Travels In Our New Hurley Situation

     Our adjustment to the new Hurley Life Situation  --  without a home on wheels -- is going well.  We've managed to squeeze in a couple of short excursions in the past couple of months, during breaks from the new house projects.  Our newest transport, Vinny the CRV, is proving to be a comfortable ride to wherever.   In keeping with the history here at Hurley Travels blog, here's an update:
     Celebrating a Special Birthday with Friends --  We enjoyed very much being a part of Tim Payne's 50th birthday celebration in early September at Summit Lake State Park, east of Pendleton, Indiana.      Becky's parents provided a fabulous meal of bbq ribs, chicken, fantastic potato salad and more goodies; friends and family shared libations, games and just plain old hanging out. 
     This was our first occasion spending any time in a campground in the past ten years minus a home on wheels.  We couldn't have had a nicer group to break that tradition with.  The park and the people were both enjoyable. Here are a few of those birthday memories (above):  The birthday sign created by Becky's brother gave the perfect atmosphere at the camp site.  Tim loved Stella's help opening his birthday cards.  And Jamie and Becky accommodated my photo-taking while enjoying some girlfriend time. 
        Our First Hotel Trip in Vinny --  Wisconsin is one state where we've spent very little time during our RVing life.  So, when it was time to take a break from our home projects in late September, we loaded Vinny and headed for cheese and beer country.  Besides, there would surely be some great spot along the way where we could celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary on September 30.  The only plans we had were to find some sharp cheddar, cheese curds, Wisconsin beer and see a few new places - new to us, that is.  After taking a route through small towns and countryside for two days, we paused in Fond du Lac, at the south end of Lake Winnebago --  because it seemed like the right place to stop. We found a pleasant hotel room at Country Suites; then asked the desk clerk about a good local spot to have a beer.  She recommended Fat Joe's, downtown.  The place was just what we wanted, like Cheers. The chatter at the bar was fun with locals and others passing through like us.  On the bartender's suggestion, we tried a beer brewed and sold only in Wisconsin called Spotted Cow.  It has a crisp lager-like taste - brewed by New Glarus Brewing Company.  Well, we had to have a second one. And before we left the state we purchased some to bring home.   
     More local recommendations led to interesting places over our next few days in the area.  For instance, the unexpected sitings in a small town south of Fond du Lac named Waupun.      We were surprised to learn that this town of 11,000 people has a beautiful collection of outdoor sculptures.  In fact, it is called the City of Sculpture.  The benefactor of these art pieces was a local successful industrialist, Clarence Shaler, who wanted to give back to his hometown.  He commissioned a bronze replica of the famous  "The End Of The Trail" sculpture by James Earl Fraser that is a National Historic Landmark in Waupun. (above)  Shaler was a sculptor himself, donating his work.   The two photos below are among the sculptures by Clarence Shaler on display in and around the town.   "Who Sows Believes In God" is a young peasant woman and "Dawn of Day" is an American Indian woman casting off her garments, Shaler's first piece.  This photo I took from the back because I thought it showed the textures in her hair and the clothing she's holding, against the beautiful autumn tree. Mr. Shaler didn't begin his sculpting until he was 70 years old, after a productive, inventive career.  He, obviously, had many talents.
       A short drive east of Waupun is the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, where we spent a few pleasant hours relaxing and enjoying nature.  The drive around the loop is peaceful and scenic. And there's a one mile walking trail that includes a wooden path winding over a part of the marsh. The leaves were just beginning to turn, enhancing the views at the refuge. 
      And, of course, during our travels in Wisconsin, we also visited two cheese factories.  We found some interesting, squeaky cheese curds and a fantastic sharp cheddar.   And since we had a cooler in the back of Vinny, we could make some cheese purchases for snacking in the evening and taking home to share.   
     When we left Indiana we were thinking we would probably end up in Door County, Wisconsin.  There's so much said about the beauty of that peninsula into Lake Michigan.  But…..we were on our way further north when we took a look at the weather forecast.  It was looking pretty gloomy, rainy and cold.  We stopped briefly on our way out of Fond du Lac to consider if there might be a better direction to go.  I can't remember exactly how it happened but we decided we would make a left turn and go southwest toward Iowa.  We could miss some of the rainy stuff.  And, there was one place that was still on our bucket list in that state - "Field of Dreams."
      Baseball & Museum & Sushi Make For A Great Anniversary:  We had less than 200 miles to the new destination, Dyersville, Iowa. But the obvious place to find a resting place was about 26 miles east in Dubuque.    I'm sure most everyone remembers that the Field of Dreams is in the cornfields, not an area where you'd find a hotel.  So anyway, using our new hotels app, we located another Country Suites in Dubuque, since we had a good experience the few days before in Wisconsin. The next morning we set the GPS and found our way to the Field of Dreams site.  Our first impression approaching the site, was that the ambiance was preserved by the noticeable lack of commercial advertising.   How nice!  This site couldn't be more authentic to the actual family home and baseball field used in the movie.  The minimizing of the commercialization carries forward all around the grounds. So far, the setting is preserved as it was when it was the site of the movie in 1985.  There is a small gift shop and a display that gives the history of the property, the farmers who owned the property and the making of the movie.  It seemed so peaceful there.  We walked around for a while, standing on each base and the pitchers mound, listening at the cornfield and sitting on the team benches.  A few other people arrived while we were there and did similarly.  But mostly, it felt like we were alone.   You could have your own time to think about tradition, family, dreams...or whatever the movie represents to you.  We were happy that we finally took this road to this place.
     As we were finding our way earlier through the city of Dubuque, Iowa, taking yet another look at the Mississippi River that we crossed often in other travels,  we noticed a large structure alongside the river.  It turned out to be the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.  This was another pleasant surprise full of  interesting exhibits on the river, the people involved with it, the industry, the animals, and more.  Of course, Mark Twain was thoroughly embedded in the stories and there is a paddle wheel boat ride available.  There are also at least a dozen different aquariums with all sorts of wildlife - otters, frogs, turtles, beavers and many huge fish found in these waterways.  
     To complete this little trip, we tried to come up with an appropriate restaurant to have dinner on our 14th wedding anniversary.  Nothing exotic or formal, just a nice meal and, if possible, some place a little different. Yelp and Urban Spoon didn't seem to bring up any good prospects.  Then, I remembered that we had passed an Ichiban sushi restaurant in our driving around the area.  Since we had recently learned that sushi is much more than raw fish, we decided to give the place a try.  We enjoyed sharing three dishes that we chose pretty much blindly, from the ingredients in the menu descriptions.  Two of them were very creatively displayed, with avocados and other food forming various shapes. Everything was delicious!  And we now know that we are fans of pickled ginger. 
     That's the story on our new life situation at this point.  There are plans for more episodes on-the-road.  But…..who knows where or when.
    Thanks for visiting with us at Hurley Travels.

