain." The rest of the way up. Um...

After looking at my chosen footwear, he adds, "Or, you can take the left fork here that goes pretty flat over to a nice lookout. I don't think you'll make it any further up in those shoes." Any further up.

Clearly, my dehydrated, rapid heart rate self chose the path to the left. I was greeted with some awesome views, and a reality check about how much I had been climbing. UP A MOUNTAIN!




Kathy and I with the slant of the mountain behind us.


Holy crap, look how steep that is, and how high I am! (elevation wise, you guys. Geez...)


I'm on top of the world! Sorta. Half way on top.

I called it quits. I had very little left in my water bottle and didn't want to risk running out, so I stopped. Kathy was going to go on ahead as we also got word that the Park Rangers were present along the trail putting in new trail signs. (Coulda used those a little lower down, but thanks.)


There she goes...onward and UPward! Like some kind of mountain climbing maniac! I stayed put for a while, marveling at my accidental accomplishment, and then headed back down half a mountain to camp. Kathy arrived safely some time later, and funny enough...returned with ANDY, who did NOT go to his stated destination, but instead, after meeting the same two hikers we met, decided to climb Emerald Mountain! (We all scolded his unsafe hiking choice.)

Well, there it is. The exciting tale promised to you at the beginning of this blog post. I hope it entertained you!

Thanks for reading, and happy camping!
Peggy