SAT., MAY 13 thru SAT., MAY 20, 2023
We traveled 200 miles north on mostly I-49 from Carthage, MO to Lewis and Clark State Park in Rushville, MO. Not to be confused with the 100 other Lewis & Clark State Parks located around the country. Oy! Confusing when making reservations! It was a nice drive with empty roads except around Kansas City. We saw lots of lush green farmland, cattle, wild lupine growing and even a crop duster plane spraying. We also saw dead armadillos on the side of the road. A casualty I guess of this open area. (Our Garmin pronounces Missouri as Misery. Cracks us up every time! And for the record we love Missouri!)
We had a campfire the night of our arrival even though it was 80 degrees. Sunset is 8:30 pm. Sunrise is around 6 am. It’s supposed to be raining the next 2 nights so that was the night for the fire! Once again Joe was our master fire starter.
Sunday, May 14 (2023) was Mother’s Day! We had a quiet day with an afternoon walk to the Lewis and Clark Lake by 3 pod members. Gary sat this one out. The lake was incredibly dry and it was a hot walk, but we did hear tons of birds singing. Later in the afternoon we played SkipBo (Joe won… again!), and we enjoyed dinner at our house afterwards. A fun day. Monday, May 15 (2023), was a chill day before moving on to Iowa on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, May 16 (2023) we traveled 212 miles north to Sunset Blue Oasis RV Park in Onawa, Iowa. Lots of flat land and cornfields driving from Missouri to Iowa. Pretty!
Our 42nd state to visit. They haven’t had rain here in 2 years although got 3 inches just the other day. Maybe the pod is bringing them good luck. We can see evidence of the lack of rain around the campground. Behind us was a wetland area, now dried up. Soybeans are planted in a field adjacent to the campground. And since extreme weather happens around here, there’s even a tornado shelter at the campground. First time we’ve seen that. They have three silos on the property that are being made into cabins. Charming! We peaked thru the window.
We are in Lewis & Clark Country. On Wed., May 17 (2023) Cheryl, Joe and I headed to Lewis & Clark State Park in Onawa, IA, which is a 1/2 mile up the road from the campground. Not to be confused with the Lewis & Clark SP we just left in Rushville, MO. Gary sat this one out. The water level was very low on Blue Lake. The result of 2 years of very little rain in this area. The Visitors Center was closed, but we did see a full-sized replica of the Keelboat used during the 2+ year 8,000 mile L&C expedition to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase..
Then we headed into downtown Onawa. Considering it has a population of under 3,000 people, it was quite impressive… the Eskimo Pie was discovered here (thanks to Joe for unearthing that tidbit). Onawa also has some very nice historic buildings including the public library (1908) and the County Courthouse (1892) and the widest Main Street in the USA measuring 150 ft from curb-to-curb or storefront-to-storefront. Who knew?!
We also learned Onawa is considered the poorest town in Iowa. However, the reason is because 300 migrant workers arrive in town 2 times a year from Texas to harvest seed corn. They apply for food stamps so it skews the numbers.
The next day Gary & I had to go to Sioux City for an errand. While there, we visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. Great museum and all free.
We learned prior to his presidency, Thomas Jefferson attempted to sponsor three failed expeditions to the west. As President, he finally received approval and funding from Congress to send an expedition to the west to search for a water passage to the Pacific Ocean and promote trade and commerce with western tribes.
Lewis & Clark spent a year planning for the expedition before they departed in May of 1804 with 40+ men on several boats. Captain Charles Floyd was the only member of the team to die on the 2+ year expedition. Experts think he died of appendicitis. Since there was no viable treatment for that ailment in 1804, he would have died regardless of where he was. You can find a large 100 ft. sandstone obelisk monument in Sioux City commemorating his death. It’s the largest monument on the L&C trail and the first National Historic Landmark registered by the National Park Service.
On Saturday, May 20 (2023), I went with the Hannafords to visit one of the loops of The Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. (Gary was dealing with a groin pull so stayed home.) The byway is a 220-mile paved highway through the Loess Hills. The 16 excursion loops (many on gravel roads) add another 185 miles to the total length. Just a beautiful ride! We did a small piece of it (Preparation Loop) stopping frequently for pics.
The Loess (rhymes with bus) Hills are known for their terraced hillsides. They’re called cat-steps and are natural terraces that form when hillside loess (fine particles of wind blown silt) slumps into step-like ledges. The Loess Hills were formed when glaciers retreating north at the end of the last ice age left behind these fine particles of wind blown silt (loess). Today, the 650,000-acre Loess Hills landscape rises 200 feet above the Missouri River valley and is recognized for its unusually deep deposits of loess.
We also visited Preparation Canyon State Park. The park was named after the former settlement of Preparation, Iowa, that was located here. It was established in the 1850s by Mormons. They believed that their existence in this life was preparation for the world to come, therefore they named their community “Preparation.” Unfortunately one of the key founders of the community stole from his fellow citizens and the community went defunct.
In the evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Chez Hannaford then played a game. I won, but I digress. Next stop: a corp of engineer park on the border of South Dakota and Nebraska.
