Big Spirit Lake is part of the Iowa Great Lakes (see post) so we thought we would give it a try. However we woke up to 20 mph gusts- not ideal for paddling on such a big lake. So we opted to catch breakfast first the Breakfast Barn in Spirit Lake. Great classic breakfast, omelets,…
Dolliver State Park Iowa-2022
We wanted to try some hiking in Iowa but that proved a challenge – at least in the areas we visited. We did manage to find a nice little gem Dolliver State Park. The park is located about 20 minutes south of Fort Dodge along the Des Moines River. It has about 5 miles of…
Black Hawk Lake Iowa-2022
Today’s destination was about one hour from our Airbnb. Lake View, Iowa. We stopped at Miltons on Main coffee shop and restaurant in Lake View. We had a couple of breakfast sandwiches and the house coffee and looked over the rest of the day’s plan. We thought we’d paddle first then try the bike trails…
Cedar Falls July-2022
Cedar Falls was our destination for today. We planned a full day of activities. Our first stop was Iowa Falls to get some breakfast. It was right on the way. We got a good look again at the Iowa River that runs through the middle of town. It looked shallow with a few dams-not our…
Lake Okoboji, Arnolds Park and the Iowa Great Lakes, Iowa July-2022
We had visited Lake Okoboji on our trip to South Dakota the previous year. It was only a short stop and there was so much to see and do that it needed a second trip. Our destination was in the NW corner of Iowa, so starting at the furthest point of our tour and working…
Rail Explorers – Boone, IA – July 2022
I found this adventure quite by accident. We had been on our Iowa tour just a few days when I was reading my news feed on my phone and it figured out my location. A news article about Rail Explorers popped up and it looked like a lot of fun. I went to the website…
Kenosha Homecoming Car Show (day 2)
Saturday We wanted to get to Kennedy Park early as possible to beat the lines and to secure a spot with the other Marlins for the Saturday show. We got in line, got our paperwork and lined up on the grass with the other cars. My car looked a little out of place. Most of…
Kenosha Homecoming Car Show
Photo: https://www.marlinautoclub.com/ Friday Every three years Kenosha WI hosts a homecoming car show. It’s a celebration of the American Motors car manufacturing industry that took place in Kenosha dating back to 1902. Any car with an American Motors connection is invited. Nash, Rambler, AMC, and even Jeeps. The event is nearly a week long, this…
Clear Lake Iowa Paddlefest
The South Dakota schedule worked out perfectly, so on our way back we stopped at Clear Lake Iowa to do the Paddlefest. This was the second time we’d done this race. Clear Lake (the lake) 3600 acres and is surrounded by Clear Lake (the town). The first time we did this race it was blowing…