A Mini Family Reunion

Since my daughter and her husband were not going to be able to make it all the way east this year for the "big" family reunion (they just bought a new house and their priorities need to be elsewhere), we met up with them at Maumee State Park near Toledo, Ohio. It was so great to see them, since I don't get to see her very often.

It was a long drive from Iowa, and she was driving from DeKalb, so amazingly, we arrived at the rest stop at mile marker 55 in Ohio within 10 minutes of one another. We had driven through the storm yet again, and felt that we really deserved and needed a root beer float. They were getting gas. They are bringing a 67 Ford station wagon (my son in law collects old cars), and they actually stay in the car trailer that they have rigged with an air-conditioner. In Ohio, in late July, it is impossible to breath without air conditioning. Thankfully, our trailer has a well-functioning air conditioner.

I was uncertain what to expect from Maumee State Park. The map of the sites made it look huge, and I was nervous that it wouldn't be at all private. As it turns out, it IS huge, but each of the sites is well separated from the others by hedges and trees, and we felt as though we were in our own little oasis, albeit only two sites away from the daughter.

With all the humidity and the occasional rain shower, the bugs were pretty miserable, though. We were glad to have our screened tent! The Park itself includes a golf course, a lodge, rentable cabins, well over 100 paved campsites, a beach on Lake Erie, and a beach on a pond, miles and miles of hiking, nature, and biking trails...the list goes on and on. Everything is incredibly well maintained. This is a gem of a park!

We did a little biking, and we went out to lunch at the New York Deli, which was really great. Dinners consisted of a Caribbean spiced grilled pork with an apple salsa, and a Wasabi Miso Flank Steak, continuing our efforts to avoid standard camp food but still to use the grill to make some sort of picnic. The sunset on our second night was gorgeous from our campsite!

So let's see -- what did we need to fix on this leg of the trip? We finally needed to add fresh water, on the fifth night of the trip. Not too bad. And we had a problem with the canopy after all the bouncing around on the terrible highway roads -- the husband and son-in-law got that fixed. Also, a little work was needed on the dinette seat to get it back in place and support it.

The dogs had a great time, not least of all because of getting to spend time with their...what...sister, aunt...? Anyway, they seemed as thankful as we were for the air conditioning. Day after day of 90 degree whether and 100% humidity takes its toll on us Colorado folks used to dry (and cooler) weather!

Tomorrow we head out, and it will be hard to say goodbye. But we had a lovely time at this mini-reunion with Becks and Rob.

The Lake With a Deceiving Name

We had low expectations for tonight's campsite, given that it's name was Dam Complex. I mean, who names a place something prosaic like that and expects anyone to stay. If you were staying at a campsite named Dam Complex, would you expect this?

After a long (7 hours) very hard day of driving, we thought we'd be driving into, well, a complex! Instead, it is a great campground with many small semi-private areas of 4 or 5 campsites. After we arrived...

...we took a bike ride around the campground, and saw the many small areas that would be perfect for a family reunion (which is on our minds since we're headed toward one). The circle we are in has something more like 20 campsites; still, we have some nice privacy and are right on the lake. The name of the lake is Coralville Lake, which seems like a much better name for the campgrounds surrounding it than Dam Complex!

Having spent a long time cooking (me) and cleaning up (the husband) last night, we decided to go out for dinner. We'd never been to a Texas Roadhouse before, but it turned out to have great steaks and great sangria with tequila floaters. And we got to come back to the trailer with treats for the pups and no dishes to do. It was a nice break!

However, the drive to this spot outside of Iowa City, Iowa, was a nightmare. We actually had forgotten it can rain this hard. In Colorado, the weather that makes it impossible to see on the road is snow. Somehow that seems more fitting than just plain water falling from the sky. But for several hours, it was raining so hard we could only see a dozen feet in front of us, or so. The husband was driving, so I was very glad I was knitting. I was able to focus on the project and use up some of my nervous energy creating a garment! There was certainly no sleeping to be done! Not for the people, anyway. The dogs slept away and were terrifically well behaved. We would not have been happy to have had to take them out in that downpour.

Our campsites in the past have been mainly state parks, so this was the first federal campsite. As such, we were able to use the husband's senior pass for a half price reservation. So tonight was an incredible bargain! During this cross-country trip, we'll see both state and federal campgrounds, and even a county one in New Jersey, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Johnson Lake State Recreation Area

Today we left Ogallala and headed to Johnson Lake. Although it was supposed to be a short drive, just over 3 hours, it took us much longer. Before we left Ogallala, we drove down to the flume created by the release valve of the dam. WOW! The dam produces 50 megawatts of power, and the flume is created by a valve that allows a release of water without sending the water through the turbines It is run all summer long just to provide a higher dissolve oxygen level for the fish. Pretty cool...and just pretty.

