Wednesday 4-22-26 Camping by the Des Moises River & Walking

 

Display on the wing span of birds in the area

We had another gorgeous day of sunshine. 

We woke up with the temperature of 59 degrees and the high was 77 degrees. There was a breeze all day, which kept it cooler.

I got up at 7:30 and got dressed. Then we shared the last apple strudel and the rest of the Dutch apple bread we bought yesterday. 

Today we decided to walk the beautiful paved trail around the campground and across the river for a total of 4 miles. There are a lot of trails here but we decided to take the paved trails. We started our walk from our campsite to the wooden bridge that goes to the other side of the river. We took the trail to the day area. Larry hadn't been to this day area and was very impressed. He saw the cute sand box with a fish in it, he thought it was great. Then we walked to Ivans Campground. We walked around the campground and relaxed on a bench. While doing this we saw a couple of beautiful American Bald Eagles. We watched them for awhile. It was hard to get a picture because they were too far away and flew fast. Next we walked back to the bridge and crossed back to our side of the river. We hung a right walked to the Horn's Ferry Bridge. We climbed the steps to get on the bridge. Once again we watched the eagles flying down the river. They hanging in the trees in the American Eagle Refuge, that Gladys Black founded. There are binoculars mounted to the bridge to help see the eagles, unfortunately they are not very good but you can see the eagles. We could stay there all day watching the eagles but we didn't. We climbed back down the steps and got back on the paved trail. We continued walking the trail to the entrance of the campground. Then we walked the road back to the Minnie. It was a humid walk but we had fun.

American Bald Eagle

In the afternoon we went on a motorcycle ride. Before leaving the campground we stopped by the check-in booth and told the lady we had extended our stay for another two nights. She was very friendly. Larry told her they were doing a great job with the flowers and decor around the booth. She thanked him and said that the Corps gives them some money to spend on flowers. It was their job to keep the park looking good. She said we would see a lot more flowers because of the extra money given to them. The attendants in this park are all volunteers and they only get a free camp site and no salary. It looks like they have no problem getting volunteers. In Texas the Corp hosts get a salary (at least they used to) because it's vended out.

After talking to her we continued our motorcycle rid to Pella. Larry wanted to surprise me by going to one of  the local ice cream parlors. One was suppose to open at 1:00 but when we arrived at 2:00 it was still closed. The other ice cream parlor didn't open until 4:00. Larry decided to go to Culver's. We haven't been to one in a long time. We shared a turtle sundae. It was delicious and had a lot of walnuts in it. The service was excellent and employees very friendly. 

On the way back we drove around to locate the hiking trailheads. We found them and decided if we wanted to do any of them we would have to ride the motorcycle to the trailhead. It was over a mile from the campground. We drove to the dam and turned around. We went back to the Minnie. 

For dinner we barbecued pork chops. After dinner I did my evening walk. I walked for an hour and got 2.5 miles. I walked to Horn's Ferry Bridge to watch the eagles. While there I talked to a lady, who lives in Pella. We talked for awhile. She said in the Winter time there are a lot more eagles in the trees and other birds, they migrate to Lake Red Rock. She said it's great to see. After saying our good-byes I continued my walk. I walked to the entrance of the campground instead of getting off the trail I walked it until it ended at the parking lot for the trailhead. Then I walked the main highway to the road, that takes you to the dam area. I walked the road until it got back to the paved trail. I didn't go all the way to the day area I turned where the trail Yd. I walked back to the campground. I had a very pleasant walk.

More fun facts about birds wing span. 

White Pelican (96-111 inches)

Wood Duck (26-29 inches) 

Wood Duck (26-29 inches)

American Bald Eagle (70-86 inches)

Osprey (59-79 inches)

By the end of the day I had done 16,000 steps.

I played my games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Solitaire World Tour of 30 games. It took me 5 hours, 13 minutes and 29 seconds to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2. 

While I walked and played games Larry read.         

      

Tuesday 4-21-26 Pella & Lake Red Rock Visitor Center

 Lake Red Rock Howell Station Recreation Area

We had an outstanding day. There was wind but the sun was out and blue skies. We woke up to 58 degrees and the high was 85 degrees.

