My Turn in the Barrel

A great meal in an old school drive-in... but the antenna got nicked a little

 

 

Wow, what a week it's been.  Thankfully, for as quickly as things got crazy, it's all turned around for the better.

 

As I was composing this post, the van was sitting on a hill above Dutton's Cave in northeast Iowa.   Like the Hills Campground, this is a favorite, private place for a short term retreat.  I've still never seen other campers there and, for eight bucks a day (including power!), you cannot find a better deal.  A grumpy old caveman like me can walk around in boxers and not offend anyone!

   

We had a bizarre, record setting day in Iowa on Tuesday.  Just a week ago, a foot of snow fell on north central and northwest Iowa.  On Tuesday the temperature hit 94 degrees, setting records.  If you don't like the weather in this state, just wait an hour.  There's something for everyone...  For those who like Star Trek, you will understand the reference that Iowa weather is like the "Genesis Planet."

It was a great time to get away... and some good happened along the way.
 

First of all, I got the car accident settled.  A week ago a young girl crashed had into the car I was driving.  The first few days (the second and third) were hell but the kinks in my neck and back are now worked out.  I found a good chiropractor and it's helped a lot. 

I got a call yesterday from the insurance company while cleaning trout.  The Progressive adjuster asked me what I thought was fair for my discomfort and such and I told him my amount.  We were a bit apart.  He met me halfway and I said "I've got fish to clean and that works for me.  Let's call 'er good."  The extra little bit I held out for means a nice new mattress for the van and I can put the crappy, beat-to-heck mattress in Dad's house.  Hmmm... Pillowtop mattress?  Now I'll never want to sleep in the house.

 

Joy Springs in NE Iowa

It's been nice having some time off though.  Work has been hectic.  I have yet to see a 40 hour work week and have hit the sixty mark a couple of times since starting.  I still really like the railroad crew driving job and look forward to putting in some hours late tonight.  It is ironic that now I have to strike a balance between work and play where last year it was the other way around.  For the last year I've been camping too much and working too little.  Now it's the other way.  I plan to fix that, even if it means more frequent, shorter haul camping trips.

 

As always, catching trout was a priority this time.  The fishing on Tuesday was fun and it was a good diversion.  The photo above (Joy Springs, about 70 miles north-northeast of Cedar Rapids), is an old favorite stomping grounds for more than 30 years.  Five fish ended up on the stringer in a couple hours.

 

 

A raspberry "Dole Whip"

 

  

 

Before camping near West Union on Tuesday night, I drove into The Barrel Drive-In.. Literally.  Convinced that the solar panel would clear everything (and it did), I bumped the boomerang TV antenna (which was lying down). against the roof!  No damage was done.  At the drive-in, I tried a raspberry "Dole whip" and loved it.  Apparently this treat is more common than I knew.  Dole Whip is a popular "Disney food" that you will find in Anaheim.  A Dole Whip is a sort of fruit juice, non dairy, soft serve sorbet dessert.  It's lower in fat and calories than regular ice cream... Talk about delicious on a day when the temp was over 90 degrees!

 

Some peaceful flowers at Dutton's Cave

 

 

Last night's camping was rejuvenating.  There were no calls from work, contractors, insurance adjusters, the nursing home staff (where Dad is staying), etc.  It was just me and a light thunderstorm.

 

Even the plate looks like it's smiling!

 

 

Last night's camping dinner was just a simple grilled hot dog, some grilled aspargus, beans, and applesauce.... and a Corona.  It tasted like a million dollar plate of grub.  Why?  Because it didn't come out of a McDonalds bag!  Cooking makes you slow down and that's a good thing. With the work schedule, it has mean having to eat on the go a lot.  The only question was how I've managed to go this many years without grilling asparagus?  I love how you can snap it into pieces and throw it into an omelet.

 

The Coleman camping stove / grill performed admirably last night despite 30+ mile per hour winds.  It was a great addition.  (Thanks to Sis who we'll call by her nickname "Daisy")  If you are thinking about buying one, Charlene has them on her website (Swankie Wheels) through her Amazon store.  The link to the stove is at:  http://astore.amazon.com/kayakin-20/detail/B000BPEE4M  Check out her blog some time (http://swankiewheels.blogspot.com) .  She's a neat person!

 

This morning I got up early and cooked up a tasty omelet of egg beaters and peppers, onions, etc. and, of course some sauteed asparagus.  Great stuff... 

One interesting new addition was some "skinny fruit".  So many canned fruits have sugar water added.  This one used Splenda and was pretty tasty.  I plan to buy a few to take with on camping outings.  Throw one in the Koolatron for a few hours and there's nothing like a cold, healthy fruit salad.