Copyright © Nancy Hurley 2014

Now and Then in Centerville, Iowa

I’ve had a little writer’s block lately, I guess. We’ve moved east from Iowa to Indiana while I simmer the ideas for the blog.  So, it’s time to bring us up to date with a few quick posts. 

About a week ago we were in Iowa, at the Buck Creek COE Campground ….just enjoying the nice surroundings.  Pieces of that scenery were these long-stemmed, bunches of daisy-type wildflowers  waving brightly in the breeze around the park and the roadways into town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the nearby town, a  funny thing happened one evening on a trip into Centerville.  We had decided to have a late anniversary dinner at the Continental Hotel, a slightly upscale restaurant on the town square. But, the plans changed quickly.  When we arrived that Saturday we found signs on the doors saying they were closed to the public for that one evening due to an alumni gathering. Great timing, huh!  We could see through the windows a smiling group of our own generation getting reacquainted and perusing the menus at their white-clothed tables. Crash the party?  No, not this time.

As we laughed about our good timing and took a walk further around the downtown square, we noticed young people dressed in unusual attire – girls in heels and evening dresses, boys in dress pants and ties.  And there was one more distinctive clue – wrist corsages. About the time we were adding it all together we spotted the sign: Welcome to Homecoming Weekend.  Then we also noticed the other restaurant on the square that was drawing people inside, George and Nick’s.  We like to try the non-chain, local places when we can find them.  This one seemed to fit that description.

 

As it turns out, we couldn’t have been more pleased that the other dining establishment was occupied. This was one of those finds  that you reminisce about down the road. We had delicious Italian food and fabulous people watching.  Actually, our timing was just right. As we were ordering and consuming our creamy alfredo and pesto pastas, we had a front row seat to discreetly follow the teenagers socially interacting in their finery.  Although the tried and true tradition of the Homecoming event seemed to be preserved, the current influence was also evident. Not  far from each young person’s hand was their trusted texting machine.  As the under-twenties enjoyed their dates, other local citizens of another generation roamed in to fill the room. We were sure that the atmosphere was as good as we could have hoped, a mix of then and now.

See you soon.

How and Why We Make Our RV Home Choices

We make choices all the time about where our home will be. After seven years of fulltime rving (yes, it really is.), we’ve developed a quasi evaluation process for selecting our parking spots.   Although from time to time we’ve talked about a favorite parking spot here on Hurley Travels, it occurred to me recently that I’ve never focused on the hows and whys of our choices.  It’s about time.