I crawled out of bed about 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made mini waffles for breakfast and we shared a shake. We hung around the Minnie until 9:30. We took the motorcycle off it's carrier and then we rode to the town of Pella, which was 5.2 miles from the campground. 

Pella is a small Iowa town with the population of 10,464, it was founded by Dutch immigrates in 1847. The 800 Dutch immigrants were led by Dominee (Minister) Hendrick "Henry P. Scholte settled the area know as Pella. It was named Pella in reference to Pella of Decapolis, where the Christians of Jerusalem had found refuge during the Roman-Jewish War of 70, the name was selected because the Dominee and his followers sought religion freedom as well. (Wikipedia) It is a quaint town with shops, cafe, bakeries and more. 

We arrived at Pella around 9:40 and walked around. Larry had read about places to see and visit before we left. Pella is well known for their tulips. The city didn't disappoint us. There are two great parks to see the tulips, Central Park and Sunken Gardens. The first site we walked by was the famous Vermeer Windmill, during the tourist season you can get a guided tour for $20 a piece. Tours are not happening right now but you can see the windmill from the street. The blades still go around and it's very nice. Next was the Klokkenspel, where there is a glass window and they do performances every two hours on the history of Pella. The first performance wasn't until 11:00 so we continued walking around. 

Vermeer Windmill

Wishing canal

Next was Central Park to see the beautiful gardens of tulips. There was a windmill building, where you can get information at. It was very cute. There were two entrances to the park. One had a tall tower, that said Tulip Time and the other one was called Tulip Avenue. We entered at the tower. There were tulips all over the place. The was a huge Sundial and a sign, that explained how the sundial worked. It doesn't work like our clocks it works by using the Sun's position to cast a shadow from a raised object called a gnome onto a marked surface known as a dial plate. Today it was pointing at 12:30 and it was 10:30. It was neat to see. We walked around and down tulip avenue, which had signs in front of the tulips explaining each type of tulip that was there. There was a beautiful fountain. 

Tulip Time tower entrance at Central Park

The giant sundial

Larry and I standing in front of the sundial

One of the gorgeous gardens of tulips

Fountain in Central Park

People walking Tulip Avenue

Next was Sunken Gardens, which was about four blocks away. As we walked to the Sunken Gardens we passed by tulips in everyone's front yard and along the sidewalk. Sunken Garden is a small park with a beautiful pond and a windmill. There was a walkway, that went around the pond with gardens of tulips. As we walk around the pond there were signs about the history of Pella. It was a very nice walk around the pond.

Sunken Garden Park

Tulips in Sunken Garden Park

More tulips at Sunken Garden Pakr

Tulips planted by Pella Elementary School students

The windmill at Sunken Garden Park

As we exited Sunken Garden Park we saw a cute log cabin, which was called Tuttle Log Cabin. It is a historic 1843 log cabin owned by Thomas and Nancy Tuttle, it was originally in the center of Pella.

Tuttle Log Cabin

We walked back to the Klokkenspel so we could watch the show about the history of Pella. We got back with ten minutes to spare. It was a cute presentation shown in the windows with eight characters. It started on the street side and then ended in the little common, where there was seating. Larry read this so we watched the beginning but most of the people only watched the second half. There was only a small plate, that said the show started at the street. The Klokkenspel is a historic carillon clock, that featuring eight 4-foot mechanical figures that perform the local and history of the Dutch heritage.

Street Side Scenes

Dominie Hendrik Scholte (leader of the 1847 Dutch immigrates)

Maria Scholte (Dominie wife)

Blacksmith

Lawman Wyatt Earp

Courtyard Scenes of the Tulip Time Festival

A wooden shoe maker

Flower girls with tulips

Street scrubbers after the festival

After watching the performance we walked down the road to Vander Ploeg Bakery Company. We weren't planning to stop here but Jaarsma Bakery had a line out of it's door and down the street. We're glad we stopped at Vander Ploeg Bakery Company because the service was super and the employees were friendly. We bought a creme filled pastry with sugar on top, a creme filled pasty with chocolate chips on top, two apple strudels and a Dutch Apple Bread. We had a super experience.

