Wednesday 4-29-26 Lake Manawa State Park & Fun Times in Omaha

 

A beautiful day at Lake Manawa

We woke up to a brisk 38 degrees. There was a little breeze. It got up to 62 degrees.

I wasn't in any hurry to get out of bed so I didn't get up until 8:00 am. Larry had already been up for a couple of hours. I got dressed and then made breakfast.

After breakfast we went on a walk around the park and to the Missouri River, a total of 3 miles. We started the walk from our site and walked to the park main road. We walked the road to the Missouri River, where there were two boat ramps. There was a huge power plant at the river, a lot of steam was coming from it's stacks. But if you look the other way you can see a very nice river. Then we walked the road back to where the paved trail was. We walked the trail the other way from yesterday. While walking we saw a few people walking and said hi to them. When we got back to the campground we walked around Dreamland Playground. It was a slower walk around because Larry read the signs. The signs explained the history of Council Bluffs and the playground and it's buildings. The buildings represented different buildings from the mid 1800s and the railroad. Each building had a sign explaining it. It's a great playground for the kids and we told the local mothers there with their kids it was. One cool sign was when the circus came to town. They let their sixteen elephants go for a swim in the river. This attracted We had a super walk.

Power plant on the river

Missouri River

The dreamland playground was first built in (1992 - 1993) and was re-imaged in (2016 - 2018). The playground was increased in size during the re-image from 10,000 square feet to 17,800 square feet. The original playground had 6 giant towers with connecting decking and an Elephant slide, Wiggly bridge, Monkey bar rings, Tire and chain climber, Funny mirror panels, Music panels and Tiny tots area with swings. The re-image playground now has unique Council Bluffs elements: General Dodge House (1869), City Hall/Police Station (1880), Dohany Opera House (1883)/Strand Theater (1916), Fire Station (1885), Nellie the Asian Elephant (June 25, 1905), Lewis & Clark (mahogany red rubber surfacing), Missouri River (blue rubber path), Lake Manawa (blue rubberized area) and Tiny tot area with swings. The playground had composite material throughout the area designed for endurance. It's a gorgeous facility.

Squirrel Cage Jail (1885) and Police Station/City Hall (1884)

Strand Theater (1916) and Dohany Opera House (1883)

Nellie the Elephant

Larry started a book last night and finished it today. He read his news groups and other groups he follows. He started a new book. He did research on where to go after leaving here.

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 5 games. It took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds to finish, which put me in 20th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

In the afternoon we went to Omaha, Nebraska to do some fun stuff. We didn't leave until 1:30, we waited because it was quite cool and we were taking the motorcycle, we also wanted to play pinball at Beer Cade 2 and it didn't open until 2:00. It was about 10 miles to downtown Omaha. We drove around the park to the Missouri River bridge and took it to Nebraska. They were doing a lot of construction in downtown Omaha so parking was a challenge. We were glad we didn't try to park the Minnie. The ride was cool but it wasn't too far.

We arrived five minutes early so we walked around. Beer Cade 2 opened right on time. Their hours are 2:00 pm to 2:00 am. They didn't serve food but they did serve 30 rotating beer taps. They have arcade games such as Asteroids, Frogger, NBA Jam, Ms. Pac-Man and others for a quarter. They had Cirqus Voltaire, Medieval Madness, The Addams Family, Cactus Canyon, Scared Stiff, Avengers, Stranger Things, Dungeons and Dragons, Junk Yard, Dial In, Attack From Mars (twice), Dr. No and Pulp Fiction. I played them all and Larry played a few. All the games were $.50 except Medieval Madness was $1.00 and Pulk Fiction was $.75. Beer Cade 2 was very clean the games were in great shape. The only complaint I have was on Cirqus Voltaire the Ring Master's head wasn't working and the Boom Balloons weren't working. They didn't do many matching at the end of a game. I got one match and Larry played that game. We played pinball for an hour and had a great time. 

Beer Cade 2

Playing Medieval Madness

The Addams Family

Cactus Canyon

Avengers

Junk Yard

Attack From Mars

Dr. No

After playing pinball we loaded back onto the motorcycle and drove a mile or so to walk around the downtown where they have great sculptures of Pioneer Courage and The First National Park 2002 Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness. The Pioneer Courage Park has 100 life size bronze and stainless statues of pioneers expanding to the west. They were outstanding statues and huge.

