Day 7 Drive To Iowa To Squaw Creek County Park In Marion

Wednesday 10/17/2012

We left Welcome Minnesota and continued on I-90 for about 67 miles to I-35 and then headed south.

On Hwy. 35 we left Minnesota. How nice that Minnesota has a thank you for visiting sign.

We finally arrive in Iowa after 7 days of driving.

As we drove south we started to get more fall colors.

The most fall colors we had seen on the whole trip. It was good to get back to deciduous trees, I have missed them all year!. I could not live somewhere that there is not fall color.

We arrived in Cedar Rapids just before it got dark. Just in time to set up for the night. We decided to stay at Squaw Creek County Park in Marion which is a suburb of Cedar Rapids.

The next day we walked around the park to check out the facilities. The bath shower building was new in 2009. It has individual shower rooms, and one family shower room.

The campground has 70 sites.

The sites are spaced far apart. You have a big yard between your neighbors.

Mallery loved this park. I swear she knew she was home.

There was only about 5 RVs in the park the first day we arrived. By the time the weekend rolled around there were about 20 RVs.

Because the park was so empty, we let Mallery run. She was so excited with being back to her hometown of 8 years. She ran, and ran, and ran!

We were so blessed to get back to Iowa before all the fall color was gone.

Squaw Creek County Park has two sections. One with just water and electric, and a new section with full hookups.

We found a spot in the new section with full hook ups. In this picture you can see how long the sites are . They are pull in sites.

We normally stay at our mom's homes while we are in Iowa, and leave our Nest at Drew's home which is in the country. (Drew is Joe's friends). We decided to stay in our Nest this visit because we always end up getting mice in the Nest while we are gone. Then I have to clean every single kitchen drawer and cabinet out, and wash all the dishes, silverware and dish towels. It just is not worth staying at our mom's for that!

Each site had paved patio's with fire pits.

I have been getting a lot of tomato's off my tomato plants, and still am at this point. We were told that the park would stay open with the understanding that when the temperature was going to go below freezing, the water would be turned off a few days before. We got to stay in the park for 6 days before the water was turned off. We then stayed another 6 days, conserving the water we had in our fresh water tank. While in CR, we spent much of our time running to Dr's appointments, or doing things for our mothers. I am glad to report that I got good news from my Dr. that the grapefruit size fibroid I had been diagnosed with the prior year had shrunk down and my uterus is almost back to normal size. My Dr. told me to keep doing what I was doing, and that I was doing the right thing. I was glad that he said that, but I found it funny how a year prior he said I had to have a hysterectomy. He gave me no other options at the time. I instead got on the internet and found information on how to shrink the fibroid. I believe you have to be your own first health advocate and get several different opinion, excluding the medical profession.
On Oct 31st are fresh water tanks dried up, so we had to move our Nest out to Lazy Daze RV Park, which is about 40 miles north of CR. I didn't take any pictures of the park because I blog on it in previous blogs. It is a very nice park too, but it is a little further of a drive into CR each day.

While still in Cedar Rapids, we went with my mother and sister to my cousin Sue's daughters, Ally's baby shower.  Ally's baby boy Macson was born 9 weeks early at 3.2 lbs. Ally didn't know she was pregnant until she was about 6 months, so Macson didn't get much prenatal care. He is a little miracle baby and is doing good at 5 lbs now.

My sister Karen getting some food at the baby shower. Ally in the black and white strip skirt in the background with her mother ( my cousin Sue) in the grey and white stripe sweater.

 My beautiful mom June.

I got to see my Aunt Patty and Uncle Kieth (in red) while in CR also.

My mother had bought 2 $150 tickets to the Harry Connick Jr. concert at the grant opening of the Paramount theater in CR. The Paramount had been ruined in the 2008 Cedar Rapids flood. I had promised my mom I would go with her while we were back. After the concert she spent the night with us in our Nest, so we could be on the road for Gulf Shores, AL the next morning. We left Iowa on Nov. 4 and are currently in the Gulf Shores, AL area.