Tag: Camping

A change of plans

We headed out of Iowa a little after 9:00 am, planning on going to Oklahoma. Then we saw a huge flock of pelicans in Nebraska. When I say huge, it was at least 1000 birds, some wheeling in the air and even more on the ground. Amazing! I remembered how I had been in the middle of the great bird migration in early March almost 5 years ago while on I-80 in Nebraska. Ummm. It was almost March. Was it possible the migration was starting early? There is a bubble of deliciously warm air over the Great Plains, so we turned north to I-80 instead of Oklahoma. We aren’t in the middle of the main migration, but we did see a lot of birds. Take a look at this picture. All that almost solid white are birds completely covering a borrow pit along the side of the highway.

As usual, it isn’t the best of pictures, but it shows how thick the geese were. These were mostly Snow Geese with a few other geese and even some ducks stuck in the middle of them. During the main migration, this kind of scene occurs in fields and ponds for well over 100 miles. Sadly we only saw the geese and ducks, no sandhill cranes.

We are spending the night in North Platte, Nebraska at Holiday RV Park. Definitely some traffic noise, but it is convenient and pretty cheap for electric, wifi, and cable. Central water, and there is a sewer hookup we don’t need yet. Normally they are full hookups (we have stayed here a few times before), but they are leaving the water off for the season. Since today’s high temperature was in the 70’s, it doesn’t seem reasonable, but it is still February. From here we plan on heading to Colorado, probably Loveland. I’d like to see Rocky Mountain National Park in the winter, but I sure don’t want to camp there. Lowland camping with electricity and cable sounds a lot more enjoyable. Then again, we may change our minds!

Oh, and I have picked up a rotten head cold. I am coughing a lot, and I have a sore throats from the drainage. Ugh.

Southwestern Iowa and warmth

I did have some good news regarding the last post. The water pump is fine – no more weird noises. It must have had a bubble or something in it, because everything is fine now. Also the new mattress still feels great.

We did travel on Valentine’s Day, and we made it to a lovely state park in far southwestern Iowa named Waubonsie. We have been the only campers here, and the weather has been really nice with blue skies, light breezes, and highs in the upper 40s/low 50s. The stars are gorgeous since it is a long way to anywhere with light pollution, and the owls and coyotes have been very noisy at night. During the day we did laundry (how exciting) and just relaxed. Last night I made roasted potatoes and onions, then pan grilled some turkey sausage. Yum. Tonight I baked a pasta casserole in the Dutch Oven. It was ok, but it definitely needed more seasoning. It was nice to just do things more camping related.

Here is the campground. Not much green but lots of vegetation. The campsite we are in is only $11.00 a night right now since it is off season, but it has electricity and water.

We sat around a fire in the evening, propane instead of wood because it is so much easier to adjust. Kevin doesn’t always look so dour! We have a sunshade-type shelter we use to keep out of sun and wind occasionally, and this time we have used it both nights to reflect the heat from the fire. It made it much more comfortable. Notice the box wine on the table and the light from the trailer behind the shelter.

We may be the only people here, but there are lots of birds and animals. Lots of geese heading to and from the nearby Missouri River make a racket, multiple owls beginning at dusk and continuing until we go inside hoot at us, plus coyotes are talking to one another. We have also seen turkey and deer plus a number of birds. It is lovely to heard the night sounds while gazing into the fire.

Pretty nice for a propane fire pit!

Tomorrow we will leave here and hopefully make it to somewhere in northern Oklahoma. It is nice to not have a schedule. We will decide somewhere down the road where to stay and how long. Retirement does have its advantages!

Soon to be traveling again!

Today the part for our truck’s recall notice came in, and Kevin is getting it installed now. He is also going to get an oil and fuel filter change for the truck, so it will be an expensive day. The recall issue is obviously free of charge, but oil and filters on a diesel pickup are pricey. Luckily it doesn’t have to be done often.

I am having an issue with the trailer water pump though. It sounds awful when I use it, noisy and rough. The water level is low, so I tried to fill it. I couldn’t get water to go in though! I have no idea why, so I am just going to leave it until Kevin comes back. It is well above freezing, but the wind is nasty and wet. I had forgotten how much colder a wet wind feels than the dry winds we get out West.

Ooh, but we do have good news too! We bought a foam RV mattress to replace the barely adequate coil mattress we got with the trailer. I really like foam, though this is a bit softer than I prefer. It is thicker than the old mattress, but the quilt I made still fits, so I am glad of that! Many RV mattresses are odd sized; ours is a “short queen”, six inches shorter than a regular queen. That means special mattresses, special sheets, etc. Quite a pain! I made the quilt that is on the bed now, and I love how nice it feels. It is with quality cotton fabric and a luscious wool batting so it drapes well yet is comfortable in a variety of temperatures. I like using wool batting in quilts for adults, but I use cotton batting in quilts for children or ones I know will be washed a lot. The wool can be machine washed and dried, but it does take more care than cotton.

I am spending a lot of time reading since we are stationary and it is cold. I am working my way through Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher mysteries, and having a great time. My public library has an ebook system, and I have been able to get quite a few. I am trying to read them in order, but number 5 was checked out by someone else, and I accidentally checked out number 19 (and read it). I am now on number 10, “Death Before Wicket.”  I will check out a few more before we leave the campground here.  My library ebook system only works on real wifi, not my phone’s hot spot making it something I have to plan for. I loved the PBS series, and it turns out to be a quite faithful adaptation. There are only a few character modifications, but the Miss Fisher in the show is the same Miss Fisher in the books.

Tonight we will have Indian food with my oldest son and his family, then we head out tomorrow. I am so in need of warmer weather! We have 3-4 weeks before we intend on being home, so we have lots of time to dawdle along the way. No specific plans, just heading in the general direction of south.