Pioneer Courage Park 

Native Americans talking with the Pioneers

A man leading his oxen onward bound

Pushing the wagon out of the mud (part of the statue shows mud)

A family all packed up to move west 

Mom and older daughter walking behind their wagon

 

Family moving with all their belongs mother walking with baby in her arms

Mother and daughters walking on the hill

 

A boy and his hound 

Mother walking with her kids on a horse

One of the wagon masters making sure everything is moving on

The Spirit of Nebraska Wilderness statues were down the street from Pioneer Courage Park. As we walked the couple of block we saw a lot of bison bronze statues in buildings, on the corners and in the grass. It was cool to see. The Spirit of Nebraska Wilderness Park is linked with the Pioneer Courage Park, it pays tribute to geese and the buffalo. The statues are gorgeous. The statues show the geese flying and they are made out of bronze and fades into the stainless to show the changing in time. You once saw a lot of geese flying around now you don't see too many. Same goes for the buffalo, you use to see herds of buffalo roaming the plains now you don't see any at all. The grounds are very well maintained. While we were walking around we saw a couple of guys (one guy was pushing a mower and the other one was weed eating). They were doing a great job. They even had geese on top of the traffic lights. It was a great walk around.

The Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness

A cow running with her calf

Geese in flight

A bull running through the grass

More geese in flight at the back of the flock

Geese at the beginning of the flock

Geese on a traffic light

After walking around downtown Omaha for an hour or so we loaded back on the motorcycle and started our journey back to Lake Manawa State Park. It was a challenge getting back because some of the streets were closed due to construction. But Larry figured it out because he had programmed the route back to the campground on his phone's GPS. We were almost back to the park when Larry saw a sign, that said ice cream. So he turned into the parking lot of Doozie's. Doozie's is a cute hamburger joint, that looks like it's in the 50s, they have a fake juke box on every table (doesn't play). The layout of the restaurant is very clean and open. The tables and booths are a step higher then the floor and the step has lights on it. The menu is old fashioned where you can read it and it doesn't keep flipping around. The employees were friendly and the service was fast. They have daily specials combos, todays special was the cowboy burger. The combo came with the cowboy burger (5 oz. burger patty with bacon, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and an onion ring on a toasted bun), you get a choice of fries or onion rings and a medium drink. We shared the cowboy burger, onion rings and a diet Pepsi. For dessert we had a butter scotch sundae. It was a lot of food and very good. We had a super experience.

Doozie's

Doozie's Restaurant

Our dinner

After eating we went back to the campground. By the time we got back we were tried. Before going inside we put the motorcycle back on it's carrier. After I rested a little while I went on an hour walk around the campground loops five times for 3 miles to get some steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps.

Larry read while I went for a walk. He started a new book. After I finished my games I continued reading The Curse of Pietro Houdini.

We had a super day.

   

    

 

    

        

        

 

Tuesday 4-28-26 New State Park, Driving & Having Fun

 

Hold on Piglet

We had a wonderful day. 

The weather was chilly and overcast. We woke up to 45 degrees in Ankeny, Iowa and overcast skies. By the end of the day we had a high temperature of 56 degrees in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It sprinkled on and off all day. It was very lite, a few drops at a time. It was windy at times the wind was strong enough to move the Minnie around. Overall the temperature was very comfortable and nice.

Today we moved on, we were at Cherry Glen Campground on Saylorville Lake for three days. The rain had stopped and the wind had died down. I got out of bed at 7:45. Then we had a bagel with cream cheese and a vanilla shake. After we finished eating we put things away and put a small cooler together. I took the trash to the dumpster while Larry unplugged us from the power. We were on the road by 8:15 am.

We didn't have to dump the tanks so we didn't have to stop at the dump station. Larry drove 140 miles today mainly on four lane highways. We saw a lot of farmland. It wasn't too exciting but it was a nice drive. The wind picked up at times and knocked the Minnie around. At least it wasn't raining. We stopped a couple of time at rest areas to stretch our leg and go to the bathroom. 

Before going to Lake Manawa State Park we stopped at a local grocery store called Hy Vee to pick up a couple of things. It was a very nice store and had a bakery. Actually they bake a lot of their bakery items. We bought a mini loaf of blueberry cake. 

Grocery Shopping

Lake Manawa State Park is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This morning Larry was notified through an e-mail to remember the gate code because you need it to get in the park. So he wrote it down. In fact they had two codes, the first code did the trick. We arrived at 11:30 am and there were people still in our site. So we parked in the boat parking area. In all fairness check-out isn't until 3:00 pm. We didn't care because we had lunch while we waited. We could watch them getting ready and leaving. They were gone by 12:30 pm. It is a pull through so we could simply pull in. The site number was #007. 

All the sites are full hook-ups and paved. Each site has a fire ring with a grill, picnic table and a lantern hook. The park has two loops and a paved walking trail that goes around the park. There is a very nice playground called Dreamland Park. It's a big park but the sites have no trees or privacy. They all very nice.

