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Palisades-Kepler State Park, Mount Vernon – The Trip That Wasn’t

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.

(more…) “Palisades-Kepler State Park, Mount Vernon – The Trip That Wasn’t”

Backbone State Park, Dundee, IA

June 5, 2022

Brandy has been very ambitious with wanting to get out and hike these last few weeks. She asked me to find a trail for us for this weekend and when I asked how far she was willing to drive, she asked, “Why, where do you want to go?”

I suggested Backbone State Park, about an hour and a half drive from home. She was willing, so we made that trip last Saturday.

(more…) “Backbone State Park, Dundee, IA”

Memorial Day Weekend Trip to Ottumwa

And a hike!

May 28 – 30, 2022

I’m going to preface this with the fact that several weeks ago, we were delivered a John Deere E110 riding lawnmower sold to us on the cheap by Brandy’s parents. Our lawn is HUGE so mowing it with a push mower would take forever.

The first few times I ran it, the grass I was cutting was left in clumps on the lawn, turning brown and killing the grass beneath it. Again, with the lawn being as big as it is, raking all that mown grass would take even longer.

Our story begins here…

(more…) “Memorial Day Weekend Trip to Ottumwa”

Cedar Valley Trail, Solon, Iowa

May 21, 2022

This morning we took the first of two hikes for the weekend. We wanted something close as we had an appointment at Wells Fargo at 11:00, so this trail fit the bill perfectly. Google Maps initially pegged the trailhead at less than 10 miles away, for a 20 minute drive.

Too bad we went the completely wrong direction.

(more…) “Cedar Valley Trail, Solon, Iowa”