Northeast Iowa

[jrgwdenner]

We are parked in the little city park of New Hampton, IA about a block from the home of Glen's sister. We'll be here for two weeks of R & R. Should be a great downtime. I may even get my sewing maching out.

These little city and county parks can really be great. We have full hookups for $100.00 per week near a swimming pool and walking path. And our aircard works! Two years ago we didn't even have a phone connection here (Verizon) but now we have both a phone and aircard connection. Isn't life grand!

[CountryGuy]

Judy, enjoy, you are in a county and area I have heavily researched. Al's great grandparents were married over in Charles City, in 1878. It is a very pretty area, wish we were with ya! :D

Carol

[jrgwdenner]

I think the central part of the lower 48 is greatly underrated in regard to its beauty. Greta loves it here....no firecrackers or jet planes and plenty of room for a playtime when she can run free.

[Hemlockusa]

Glenn - Judy - If your that close you should try the Amana Colonies, That little place is really great also. Glad your having some down time and catching up
Safe travels John H

[jrgwdenner]

We've seen the Amana Colonies but it's always nice to go back again, especially this time of year when the gardens are producing. Thanks for the hint.

[Rex & Mary]

You're making us homesick..............
But we will be there right after Labor Day and staying until the cold weather of October chases us south............
Enjoy !!! Enjoy !!!

[jrgwdenner]

Full hookups are $100 per week and $200 per MONTH! The local Boy Scout troop runs the campground which is basically on the honor system. That's no typo....$200 per month. We might need to look for more county/city parks.

[Fordzilla]

Judy & Glen if you get over to NW Iowa give us a shout. I know you met some of my friends in Branson and taught them to play Mexican Train. Steve and Sharon Andreason. I'm sure if you get over this way we could all get together for a lunch date or coffee some morning.

[Montana Sky]

$200 a month?? Man that makes my $585 a month sound expensive.... I have always enjoyed the midwest, may have to venture into more small towns when passing through.

[jrgwdenner]

Ron, thanks so much for the invitation. We were really sorry that we missed seeing you guys last summer when we were heading for Lewis and Clark Rec Area. Steve and Sharon said that they like to camp at the COE campground under near the dam. We drove through that park and it looked really nice.

We are so blessed to be in this beautiful little quiet park so close to family with full hookups at this amazingly low price. Dave, it's made us realize that we need to look into more small town and county parks as we travel. There are others in the upper Midwest that I checked out on the internet that are $10.00 per night with hookups. Our aircard is paying for itself because we don't have to look for high dollar parks with WiFi. Now these little parks appeal to us.

[Montana Sky]

Judy,
Are you going to post some pictures of these small parks on your blog?? I am sure many of us would really like to use a nice small park, especially one that can handle a large Montana. =)

[jrgwdenner]

I had not thought of that, Dave, but it's a good idea. I could make a separate category. Does that mean you read our blog??? So did you see our grandchildren??? Life is sweet when we're around those three little munchkins....and when we send them home.

[Montana Sky]

Judy,
I do read your blog, your faimly looks so happy together. Life is truly grand isn't it. I have a few other MOC members blog's book marked as well. I am taking notes and planning for the day when I can hit the road fulltime. Only 32 more years and counting.... A few friends have asked me why I dont have a blog with all the traveling I do? I just laughed, said who wants to look at pictures of me all the time?? Since I am single and tend to take unplanned long distance trips, all you would see is open space. If I am taking the picture, who is going to be in it??? LOL!!

[jrgwdenner]

Our family is blessed and happy together. Thanks you for noticing.

We wish you well in your search for someone to be in your pictures!

[ols1932]

Actually, every bit of Iowa is wonderful. I just love traveling some of the lesser traveled highways through the farming country--corn, soybeans, etc. We lived in Spencer for five years and in the Cedar Rapids area for about 25 years before going full time. New Hampton is a great little town.

We are presently in Marion, IA at a county campground and will be leaving on the 31st for points east, south and then west again for the winter.

Orv & Marge

[jrgwdenner]

The Midwest is highly underrated. You may need to search for things to see but there are interesting places out there. We are hoping to see the Little Brown Church in the Vale, the Bily clocks (intricately carved clocks by two brothers), the Nordic museum in Decorah, and the mighty Mississippi, to name a few. While we were at my sister's home south of Des Moines, we saw the bridges of Madison County and quaint Pella, Iowa with all its Dutch bakeries.

[Montana Sky]

Judy,
How does your sister like living in Des Moines??? I found out today I may have a lead on a possible job there. I love South Dakota and the midwest, thought it might be a perfect fit for me. Still have a great deal of PT on the shoulders from having surgery, will just have to wait and see how the timeline works itself out.