Once we were set-up for three days we went on a walk. We walked to the day area, boat ramp and around the park for three miles. We walked the paved trail. We took an umbrella with us because it looked like rain. While we were walking we saw three turkeys crossing the road. They were fast so I couldn't get a good picture. We saw a few bat boxes on the trees. We were back at the Minnie at 3:30 pm. We had walked for an hour and a half. It was a very nice walk.

Lake Manawa at the day area

Turkeys crossing the street

A bat box

Before going inside after our walk I walked over to the Dreamland Park and took a few pictures. It's a big park for the kids to play on different things. It had signs all over the park telling the history of Council Bluffs and the park. There was a family of four enjoying the park for the first time.

Dreamland Playground

Donors Booth

Obstacle Course in the playground

 

Slides and more at the playground

More stuff to do at the Dreamland Playground

We snacked on the blueberry cake. Larry read and I played my games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Spider Adventure of 20 games. It took me 2 hours, 6 minutes and 43 seconds, which put me in 5th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

Mini loaf of blueberry cake

For dinner we had soup. After dinner I walked around the campground for an hour and did three miles. I walked the loops three times. By the end of the day I had done 15,000 steps.

 

      

Monday 4-27-26 Dreary Laid Back Day

 

Camping at Saylorville Lake 

We had a very laid back day.

We woke up to rain. It started in the middle of the night and was very steady. At times it poured. The morning temperature was 59 degrees and the high was 72 degrees at 2:00 pm. Then the wind came up and the temperature dropped to 57 degrees by 5:00 pm. It sprinkled on and off all morning.

We spent most of the day inside. Larry finished two books. I played games.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 54 minutes and 10 second to complete, which put me in 22nd place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

After lunch I started an afternoon walk but it only lasted a short time. I ended only doing .66 mile because it started to sprinkle. I met a lady from Des Moines and her Yorkie. We were talking when it started to sprinkle. We said our good-byes. By the time I got back to the Minnie it had stopped. It was this way all day.

After dinner Larry and I went for walk to get out of the Minnie. He walked with me for a mile and I walked another two miles. The walk was around the campground because it looked like rain.

After playing my games I continued reading The Curse of Pietro Houdini. 

By the end of the day I had done 10,000 steps.

Saylorville Lake Campground was a great place to be held up for a couple of days due to the weather. It's a big enough campground to walk around. When you do all the little loops its .8 mile. 

Sunday -26-26 Overcast Day & Relaxing

 

Saylorville Lake

We had an overcast day and it sprinkled on and off.  The morning temperature was 54 degrees and the high temperature was 72 degrees.

We woke up to rain, not hard rain, just a little drizzle. It drizzled on and off all day. We decided to stay another day. Larry went online after lunch and paid for the day. It's suppose to rain all day tomorrow so we'll probably stay another night. But we're going to play it by ear.

I wasn't in any hurry to get out of bed so I didn't crawl out until 7:40. I got dressed and then made pancakes for breakfast. There was rain in the area and it was drizzling so we just hung around the Minnie. Some people left. People who were going to stay another night left. We were kind of happy because all our neighbors left. We don't mind neighbors but some of the sites here are real close to each other. 

About 2:00 we decided to go for a walk. We walked for 3 miles using the Neil Smith Trail. Neil Smith Trail is a paved trail that is about 25 miles long, it is a multi-use path. It runs along the Des Moines River and Saylorville Lake. You can access the trail at the gatehouse We walked the trail to Red Feather Prairie Area. There are a couple of hiking trails there and a parking lot. As we walked the trail we walked by a pond and through the trees. The trail went up and down hills. We saw a few people walking the trail and a few bicyclists. When we got to Red Feather Prairie Area we rested on a bench. After resting we walked back to the campground. We saw a turkey walk across the trail into the trees. We were surprised there was only one. It was a very nice walk.

Read Feather Prairie 

Turkey walking across the trail

Same turkey on a downed tree

Larry finished another book. He has had a stretch of three or four books in a row that have not been great, they have been readable but they could have been better. He has been reading some books that he has had hanging around for years. They are not long books. Maybe there is a reason they have continued to sit on his to be read list for so long. 

I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Free Cell and 10 Pyramid). It took me 2 hours, 36 minutes and 33 seconds to complete, which put me in 18th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

After dinner I went for an hour walk around the campground loops, three times for 2.5 miles. I didn't want to go too far away because it was going to rain. I said hi to people and visited with a few dogs. It was a very nice walk. 

When I finished my games I continued reading The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller.

Reading is fun and relaxing

By the end of the day I had done 13,000 steps.