Our camping trip was short, simple and close to home. We spent a night camping at Pike's Peak State Park, enjoyed some great shops in McGregor, Iowa, then went on to Decorah to camp another two nights.
We really wanted to do some canoeing/kayaking, so we rented a kayak for Angelle and a canoe for John, KD and me. We were dropped off at a spot on the Iowa River and were set up for the two hour ride. Angelle had never done this before, but was doing really well handling her kayak. We mostly enjoyed the areas of rapids where it got a little bit faster and rougher. We saw a couple cranes, a beaver, and later in the trip, a very majestic bald eagle perched high in a tree.
I swear a crane was playing a game with us. It would fly off when we got close, then perch again further down river. As soon as we got close again, it would do the same thing. It did this most of the way down the river for the duration of our 3 hour (yes, it took us 3, not 2) trip.
At one point, the rapids got very rough. I was in the front of our canoe, and I got splashed really good and was good and wet. Then the next thing I knew, Angelle's kayak had capsized and she was panicking a bit. I couldn't figure out why she was panicking since I knew the river wasn't that deep right there and also that she was a really good swimmer. But, she was indeed calling for help and freaking out and clinging to the top of her upside-down kayak. Finally she ditched the kayak and swam to shore. Once she started swimming, she figured out that she could actually stand in the river there.
John very heroically grabbed her kayak so it wouldn't float away and we got the canoe to the bank and then he told me to get out and pull the canoe onto land. He was then able to pull the kayak to the bank as well and we got the water dumped out of it. Angelle actually laughed at herself then, we got back into the kayak and canoe, and we finished our trip. Angelle was a bit more cautious about the rapids from that point on. I am very impressed by her ability to now laugh about the whole incident. Apparently she was more concerned about sharks than anything. Um, no sharks in the Iowa River, Angelle.
We loved our little camping trip. KD says it was the best vacation ever. Some favorites were "Paper Moon", a little gift store in McGregor, Iowa, which I swear was run by witches. I purchased a Lenormand deck of fortune telling cards, KD picked out a "Consult the Oracle" book, and I got a cool pair of gold skull earrings which were on sale. I took them to the counter, and immediately one of the ladies there told me that they had just gotten some incense in, took me to where it was, and yes, I absolutely was out of incense and needed some. So, as I took my incense to the counter, I asked her how she knew I wanted incense. She just commented that she saw what else I was buying and was just very observant.
The shop had three stories of wonderful things for sale. Books, art work, jewelry, gifts, decor, etc. etc. We also loved the McGregor Cafe right across the street. Great ambience, wonderful service, delicious food and coffee! I strongly recommend both places. There are other great places in McGregor including the authentic old fashioned Western store (where we bought jaw harps) and the rare book store. I could have stayed all day in the book store, but we had other places to go.
It's always nice to come back home after vacation. We are excited about staffing our "Art Club Booth" for the Waterloo Community Playhouse production of "Putnam County's 25th Annual Spelling Bee", which opens this Friday. If you are in this area, be sure to come to a production and stop by to see us at the art club booth. You could purchase some cool works of art by KD and Angelle, or some really wonderful works of art by Shelby Davis, one of the very talented cast members. We will feature some other great pieces by theatre friends and aficionados, plus raffle off some of the bigger works and a Buddha Board mini.
Stop back to see what the cards hold in store for you tomorrow on Tarot Tuesday! Have a marvelous Monday.
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