 

Pastries we bought

Dutch Apple Bread

After buying our pastry we walked back to the motorcycle. Then we drove back to Hollow Station Recreation Area. 

It was lunchtime by the time we got back so we shared a sandwich and chips. For dessert we shared an apple strudel and the chocolate chip pastry. We also had some of the bread. Everything was delicious.

After lunch we went to the Lake Red Rock Visitor Center. We loaded onto the motorcycle and rode there. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to see they were building a new visitor center, which was going to be 2200 square feet. The lady in the visitor center was very friendly and helpful. She was excited about the new visitor center. She also informed us, that the current facility was closing at the end of the day for good. The new one wasn't going to open until next year. They were going to work on the parking lot. It's a small visitor center but had a lot to offer. It had displays about different turtles, which were Western Painted turtles, Jim (a huge 20 year old snapping turtle) and another turtle. They had a display of fish in Lake Red Rock, which were Black Bullhead, Bluegill, Plecostomus and Green Sunfish. They had other displays of wildlife and very nice Bald Eagle. It was amazing how much they had in a small building. It was fun talking to the lady and walking around inside and outside.

Visitor Center

Lake Red Rock

Jim not that great of a picture because he's in a glass display

Display of the fish in the area

Bald Eagle

In the evening I walked around the campground and the day area on our side of the lake for an hour and twenty minutes for 3.5 miles. I walked to the bridge and checked it out. There was a sign there explaining the bridge. The bridge was called Horn's Ferry Bridge named after Elias Horn, who operated a ferry at this location in 1869 before the bridge was built. The ferry transported cattle, horses, wagons, and household goods across the Des Moines River between Pella and Knoxville. In 1982 after 101 years the bridge was closed to vehicles but remained open to pedestrians and bicycles. In 1991 one of the stone pillar collapsed and took 300 feet of the bridge down the river. The remaining portion of the bridge is now an observation point for wildlife viewing, particular bald eagles. There was also an interesting sign about Gladys Black. She used this area for over 25 years to educate herself and others about birds and habitat needs. By the time she died in 1998 at the age of 89, she had recorded 305 species of birds at Lake Red Rock. There is a fence at the bridge with different birds on it and how big their wing span is. The birds were Barred Owl (39-43 inches), Turkey Vulture (67-70 Inches), Pileated Woodpecker (26-30 inches) and Great Blue Heron (66-79 inches). After reading the signs I continued my walk around the campground. I was almost finished and decided to walk down to the day area because I wanted to get more steps. I saw a lot of people fishing at the dam. I also saw a lot of bicyclist using the trail. I had a super walk. 

Horn's Ferry Bridge

Des Moines River

Barred Owl

Turkey Vulture

Great Blue Heron

Pileated Woodpecker

Neighborhood cat playing in the grass

I spent the rest of the evening playing games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Hard Road Mini of 5 games. It took me 1 hour, 12 minutes and 16 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

While I walked and played games Larry read his news groups, Reddit groups and did research on where to go after leaving here.

    

      

              

Monday 4-20-26 Visiting Eldon and Knoxville & Lake Red Rock

 

Having fun site seeing

We had a long day having fun visiting Eldon and Knoxville. 

We woke up to a cool 30 degrees in Keosauqua, Iowa and ended up with the high of 68 degrees in Pella, Iowa.

For breakfast we shared a bagel with cream cheese spread on it and a shake. Then we put things away and secured. Toady we said good-bye to Lacey-Keosauqua State Park after staying four great days.

We were on the road by 8:00 am. We traveled for 120 miles on two lane highways and a four lane highway. The drive was by a lot of farmland and small ranches. It was a very nice drive.

