Sunday, Brandy, Ash and I went to Palisades-Kepler State Park in Mount Vernon, just outside of Cedar Rapids. We went in with hopes that we’d be able to capture the magic of the previous weekend at Backbone State Park.
We soon discovered that a week can make a big difference.
In the week between the two trips, the temperature skyrocketed, and with it went the humidity. We knew it was going to be warmer on Sunday than it was the week before, but we did not anticipate that increase in ambient moisture.
We arrived at the park fairly early, around 9:30 or so, and noticed off the bat that this was a much different park than Backbone State Park. It seemed smaller (indeed, it’s less than half the size of Backbone) and not quite as lush.
The trails were not as clearly marked and parking near them was challenging, to be sure.
We settled on the Overlook Trail to start with. We wound up parking on the side of the road near the pretty much unmarked trailhead. We got out of the car and were kicked in our chests with the oppressive heat.
We sprayed ourselves with bug spray, knowing the mosquitos were going to be bad and we set off.
We made it about three minutes before we realized, this wasn’t going to work. We were still being attacked by bugs and the heat and humidity were making it miserable.
We headed back to the car to try to figure out what we were going to do. Eventually we decided to try a different route that we felt may be a bit further from the water that draws so many bugs. Maybe the heat and humidity would be tolerable without the bugs.
We were wrong about that too.
We began the Cedar Cliff trail making it about an eighth of a mile before heading back. The humidity caused the trail to be damp, which on the dirt, isn’t that big of a deal, but when trying to climb down some stone steps from a gazebo early on the trail, I slipped and took a bit of a spill. I was wearing new trail runners that I was wearing on a trail for the first time. I had read that they don’t have great traction on slick surfaces like that, and they weren’t kidding. I started slipping, then regained traction. I stood for what seemed like an eternity in a state of limbo between fully recovering and going down. Eventually, I gave in and fell to the stone. I bashed my arm pretty good on the stone wall to my right leaving a scratch and, later, a good bruise to remind me.
I got back up and we continued on our way. We got back to the car, damp from humidity and sweat, miserable, and called it a day.
We didn’t get far, we didn’t do much, and I didn’t take enough pictures to even make it worth posting.
But, much like Alan’s and my camping trip in January that included a solo car accident, the bad times will come.
We reset, came home and promptly planned for our next trip that will once again see us breaking the state line.
Stay tuned for that!
With that, I leave you with a quote from Arthur Ashe who said:
I take the good with the bad, and try to face them both with as much calm and dignity as I can muster.
Arthur Ashe
Until next week, I bid you all a fond adieu!
-Phil