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 10th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2. 

While I walked and played games Larry read.