Work Day Evening
Just photos…a long work day ending with an evening walk…thinking, wishing, watching…
The barn I like in Iowa…
again…
another favorite “subject” – sun rays through clouds…
after the walk…
My Good Dog.
Work Day
I am working today… just taking a little break from dealing with frustrating code to play with photos…
I’ll spare everyone yet another barn photo, but I could not resist a few sunrise photos from this morning. This part of Iowa has rolling contours and right now the fields are mostly dirt. There were no clouds this morning – I’m fairly sure that yesterday’s wind blew them all away…and it is not done as it is supposed to be even windier today.
Back to this morning, I was walking Karl – there was light but the sun had not crested the top of the field to the east.
And then….once the sun was high in the sky…
so much fun to see these guys bloomin’!
Well, time to get back to work…
not everyone on this “ship” is working…
Across the Mississippi
First, Welcome to new visitors from Big Sky Blogs who clicked to From the Front Porch for the first time. And thanks to Big Sky Blogs for including From the Front Porch and extending the nice welcome! My About page is current and explains my current run for home.
Captain Karl and I crossed the Mississippi and are glad to be on the west side of it! No disrespect intended to the eastern U.S. – but my heart is in the west and the closer I get to Montana, the better I breathe… And just so I don’t leave out alienating even more of you – I’m also glad to be north – I was like a fish out of water in the south. The entire U.S. is beautiful and I can enjoy visiting any part of it, but for “home” well, more on “home” in another post.
Today’s travel started at just after 7 a.m. The idea was to get to Iowa City ASAP before too much of the forecast high wind kicked up and decide about going further.
Karl was ready on time…
We had a short bit further on the two lane, then hopped on the Interstate at Peoria and crossed the Mississippi about 10:30.
I stopped at the welcome center on the Iowa side and after a walk with Karl, decided that I would stop at the Coralville (just west of Iowa City) park I knew from my last trip.
The wind was holding the flags straight out – gorgeous for flag flying, not so good for motorhome driving…especially as my route was to be due west and the wind coming from due south – directly broadside. The 65 miles from the welcome center to the Coralville exit was plenty of wind fighting fun for one day. I pulled in to Colony Country Campground just after noon.
Colony Country Campground, so named as it is near the Amana Colonies for the family who owns it – by name of Colony, is a small rural park – 2 miles from the interstate so no traffic noise. But at the exit is a large mall, several shopping centers and a Wal-mart Super Center – all I need! There are nice grounds to walk Karl and the rural roads are quiet and beautiful as well. Oh, CCC has excellent Wi-Fi AND my aircard works so the work scenario is good for the work week. I’ll stay here until Friday – leaving at noon for a short driving day on Friday, driving Saturday and Sunday to get to Spearfish, SD – next week’s work venue.
RV site du jour…isn’t that house in the background beautiful?
Today’s barn photo…
Now – time for work.
From El Paso
Surprised??? Ok – El Paso, Illinois. We also passed Peru and Mexico – in Indiana.
Karl and I are on the roll west. It was a hard start, leaving my dear friends’ home but headed for the place I – and I think Karl – love best…
We rolled at just before 9 a.m. with 9 as the target departure time. It was cool at just above freezing but got to 40 in short order and above 50 through the day and still 52 now at 6:20 p.m. CDT in El Paso.
It was a different drive than my norm as I was determined to skip Chicago and the Ohio-Indiana-Illinois turnpike. I took Route 24 which was mostly a 2 lane – sometimes 4 but NOT limited access. We cruised through town after midwest farm town – nearly all quaint, beautiful old homes, gorgeous farms, farmhouses and barns. It is not the quickest way to go but it was pleasant – under a blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. No motorhome glitches, no operator error – a good travel day and we rolled into Hickory Hills Campground in El Paso at just after 4:00 p.m. CDT having gained an hour from our EDT start.
Tomorrow is a bit of a question – high winds are forecast…I thought to head for northwest IA which is a 452 mile day …10-12 hours depending on how many breaks I need. I have enough daylight and that gives me a really short weekend the following weekend to Spearfish, SD… The backup plan is Iowa City, IA and a rural campground where I spent a week last trip east. The sticky point is the high winds – gusts to 40 mph are forecast for afternoon- more stress than is “fun” to drive a high profile vehicle. I’ll stop in Iowa City tomorrow and evaluate.
But to wrap up – photos, of course!
Karl – last evening in Ohio
That barn again!
The road…I had been wanting to get a photo that illustrated exactly how narrow these rural roads are…and how DEEP the ditches! No room for error – corners are fun…
The site at Hickory Hills. Karl and I had a wonderful long walk along the rural road that accesses the campground. Post walk – a few treats for Karl, a glass of wine for me and some outside time. We actually had a lot of walking today – normal long walk this morning before leaving, nice long walk around a Wal-mart stop midday and the evening walk. We should both sleep well.
Farm scenery from my site picnic table.
Headed for Home
It was love at first site. December of 1993, I was driving from Sandpoint, ID – having been making the rounds of mountain west towns from Taos, NM to Lake Tahoe, CA to Bend, OR to Sandpoint – looking for a new place to live. I was born in northwest Ohio and left to take a job in San Francisco area in 1979. In 1981 I moved south to Los Angeles where I lived, worked, started my consulting business – spending my young adult years in the “big city”.
The first time I saw the Flathead Valley and the mountains of the Swan Range, the Whitefish Range and the Bob Marshall Wilderness was after spending several days in Coeur d’Alene (south of Sandpoint) – liking that area enough to look at homes with a realtor. I was newly married at the time, 37, and we were looking for a family spot. As we drove west of Libby, MT and the road started flattening to the valley floor – with those ranges of the rockies rising out of the east side of the valley – that was it…I was in love and I knew that I had come home. It was NOT home for my husband and he departed Montana and the marriage. I stayed and have been there on my own since 1996.
Twice I have explored the U.S. to see if there was a spot I’d rather live – not out of unhappiness with Montana, but with the sheer love of adventure and exploration that is also part of me. Twice I got so homesick for Montana that I made a mad dash back.
This winter I left again – not for another place, but for another love – for a man. It is not a move that I regret, but that has hit a snag and I’m on my way to my home in Montana. Karl and I, in the Winnebago, are pointed west – we will take our time and enjoy the journey, but I will be glad to be back – home in Montana.
Above – Karl and I in Dillon,MT – first morning “back in Montana” – Dec, 2005 – after a month in Camp Verde, AZ. The interesting thing [to me] about this photo – I had the camera on a tripod and I intended to be looking at the camera with Karl next to me. As I walked out to where Karl was, he was looking toward the mountains in a way that drew me to look also forgetting entirely about the camera setup… I love this photo.
Rainy afternoon
Yesterday was rainy, blustery, cold and generally felt more like November than April. The wallpaper stripping was tackled by Rick who decided it was easier on his own…darn…
Jeannine and I had work of our own, but by mid-afternoon had had enough and gathered at the dining table to make some bead earrings. I’ve been with Jeannine when she buys beads but I didn’t really know how they went together.
The finished earrings…the blue and ruby on the left are mine!…I picked the beads, Jeannine put them together.
I sat, sipped wine, made encouraging noises and watched the rain and the wind.
Looking out the gazebo…
The sunroom – cozy on a rainy day and perfect place for morning coffee. Karl has joined us on occasion – having his morning treats on the rug.