While driving we stopped a few times to do some touristy stuff. When we were driving through Eldon, Iowa we drove by Wapello County Regional Fairgrounds and saw a couple of horses pulling a driver in a sulky. We turned around and went to the fairgrounds to watch them. We weren't there too long, we watched them go around the track a couple of times. Then we continued going through Eldon but we saw KD Center, where there was a train museum. We stopped and parked the Minnie at KD Center park. We walked over to the museum. It was closed but we walked around the area looking and reading about the history of Keokuk & Des Moines Railroad. The K & D Railroad continued operation between Eldon and Des Moines from the 1800's until the 1970s. After walking around we went back to the Minnie and continued our adventure.

Harness Racing practice

Eldon Iowa

Railroad Museum in Eldon

Founder of the museum

Engine on display

Remains of the railroad tracks

Knoxville, Iowa was next. We stopped at Walmart to replenish some items we were getting low on. After putting everything away we had lunch. A few blocks away was the National Sprint Car Museum. The museum is right at the track, it is a half mile oval track. They race every Saturday night. The museum had a lot of information about sprint car racing and the drivers. It had a lot of exhibits. After walking around and looking at the exhibits a gentleman, who manages the place showed us around one of the suites that looks out over the track. The museum doesn't own the track but they do own the suites above the museum. They lease them out for $25,000 per year. He was very nice and we were glad he took the time to show us around.

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum

#83 Tim Shaffer driver 

Circle 3 Ketter Special Al Ketter driver

Other sprint cars on display

Knoxville National Champions by Frank Clodfelter

Cheryl Glass (1961-1997) first African American female professional race car driver and first women to compete in sprint car racing in the United States

Another sprint car on display

The race track

After touring the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum we continued on to Elk Rock State Park. We had planned to stay but the bathrooms were still locked up for the winter. We decided we would go down the road and stay at Lake Red Rock U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Area Hollow Station. Before going there we stopped at Cordova Park to see the Observation Tower, it was on the way. We didn't just see it we walked the 169 steps to the top, which I counted. Once on top we had a beautiful view of Lake Red Rock and the bridge we drove over to get there. We met a gentleman, who was getting ready for a hunting trip in Nevada and he had to get in shape so he was climbing the tower multiple times. 

Lake Red Rock

Cordova Park Observation Tower from the web

After climbing the tower we moved to our campground. We arrived there at 3:30 pm. We stopped at the gate because someone was manning it. Larry asked if we could drive around and find a site. She said yes but we had to come back and check-in. We drove around and found a few sites. Then Larry went on the internet to see if they're available for our stay. The first couple of sites weren't available because they were right on the lake looking at the dam. We found a site, that was close to the bathroom and it looked over the lake. He reserved it for a couple of nights but we'll probably will be here longer. Then we drove back to the gate and checked-in.

Howell Station Recreation Area on Lake Red Rock is a gorgeous campground. It's huge. There is a paved walking trail, that goes to town and the two day areas. There's a bridge, that takes you across the lake to the second day area and Ivans Recreation Area. 

Once we set the Minnie up for a couple of nights we had dinner. After dinner we walked the paved trail to the day area on our side of the lake. It was for 2.25 miles round trip. During our walk we saw people fishing on the banks, a lot of pelicans, people walking, jogging and walking their dogs. The day area had kids playing in the playground. Later I did a 2.5 mile walk. I walked the bridge to the other side of the lake. Then I took the trail to where it Ys. It you go to the right you go to the day area and if you go to the left it takes you to Ivans Recreation Area. I went right and walked to the day area, where I saw a lot of people enjoying the area. There was a cute sandbox with a fish to climb on and other things to climb through. I walked around the area and back to the Y, where I walked it to Ivans. While walking around, that campground I saw a racoon, it was walking the road. After walking around I walked back to the bridge. I took the bridge back over the lake. When I got back to the Minnie I called it a night.

Check-in booth with tulips in front of it

 

Lots of pelicans

Red Rock Dam

Closer look of the pelicans

Playground on the other side of the lake

The Minnie in the campground from the dam

       

Racoon walking towards me

After my walk I played the Daily Challenges of  Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 46 minutes and 18 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

By the end of the day I had done 15,000 steps.