We left far-north Michigan two days ago for a road trip of undetermined duration, heading southwest. Two days later, we’re on the Raccoon River in Iowa. This is rugged truck camping. We’re pulling our bed with us. Boo the Cat is with us, too. The only clear goal is to not rush. (I do have one clear destination in mind, but no deadline to get there. He has his own priorities, which will be shared here soon.) Follow along as our meandering road trip begins, in photos and captions below.
The day we left Michigan’s UP, this. Not unusual in early November. Our first night in a Wisconsin campground was cold..low 20s! Thank goodness the truck camper has a heater. We were glad to drive further south, into southern Minnesota and then Iowa.How fun to reunite with the Mississippi River. Five years ago, we were navigating this river by boat during The Great Loop. (To read about arriving at the Mississippi, insert “Grafton” into the search box below.)We camped near a lock in the town of Guttenberg, Iowa (named for the German town where the printing press was invented) and enjoyed watching traffic go through the lock while remembering what it was like to drive through ourselves. Scary the first few times, but it quickly became familiar.A walk along the riverfront gave us a close-up view of the lock.We followed the Great River Road for about 100 miles. It runs about 3,000 miles through 10 states! Besides these signs along the river, we kept encountering……trains. Long trains. The train track followed the river. I remember the trains running alongside the Hudson River when we were travelling it by boat. The sound of the train is cool, but it does disrupt your sleep.They rumbled past our campsite all night long, about 75 feet away…six trains while we slept. (Or tried to. 😉 )There’s something comforting about watching the commerce of America rumble past — probably 100 cars on this one, including lumber cars.The Mississippi was calm and cold during my morning walk…… which didn’t keep the duck hunters away. Or the Trumpeter Swans. With only 10 hours of daylight, we have to start soon after sunrise if we want to arrive much before sunset. So we hit the road pretty early and headed into the empty cornfields.Traveling through Iowa in November is like this…And this. Miles and miles of this. We left the interstate to look for a small campground I found online. As we got closer, we assumed it would be camping in a field. But, no!This charming county park in Penora, IA, is not only green…..it’s on a river! We can hear this waterfall from the truck. I took the short walk into town and found…… this charming historical village. Too bad it was closed. But I was grateful..…. for autumn leaves still visible around the train station (1800s), since they are all gone from the Upper Peninsula. Grateful for sun too, even though it goes down much too soon.It’s going to get into the 30s tonight, but we’re enjoying sitting outside by the portable Rocket Stove, which pulls air through the bottom to make a nice fire with a small amount of wood. Pitch dark at 6PM. Tomorrow, into Nebraska. More fields, no doubt. Stay tuned for more meanderings…
I’m so excited to take this trip with you…once again I’m seeing parts of our beloved country that I’d never see on my own. I’m so happy that it works for the two of you to be partners on this adventure…I’d be worried if you were doing it alone!! My favorites so far: the train station, and the MIssissippi photo with the sun reflecting in the water!
I’m so excited to take this trip with you…once again I’m seeing parts of our beloved country that I’d never see on my own. I’m so happy that it works for the two of you to be partners on this adventure…I’d be worried if you were doing it alone!! My favorites so far: the train station, and the MIssissippi photo with the sun reflecting in the water!
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