Pausing in Iowa

Moving west from northern Indiana, through Illinois and into Iowa was a pleasant, sunny trip a couple of days ago.  No delays and not too many trucks on I-80.  We generally like to travel the red highways or even county roads, but there aren't too many choices in that area.

  So, we decided to try I-80 in Indiana at least. We are heading for Moscow, Iowa, to the HWH headquarters to see why our idiot lights for Ferd's leveling system are not operating.  The 260-mile journey went smoothly. Before we knew it we were taking in these expertly-striped Iowa farmlands.

We are situated now at a nice Corps of Engineers park at Coralville Lake, near Iowa City.  There are several campgrounds around the huge lake that's fed by the Iowa River, at  Exit 244 off I-80.  We chose one of the closest to the exit and presumed that since we were arriving on a Thursday morning there would be plenty of space.  Wrong!   The reservable spots, 60% of the space, were all taken for the weekend and many of the first-come, first-served sites were already full.

Guess what?  It's Iowa Hawkeye Country and this is a home game weekend! 

The black and gold is everywhere and they come early to get their territory reserved.  But since we had a slight jump on the regular weekenders we did find a vacant site. Actually, we don't understand why it wasn't already occupied.  We have a great view of the lake and no one directly next to us.  It's been a lot of fun the last two days watching the loyal Hawkeye fans take part in a Midwest tradition.  The leaves gradually cover the ground, those Fall smells are in the air, as the football fans gather in their teams' colors to discuss the hopes for the season.    I posted a couple of photos here for our Iowa friends.

For now, we'll watch the fishermen on the lake and enjoy the crisp September weather while the stadium fills and empties a few miles away.  We'll go to Iowa City tomorrow to see what I am sure is a lovely campus and its surroundings. Go Hawkeyes (since they aren't playing the Hoosiers).