[jrgwdenner]

The area around Des Moines, especially south of the city is very rural and very beautiful, rolling hills and lots of corn and bean fields. The movie, Bridges of Madison County, was filmed there. There are several nice lakes and for a nice vacation, you can go to Branson, MO. I think Des Moines has almost everything you'd need to live comfortably and have an interesting life.

[Montana Sky]

Judy,
Thanks for the help, sounds like I need to stop in and check out the town on the way home from the rally. If the area has some great lakes for boating and rv'ing, I am ready to roll. =)

[jrgwdenner]

I definitely think it would be worth a look. You could go to Pella and enjoy the Dutch bakeries, too. Missouri has beautiful State Parks and camping, too.

[Fordzilla]

We have stayed in Winterset city park and it is a nice park and close to all the covered bridges. Seemed like it only had 30 amp service. But that was enough as we were not in the camper during the heat of the day we were out seeing the sights.

[jpkelpe]

Red Rocks reservoir is a beautiful COE campground just outside of Pella--Big lake for all kinds of boats.

[Montana Sky]

Anyone know the population of Des Moines??

http://tinypic.com/eb7u2v.jpg
2004 Chevy Silverado LT 2500HD CrewCab Duramax
2004 Montana 3400RL

[jrgwdenner]

BIG! By Iowa standards and then when you count all the bedroom communities just outside Des Moines...

Judy
http://spaces.msn.com/bamatravelers/
http://bamatravelers.blogspot.com
Traveling with Glen and Greta in our 2004 Dodge dually and Montana 3380 RL

[jpkelpe]

198,682 according to the 2005 Iowa state map. very little industry, lots of insurance companies.

Paul and Jan Kelpe
Omaha, NE
2005 Mountaineer 298RLS
2005 Chevy Silverado HD 2500 4x4 ext cab with Duramax/Allison

[adelmoll]

Des Moines also has a lot of traffic. Two major freeways cross there. We too love Iowa. The winters can get rough though. Oprn fields can cause a lot of blowing snow. We have been stranded there more than once when returning from the south in early spring. Check it out Dave. I think you would like it.

Helen

Helen

To follow our journey please click: Bill and Helen's Journey (http://goodsamclub.mytripjournal.com/sodaks)
2005 Montana 3475 pulled by our 2005 Ford 350 Power Stroke Diesel

[sreigle]

Dave (M.S.), my sister and her family live 30 miles north of Des Moines, in Ames. I also like Iowa. Pretty state. Last time we towed through there we felt they need to do some work on their roads, however. We may take a route through Iowa to the rally, or perhaps on the way back. We'll need to kill four days before we can get back into this rv park (in addition to normal travel time) and are thinking either the Amana Colonies or the Bridges of Madison County.

Dave, if you need to make tracks getting to Goshen, then interstate is probably the fastest way. If you have more time and want to get more of the flavor of this country, then I'd highly recommend US highways. Vicki falls asleep when we're towing interstates, except for some in the northwest USA. But she always stays awake, looking around, on US highways.

I-70 through Colorado, west of Denver, is a beautiful drive and an exception to my feelings about interstates. East of Denver it's rather flat, like western Kansas and many other states.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'03 3295RK
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible) (http://geocities.com/stevereigle/)

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[jpkelpe]

If you have never been to the Amana Colonies--that is a must--good food, winery, fun shopping, etc. Northeast Iowa has some of the prettiest farm country I have ever seen. And, Oh I love some of the court houses in Iowa, very unique and a lot of the towns have "town squares". In the spring Pella has a big tulip festival--you have never seen so many tulips in one place--every yard, park and along all the streets are in full bloom. Elkhorn is alos supposed ot have a lot of tulips but I have never been there.

Paul and Jan Kelpe
Omaha, NE
2005 Mountaineer 298RLS
2005 Chevy Silverado HD 2500 4x4 ext cab with Duramax/Allison

[Montana Sky]

I have my route planned, I-90 from WA all the way to Sioux Falls. The I-29 south to the 680 bypass onto I-80 east. Will take 80 all the way to Goshen. The reason I am curious about Des Moines is I have a possible job there and was wondering how big the town has gotten over the years. I used to live in Omaha, NE and travel many weekends back and forth to Chicago, IL. Des Moines, IA was the stopping point for lunch. Thanks for all the info on the surrounding areas.

http://tinypic.com/eb7u2v.jpg
2004 Chevy Silverado LT 2500HD CrewCab Duramax
2004 Montana 3400RL