Short-time options -- So, how do we make choices?  The answer depends to a major degree on how long we are stopping.  Is this an overnight resting stop or a longer visit to the area?   While traveling from point-to-point and pausing for an overnight rest our usual selection is a convenient boondocking spot.  (Boondocking = no electric, water or sewer hookups.) We might look for something close to our route thereby saving fuel and making it simple to continue our trip in the morning.  Many times we combine an opportunity to shop, eat or buy fuel.   There are numerous quiet, safe boondocking sites along the road that are perfect for these overnights.  For instance, a choice might be a WalMart or Cracker Barrel, a visitors’ center parking lot or a casino. We’ve experimented with them all and had good experiences overall.  Our rule is that if we ever feel uncomfortable in any way, we start the wheels rolling for another location.  We find many of these locales online at OvernightRVParking.com or the DaysEnd CD, a handy Escapees RV Club reference. (Note the hyperlinks above and below that take you to a relative site or the Google map showing the campground.)

Longer-term stops - But, if we are looking for a longer respite there are different goals. Over these years the factors that came to be important are space/privacy, settings/surroundings, cost, and communications.   After sampling many locations, a few types of stops have proven to be most dependable. Based on our experiences, Corp of Engineer parks and county/city parks get automatic consideration whenever they are available. We have also found reasonable accommodations at several Elks Lodges across the country. And, when we are in the southwest we have a love for the plentiful Bureau of Land Management areas that offer a million-dollar view in the wide open spaces.  This is where our solar panels and large holding tanks are most rewarding. We can live comfortably, sometimes with the company of a few of our fellow rvers, sharing thousands of acres and mountain scenery.  We have been known to go out of our way for a few days stop at an attractive-sounding campground or a boondocking site with a beautiful view.

Since we left Deadwood, we’ve been leisurely crossing South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa, enjoying September in the Midwest on our way to Indianapolis. With no specific destination along the way, we’ve made some good finds. That’s one of the bonuses of this lifestyle. Surprises.

Choice in South Dakota --  . Above are two photos of the Left Tailrace Corp of Engineer (COE) campground on Lake Sharpe, near Fort Thompson, South Dakota.  While traveling east on I-90 we located this campground in our COE reference book and then found online the GPS coordinates.  Since we wanted to spend a few days relaxing, we traveled the 20 miles north off the highway with perfect guidance from Tillie, our Garmin GPS.  The price is right; $7.00 for electrical and water hookups, with a free dump station available.  I have to mention, however, that this price is one-half of what we would pay if we did not have Jerry’s Golden Age Pass. The campground is well kept, sites are clean and roomy. There’s a pleasant area next to Lake Sharpe to take walks. Overall, we rate this location an 8 out of 10 since the Verizon cell and Internet reception is intermittent.

Nebraska Selection -- Moving along southeasterly we chose another COE campground at the Lewis and Clark Lake on the Nebraska-South Dakota state line, the Nebraska Tailwaters Campground.  This park is just a few miles outside the town of Yankton, SD.  We liked Yankton, not too big and not too small, with all the conveniences we might need. The price of $7.00 and the hookup provisions matched our last stop. All the sites are long and narrow as the campground stretches along one side of the lake.  Every campsite faces the lake. We could all watch the fishermen and migrating waterfowl without leaving our spots. (See two photos above.)   Although it doesn’t fail on cell and internet reception or immediate surroundings, the sites were quite unlevel and narrow. This stop wasn’t one of our favorites. Sometimes it’s difficult to say why. Just a feeling about the overall make-up, the starkness of the long row of us all backed up into our shoots, facing the exact same direction. So, after weighing all the factors, this one gets 6 out of 10.  

Iowa Stop -- Our next choice came after we stopped in Des Moines, Iowa, for our “First Byte of an Apple.” We wanted to stay in the area in order to test out the iPad for a few days before we left the vicinity of the Apple store.  Therefore, we checked our trusty sources and found Pickard Park in Indianola, IA, a city park with electric and water for $8.00, a mere 20 miles south.  Didn’t take long to decide to drive down for a look.  The park is only two miles from town.  We found Indianola an attractive small college town with good restaurants and friendly people.  I even came across a skilled haircutter at a shop on the downtown square where I watched the hometown parade go by as my locks were trimmed.