 

 

We didn't have to leave too early because the drive wasn't so far, so we set out for a drive around the lake. Lake Ogallala is the largest lake in Nebraska -- 22 miles long. We ended up deciding not to drive all the way around, since it was kind of an unattractive drive. The homes around the lake are mostly manufactured, which was quite different than Johnson Lake turned out to be.

 

On our trip to Johnson Lake , we decided to take a back road (route 30) rather than the faster but more boring route 80. We drove through some very cute little towns, and some really desolate ones, and then headed south from North Platte. Stopped at an ice cream place that reminded the husband of his high school job at a dairy bar -- backroads Nebraska retains some of that old-fashioned charm. It's not the most direct route, but we were hoping it was more fun. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else with a trailer, though. Route 83 south from North Platte was a roller coaster, and everything that could be tossed around in the trailer was.

 

Nonetheless, it was a pretty drive and we made it! We had a great spot at the Johnson Lake Recreation Area -- the inlet campground -- right on the water.

We sat outside and enjoyed the dusk, and even had a firework show from a town in the distance. Right after dark, however, a storm blew in and we were unable to cook on the grill. So I did everything inside, which took a lot longer to cook serial dishes rather than being able to cook some while the husband grilled. We ended up with a great grilled (oh...actually pan fried) tarragon cod with smashed golden potatoes and a tarragon tomato sauce.

The storm was very exciting, with lots of lightening and thunder, and heavy wave action, for a few hours. The dogs were not phased, however; they know how to be comfortable in the camper!



Ogallala State Recreaction Area

Today was the first day of travels on our first long trip. We're heading from the mountains of Colorado to western Massachusetts, and then back, over the course of two and half weeks. On this first day, we traveled for about six hours. Not too bad, considering some days we have planned for over eight. We started by heading up to Wyoming, and then took a sharp right on 80 to get us into Nebraska. The weather was gorgeous, and the views were amazing, even in Nebraska (about which I don't have great memories or expectations). As all first days of vacations, it was hard to believe we were actually on vacation as we both thought about (and talked about) work. Hopefully, we'll be able to lose this habit as we continue our travels.

Preparations for this trip started six months ago, when we were able to start reserving camping spots. We searched using reserveamerica.com, and then we used Google Earth to help us pick spots. Of course, we also were able to read reviews of the campgrounds online. Nothing could have prepared us for how beautiful it is at Lake Ogallala State Recreation Area, though. We have a great campsite on a sort of mini-peninsula, slightly separate from other campsites and surrounded on three sides by water.

We were delighted when we turned into the campground and found our spot (#8). It was a sunny beautiful day, but pretty hot (in the 90s). There's electricity at this campground, so we fired up the air conditioner, and found it worked very well. This was our first time testing it, and we got the camper cool in a matter of 10 minutes or so. Since there are electric hookups, we thankfully don't have to worry about nighttime quiet times and the generator.

Although we had reserved and paid for the spot ahead of time, we still needed to go back a ways and get a park pass ($5.35). We made it back to our site in time for a quick bike ride out to one of the dams to see the sunset. What a beautiful ride -- the lake to one side, cows and a beautiful pasture to the other. It's just a mile and half bike ride (or walk) but well worth taking. At dusk, though, the bugs were out in full force. We wouldn't have wanted to be walking...biking at full speed, we just needed to be sure to keep our mouths closed!

And speaking of bugs, we haven't heard the cicadas like this for years. They are just not active in the Colorado mountains. It brings back such memories of summer nights in the east. And fireflies -- there's another memory revisited tonight.

We were wondering what a sociologist/culinary expert might have to say about camp food. There is a family reunion being held in the campsite -- what are they eating. And what's on the grill at all those other campsites? At our campsite, we had Indian lamb kabobs with zucchini and red peppers (marinated in a yogurt curry sauce), a yogurt raita, and naan cooked on the grill. I actually really enjoy preparing food in the camper, where everything is at arms' reach. And there's something about taking my time and not feeling rushed that is just so delicious...as was the food.

Tomorrow's a short 3 hour drive, so we'll see what we come up with to do with all those other hours!