Into Iowa
It’s time to move on to our next destination. We will miss TonyG and Grace and we are talking about when we can meet up next. It was an easy drive and we are staying at Acorn Valley, an Army Corps of Engineers campground.
Late Night
Bevier RV Center hosted a concert last night. We got to enjoy the music from our trailer, because the patio was right across the creek from us. We were happy for the free concert, until we wanted to go to bed.
It was surprising the the music didn’t stop at 9:00. The music didn’t stop at 10:00. The music didn’t stop at 11:00. It was about 11:35 when they finally said “thank you and goodnight,” and then a radio played another song. We really just wanted to get to sleep! After that one song it got quiet, and we started to relax.
Early Morning
Within a few hours of the band going silent, the thunder took over. There were a couple of SUPER loud cracks of thunder! They were long and booming sounds, and once again I found myself in bed wishing for sleep. Fortunately, the storm abated and we got some sleep. Then around 5:00 there was more thunder and rain, but it didn’t last long and I dozed off again.
Later Morning
Due to the cacophony last night, we slept until about 8:00 this morning. Even then, it took a while to really clear the cobwebs and get moving.
You make the coffee, I’ll make the bed
Every time Tony and I wake up and start the morning together, he starts on the coffee and I pull the bedding together, particularly if it is a drive day. That’s the only time I bother to zip up my RV SuperBag.
I always get stuck in my head the song by Donna Fargo, Happiest Girl in the Whole USA. It’s sure a happy way to start the day: with coffee, a happy song, and the love of my life!
Time to pack up and move on
Tony hooked up to the sewer, which was oddly really close to the power pedestal. Like, so close it was hard to make everything fit. As much as we liked about this campground, there are a few things we would rather not repeat. The deep water hookup and cramped hookups included, as well as the midnight party. We have to try to remember that it was Saturday night of Memorial Weekend, and everyone is ready to get the summer started. We tend to forget things like that with being on the road so much.
Tony also took good video of the roof because during the storm last night something hard landed on the camper. I guess it was a pine cone or something, because we couldn’t find any new holes. Thank goodness!
Slowly but surely we started packing up and getting ready for our drive. We only had about 200 miles to go today, so we weren’t in too much of a rush.
Our route today took us mostly straight north. We had another day of beautiful two-lane roads zigging and zagging through north Missouri and south Iowa. As I have said, we like the lack of truck traffic on these roads and we get to see some fun sites. Like, for example, a VW beetle with a baby beetle planted in a front yard. Cute!
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Campground
According to usa.gov, “The Army Corps of Engineers provides public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen national security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.” One thing I know about “the Corps” is that they build and maintain dams and waterways across the United States. And if there is a place to put a campground near those waterways, they are usually beautiful places to camp!
While in Macon, the only campground was managed by the state park and the Army Corps ran a visitor center, tonight’s destination was an Army Corps campground called Acorn Valley on Saylorville Lake near Des Moines, Iowa.
Acorn Valley
This is a really lovely campground. There are a lot of trees, but I managed to find a site with a decent view of the sky for Starlink. The temperature is wonderful, and sleeping will be a breeze tonight. Also, either we escaped humidity country or it’s just a good day. It’s not terrible.
The site looks like it’s not very level but we backed up far enough that we were level (enough) and didn’t have to unhook the truck. When we do this, we unplug the 7-pin plug from the truck. We do put the stabilizers down so we don’t get motion sickness inside the trailer.
The sites have electrical hookup. Just before entering our loop, there was a nice dump station and fresh water spigot. There was a dumpster and even a recycling dumpster! You don’t see that everywhere, for sure. Everything is clean and well-kept.
Just before dusk I took a walk around the camp loop. There are all sorts of campers here from tents and car-campers to a pop-up to giant fifth-wheels and Class A motorhomes. I occupied my mind by checking the pedestals for surge suppressors. I was happy to see a bunch of Hughes Power Watchdogs glowing white in the fading light.
I just hope there aren’t too many acorns here, that dive-bomb the trailer and make us worry about more holes.
Single night
I like this place a lot and sort of wish we were staying more than one night. I’ll need to keep this place in mind in case we ever get a chance to return.
