Thursday 4-23-26 Overcast Day, Walking & Camping

 

American Bald Eagles 

We had a fantastic day. It was overcast and humid all day. The morning temperature was 60 degrees and the high temperature was 76 degrees.

I got up a little late, it was 7:30 am. Then we had a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and shared a vanilla shake. 

The Volksweg Trail is a paved trail, that goes all the way to Pella and all around the campgrounds and day areas. It a beautiful trail and is used all the time by bicyclist, joggers and walkers. No motor vehicles are allowed. It's used by the locals and campers alike. It goes over the Des Moise River via a wooden bridge. We use parts of it for our morning walks and I use part of it for my evening walks.     

After breakfast we got ready to go on a walk using the Volksweg Trail, we walked 4 miles for 1 hour 45 minutes. We started from our site and picked it up by the bridge. We didn't have to walk to the Horn's Ferry Bridge to see the bald eagles, they were flying along the river by the bridge by us. We walked on the bridge and watched them fly for a little while. We got back on the trail and continued to Howell Station entrance. When we got there we continued our walk across the street until it crossed the main road. We walked the road to the sign that pointed to the North Overlook Recreation Area. Then we walked the road to where the trail intersected by the dam. We took the trail to the right and walked it to the trailhead sign of a trail. This trail goes for 13 miles and is called Elk Rock Equestrian Trail. We kept on going to a pedestrian tunnel, that took you under the road and up to a bathroom and parking lot. We walked through the tunnel and then turned around and headed back. As we walked we saw a couple of ladies walking like us and said hi to them. When we got back to where the trail Ys we kept walking towards the campground. We didn't go straight to the campground we walked to the day area. We walked around the day area and rested on a bench for a little bit. After our rest we headed back to our site. We saw a couple of ladies unloading their strollers from their vehicle and getting ready for a walk. The trail was about a mile to get back to the Minnie. We had a humid beautiful walk. 

Pedestrian Tunnel

My band didn't correctly track the mileage for the hike, not sure what happened. Larry was tracking the hike on his watch. It said we had walked 4.25 miles and mine said we ha walked 3.3 miles. He teased me and said I had to walk some more to catch up with him. Fortunately it did count my steps correctly.

After lunch we went over and took a shower. 

Larry spent the rest of the day relaxing. He finished a book yesterday so he started a new book and finished it. Then he started a second book.

Reading is fun

I played my games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 39 minutes and 11 seconds, which put me in 24th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

About 2:00 I did my evening walk because it was suppose to rain. I walked for 3.5 miles. I walked over the bridge to get to the other side. While I was walking on the bridge a couple of bald eagles flew over my head. What a beautiful site. Then I saw a couple more. The eagles were very active on the river today. Then I walked the trail towards the day area. But I stopped at Eagle Lair Nature Trail, which is .6 miles. I walked it twice going both directions. It was a very easy grassy trail, that goes through the trees and along the river back to the bridge. It was very easy and had no roots or rocks to trip over. As I walked the trail I heard and saw the eagles and white pelicans. It was very nice. I walked it twice by accident because I thought I missed something when I went the first time. After doing the trail I got back on the Volksweg Trail and went to the day area. There weren't too many people fishing today, I think I saw two people. I walked around the day area. Then I walked to Ivans Campground and walked around it. As I was walking around Ivans I stopped and visited with a gentleman, who comes here all the time. Then I continued my walk back to Larry. I called him to let him know I was ok because I didn't make it back in an hour, it was going to be an hour and a half. It was another beautiful walk. 

   

Dandelions

Giant fish at the day area to play on

White Pelicans in the river

Bald eagles in the trees

I spent the rest of the day and evening playing games. I started a new book called The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller.

By the end of the day I had done 18,500 steps. 

     

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.