7-19-24 Hartford, IA

Fun family time has passed and it’s once again time to hit the dusty trail.  And write a few stories.  The trip to Hartford, IA was a straight shot south from MSP but our curiosity and wanderlust took us to the back roads through the small towns.  It was a rather long trip on the 69 as a result, 7 hours;  Speed reductions through the little town streets, construction slow-downs and detours and winding narrow roads.  But it was so much more interesting and beautiful to travel through the relative peace of the countryside rather than taking the freeway.  Farmers are busily plowing, planting and irrigating the fields.  And that sound you hear is either the corn growing in Iowa or the money flowing in or both.  Thousands of bales of hay will feed their livestock through the off-season.  Tall dark-green tasseled corn reaches for the royal blue sky for hundreds of miles.  It is peaceful and serene. 

Iowa says, "Knee high by the
4th of July, my ass!"

I'm 5'5" tall.  Rob is 6'1" tall. 
Iowa's got this corn thing.

I

 River Oaks RV Park is located near the Des Moines River with acres of manicured lawn and tall old shade trees.  It is almost a woodland type of setting.  Robins, yellow warblers and hummingbirds sing, hop and flit about and the cicadas buzz their little hearts out.  But though we are isolated in the peaceful park, we had to drive into the big city to buy the store out of walleye.  We’ll have a big slab of it tonight as the sun sets on the river, the tall trees and our beautiful campsite.

Site # 28... toonie time!  

If you look carefully, you can
see Noobee... just to the right 
of the white one.  What a
beautiful park!

 

Everything was going along great until the next day when we decided to take a drive in the Jeep down to the river.  First of all, there is a pond near our campsite.  That’s where the beauty ends.  The pond is completely covered with green scum and algae.  The only clear water you can see is right around the little fountain in the middle.  Fine.  Let’s go to the river and check it out.  Ugh.  It was more green algae and scum.  Some trees that are still living are half submerged in the stagnant water.  There is a little road on a levee-like bar that crosses over at a skinny area but there was no way we were driving on that.  So after the gnats and skeeters discovered us, we headed back home.  No swimming or paddleboarding for us in the Des Moines River.  Not all “agricultural experiences” are pleasant, I guess.  Time to move along.

The Des Moines River swamp