Our Verizon reception was excellent at this location.  There is no dump station, but we were okay at this juncture without it. It rained heavily for a couple of days so we were very observant of the grass area where we were parked. This is one of those small (10 sites) city parks that are often empty because they aren’t near the major highway.  We shared the park with one neighbor for our four night stopover. But that’s a mark on the positive side in our book.  Pickard Park is across the road from a small ranch with cows who serenade you occasionally and bordered by rolling green meadows.  We’ll give this one 8 out of 10 points.

Finding a 10 -- Lastly, we are currently situated in the Buck Creek COE campground at Lake Rathbun, near Centreville, Iowa.  Again, we drove a few miles off the highway to this quiet and comfortable temporary home.  We have a lake view site that scores high on the roomy, quiet and private scale.  The cost is $8.00 with the Golden Age Pass for electric and water.  We took advantage of the free dump station when we arrived.  A special note here is that when we reported an issue with the electric outlet on our site we had an electrician fixing it within an hour.  Internet and cell phone reception is excellent. Since this one has so many positive features, it receives a 10 ranking. 

I’ll wrap this up with a peaceful look at Rathbun Lake during my evening walk at Buck Creek Campground.   

Seven years and counting –   Our years in the fulltime RV lifestyle have seasoned us for making all kinds of menu choices. Of course, there are other opinions within this gypsy-like group about how to live.  But, for what it’s worth, we are happy to pass along our experiences. Should anyone wish to take advantage, just ask.

Safe travels. See you down the road.

Our First Byte of an Apple

Three days ago we decided to sample our first Apple product.  We’ve listened to the stories over the years about the friendlier functions, the convenience and, above all, virus free operation of the Steve Jobs machines. Then, our friend Jerry Thomas let Jerry Hurley play with his iPod Touch a few times. He kept mentioning how he liked many of the apps and how much fun it was to use.  So, when the iPad rolled out...a bigger yet still very portable and, maybe even more usable version of the iPod….I guess we were ready to look into possible uses for us.  We had questions though.

Soon we were checking for Apple stores in various cities on our route eastward through Montana, South Dakota, Iowa and Indiana.  Turns out there’s an Apple Store in West Des Moines, Iowa, easily accessible as we traveled through the state.  You know how it goes. We said: “We’ll just stop by to get some answers to our questions. Won’t buy anything yet. ”  So we drove the motorhome to the shopping mall to see one of these hyped machines in person. We immediately came across an informative and congenial representative named Larry who had an answer for all our questions and patience in explaining every operation. The store is all about teaching and letting customers have hands-on time with the machines.   Larry introduced us to Apple thoroughly, without pressure. 

Okay. So we learned. Then we went to have some lunch. Time to consider whether to justify the expense or not.  As we were sitting in Panera Bread discussing the whys and why nots, a young lady conducting business on her iPhone and laptop at the next table overheard us. She let us know that she is planning to buy an iPad as soon as possible and her brother is crazy about his.  I guess we were really already well down that road and this was one more encouraging push. 

The memory we chose was the 32GB, the middle ground between the smaller 16 GB and the max of 64GB.  The capacity was one of our issues. Being used to thinking about computers with 200 GB hard drives, why would we choose something smaller?  Here’s one of the points that became clear. As Larry explained, the iPad is not a computer replacement.  It’s a tool for making your life easier and more fun. After all the considerations, testing and questioning, we became enamored with jumping into this Apple world that so many folks are enjoying.  So…..here’s our new friend, Maude the iPad.  This is a new type of technological world for those of us who’ve lived in the Bill Gates neighborhood for so many years. There are thousands of apps, for anything imaginable, lots of techy stuff at your fingertips, and almost instantly.  We can walk around, stand up and change chairs, all while reading an online newspaper or email.  There’s only one button, home. Mostly, it’s a screen touching thing.  No mouse, no clicking, no pointer.  The searching is quick and easy.  Moving to another application is a swipe of the finger.  But, there’s one problem.  I think Jerry’s enamored with Maude.  He’s been completely absorbed by iTunes syncs and downloading apps for two days.  I may be a tiny bit jealous of the “Angry Birds”  game, podcast downloads and streaming HuLu.    Not.  There really will be a time when I get my turn.  :)

Jerry’s impressions can probably be summed up in the laughter I hear as he finds a new feature or some unique app; or the quiet when he’s listening to music or a podcast download, all of the above while seated comfortably in his recliner.  Examples of the apps downloaded as of today are USAToday, Kindle, Epicurious and eBay.  All in all, the first byte of Apple for us was sweet, with a bit of tartness.  Adjustments to the touch of it all are a challenge. But, as we become more acquainted with each new function, we’re liking the taste a lot. I’m not ready to give up Windows and all of its associated menu items….not yet. But this sampling is somewhat fascinating.

Thanks for visiting.  Talk to you later.

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).