Camping Trip
We went on a camping trip last weekend. It was quite interesting. Dawn and I left our house around 3:30 pm on Friday. Stopped by my parents place to pick up a tent they had and a cooler. We then stopped at Breadeaux Pizza for supper. I hadn’t had their pizza in a long time. After our bellies were full, we headed off to Ledges State Park near Boone, IA. We rolled into the camp around 7:45pm. We got the tent set up and unloaded a few things, then Dawn and I took a walk around the camp. There were a LOT of people camping there that weekend! And I had to laugh at all the mobile campers that had satalite dishes and all the modern electronic devices. Really roughing it! We were pretty tired that night, we both crashed around 10:30pm. We were awakened by the sound of footsteps outside our tent at 2:00am. I shined a light out there, but didn’t see anyone. We laid back down again, and this time, we heard footsteps and the sound of our cooler lid being opened. This time, I went outside too look, but still didn’t see anyone. I put the cooler in the trunk of my car and locked up everything else. I noticed that the cheese package was on the ground. Turns out, we were visited by the area raccoons. All they got was our left over pizza. And we weren’t the only ones. A lot of people in the camp had been “burglerized” by natures little thiefs of the night.
I awoke the next morning at 7:00am with the sun shining in my face. I knew I wasn’t going to get back to sleep, so I decided to get up and shower. In the shower, you have to push a button continually to keep the water coming out. Pain in the butt! At least it was warm! We ate a little breakfast then headed out for some of the trails that covered the park. Here’s a little history of the park.
*History:*
The wildlife and plant communities are interwoven with the human history of Ledges. Humans have appreciated this unique area for thousands of years. Archeological evidence found within the park dates to around 4,000 years ago. At the time of European settlement, the Ledges area was inhabited by the Sauk, Fox (now the Mesqwakie) and Sioux. Native American mounds in the vicinity contain artifacts acting as silent reminders of the area’s past inhabitants.
The beauty of the canyons and bluffs of Ledges very quickly became a major attraction to the growing local communities. Ledges was proposed as a state park as early as 1914. The first park custodian, Carl Fritz Henning, was appointed in 1921. In 1924, the Ledges officially became one of Iowa’s first state parks.
Park facilities constructed of native timber and field stone by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930’s are still standing today. These examples of fine craftsmanship include an arch stone bridge, shelter in Oak Woods, stone trail steps and the stone shelter in lower Ledges.
Ledges has a long history of being flooded by the nearby Des Moines River. The major flood water levels have been recorded on a “flood pole” located in the lower area of the park.
Camping:
Ledges offers 94 campsites; 40 with electrical hookups (2 of which are fully accessible), 42 non-electric and 12 hike-in. Modern rest rooms, showers, a trailer dump station and a playground are located in the campground. Camping permits are obtained by self- registration at the campground. Camping Fees can be paid at the site.
Trails:
Ledges, one of Iowa’s most popular state parks, has attracted millions of visitors. Thirteen miles of hiking trails lead up and down steep slopes to scenic overlooks and provide access to spectacular views of Pea’s Creek “canyon”. While most of the trails include steep portions, a fully accessible interpretive trail around Lost Lake is located at the southern part of the park.
We hiked about 3 1/2 miles of trails. By the end, we were pretty tired and sweaty! We got back in the car and drove toward Boone. We decided that since we were driving, we’d do some site-seeing, so we drove to the Kate Shelly High Bridge. You can read all about it here http://www.desmoinesriver.org/kshelley.html and you’ll know what we know. Before we left home, I stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up the new Dukes of Hazzard CD (it’s not bad, a lot of Rock-a-billie Southern Rock.) At the beginning and end of the CD, “Uncle Jesse” tells a joke, and each joke is followed by the General Lee’s horn. We came upon a little one lane bridge that piked at the top, so I cued up the horn, gunned my car, and…..well, I didn’t really take air, because it’s a brand new car and I wasn’t about to ruin it, but we did lift off our seats a couple times because of the lack of gravity! It was still a nice little rush!
We headed back into camp and decided to eat a little lunch. Beer soaked beer brats! After lunch, I drove Dawn to my old church camp. Showed her around there, and the current manager said we could use their John Deere Gator to drive over to the Hogan side instead of taking the trail. After looking around the camp, we drove down to Don Williams State Park for a swim in the lake. It was kind of chilly, so we didn’t stay too long. We then headed back to the camp again to rest. I called some friends of mine to come to the camp and have supper with us. It was a nice supper and conversation. They left and we again went to Boone to fill up our car and do a little more driving. We got back to the camp around 9:30pm, and I was starting to feel the effects of the lack of sleep, so I turned in while Dawn sat by the fire and had a beer. She came to bed shortly after, and no sooner did she zip up the tent, than those furry little theives were back on our site looking for more food. Persistant little buggers! We learned our lesson from the night before, so they didn’t get anything. Just got pissed and knocked over Dawn’ empty beer bottle and moved on to the next site. One of the beers we got was Woodchuck Cider. If you have access to it and like the taste of apples, I strongly suggest this beer! Erik, I think you might like it! I should have left some in a bowl for the coons. Then watch as they stumble out of the camp.
Around 3:00am, I was awakened to the sound of rolling thunder. We got up and put everything in the car. 15 min. later, it started to sprinkle. We crawled back in the tent and I couldn’t get comfy. I tossed and turned for an hour. I got up and by this time, it was lightly raining. I got into my car and listened to the radio as the rain got heavier and heavier. For 2 hours, I sat in my car, and not once did any of the radio station’s do a weather report or update, so I had no idea how long this was going to last!
I decided to crawl back into the tent and try to sleep again. It worked, but unfortunatly, while I was sleeping, the heavy stuff came. Our tent was pretty old and didn’t stop the rain much. Around 8:30am, I got up, started packing everything else and told Dawn to get dressed, we were leaving. She went to the shower while I tore down the tent. I was soaked by the time I drove over to the showers. Drenched from head to toe. We stopped at Wal-Mart and I picked up a clean t-shirt, changed my pants, and we went and ate breakfast at Country Kitchen. We got back to my parents place shortly after 12:00pm.
It was quite the honeymoon! Definately one I know I won’t forget!