Rob and I recently returned from a week camping at Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in southeastern Iowa. We had a great time, but wished the weather had been a bit cooler and a little less rainy, but June is the rainy season in Iowa, so I guess I can't complain. We had our first 90+ degree day while camping too, so that was a bit of a shock to the system. However, we did manage to get in lots of grilling, sitting around the campfire, some hiking, and we went swimming when it was hot. We also read two books each and played a ton of games from my basket of games that I brought along. We even learned quite a few new games. Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small, Kahuna, and Battle Line were some of our favorites.
There are about 12 miles of trails at Lacey-Keosauqua. The state park is situated next to the Des Moines river and has a small lake inside its boundaries along with lots of creeks criss-crossing the area. So the park is very hilly, and the hikes are not easy. Our longest hike involved walking the Lake Trail around the little lake and surrounding area. My phone tracked the walk at 2 and 3/4 miles, but it felt even longer with all of the hills. The trail has several stone bridges and dams over the little creeks and drainage ditches. The stone structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The bridge above is one of the more intricate ones.
As we neared the end of our Lake Trail hike, there were a couple of stopping spots with benches overlooking the lake. They were a welcome rest.
We stayed in one of Lacey-Keosauqua's cabins while we were there. They are small and modest, but have a kitchen and bathroom...and more importantly AC. We had a great time, and I'd definitely put it on my list of parks to return to. More photos of our camping trip can be found in this flickr photo album.
Our drive home had us going through Eldon, IA which is home to the American Gothic house (you know, from that painting). Eldon is tiny, but they have a very nice little museum and park next to the house. It was all free and you could even borrow costumes to match the painting for photographs if you wanted. Next stop on our trip home was Pella. We drove home on Rob's birthday so we stopped for lunch and pastries from Jaarsma Bakery. Their beehive cakes made a good birthday cake substitute and we lit them up after hauling all of our camping gear back in the house (and giving the dog a bath). If you'd like to see more photos of Rob's Birthday and the American Gothic House, you can find them in this flickr photo album. Overall it was a delightful vacation!
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