 

Another darned white van... Trout beware!

 

 

This morning's fishing happened at Otter Creek, south and east of West Union.  There is the most beautiful park called Echo Valley.  Otter and Glover creeks flow through the area and they are stocked with trout.  I had my limit of five by 9:00.  It looks like grilled trout and asparagus for dinner tonight.

Where the stream crosses the road...

 

 

I actually cleaned today's fish in the lovely, safer place in the pic above.  For trout fishing, you are often better to go to the hard to get to places such as in the picture below.  Crawling up and down banks limits how many people can access the fish.  That works for me!  I fell on my ass getting down the hill to this bridge.  It turned out to be the perfect spot!

 

 

Shaded and harder to get to...  Trout love it here.  So do I.   :)

 

It's been a fun trip but time is passing quickly.  In about eight hours it might be time to get back to work.  This trip has been a good learning experience.  My sister and I have spoken may times of boundaries but I've been one of those people who cannot easily say no.  It's been a great chance to get away from it all for a short little mental health break.  We all need one of those now and then.

 

Thanks for riding along.  Iowa is a beautiful, fun place to visit.  If you get out this way, give a shout. I'd enjoy meeting other outdoors type people in the area or passing through. 

 

So what is the next destination?  If I can get a few days off, it would be fun to visit Burlington, in the southern portion of the state.  There is a place nearby (in Mediapolis) that won the Best Burger in Iowa award recently...  sounds like a fun place to go.

 

Take care!  Enjoy time for yourself today.

Bradford the "Van Trekker"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Car Accidents Suck

Traffic control devices provide for the safe and orderly movement of traffic... unless idiots are not paying attention!

On Wednesday night I visited Dad in the care facility.  As I left, the traffic light down the street turned red.  While sitting, I noted that a cop had stopped at the other direction, also waiting for the light to change.  A split second later, I heard a loud screech and at nearly the same time, a car rammed my Dad's little Chevy Cobalt from behind at 30+ miles per hour. 

The impact threw my broad shoulders over the sides of the small car seat and something in the back and / or neck popped.  The police responded instantly and I was taken to the hospital by ambulance on a backboard for an CT scan.  Thankfully, nothing is broken.

The last two days (Thursday and Friday) have been painful.  It wasn't until visiting a chiropractor today that there was some relief.  I've been to different chiropractors but this guy was really good.  When he adjusted things, the neck cracked very loudly as did portions of the back.  He also did a tune-up on that funky rotator cuff and it's doing the best it has in months!

Dad's car is not in bad shape at all - just a damaged trunk lid and bumper.  The girl who hit me at nearly full speed might have been texting, according to the police.  Her Chevy Aveo suffered serious damage and it was bleeding anti-freeze (or green Vulcan blood?) all over the pavement.  (Good!)

Guess which company the other person had... They are being good to me so far!

The insurance adjuster assured me that Dad's little car will be repaired.  The medical bills will be paid in full.  Now there is just the matter of a settlement for my discomfort and the associated problems.  The insurance guy quickly threw out a cash figure but I think it's a bit too low.  We'll see how it goes.  Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra cash in the form of gas cards for the van trekking adventures!

Even with all the pain in my neck, on Thursday night I was called in and had to run a trip to the east end of Iowa, back to the other end (near Omaha) and then back to Cedar Rapids... It was a 600 mile expedition!  Tonight I've put in 200 miles and just got called in to do another 200 mile run.  There is never a dull moment as a crew shuttle driver.

I'm still liking the railroad crew shuttle job and it's great to have decent money coming in.  The wrinkle is that I'm still in the probation period at work and not permitted to be involved in an accident.  Thankfully my boss went to bat for me and said she convinced my employer not to hold me responsible for getting rear ended.  There wasn't a daggone thing that could have prevented it.  Unfortunately, my employer tends to assign blame to the employee first (even if it's in his / her personal car) and ask questions later.  At least things are looking good.

If things settle down a bit, toward the beginning of the week the hope is to do a little camping and fishing, if time allows.  A little downtime would be a nice thing.  It's been a heck of a week.

Gotta run for now and get the crew van back out on the road.  You'll never find a happier professional van driver anywhere.  When people see my lunch pail and other trip accouterments, a few have said "It looks like you live in here."  I've never said this to anyone but I sure would like to tell them "No, that would be the other van I drive!"

Take care.  Be careful out there.  There are a lot of stupid people texting on cell phones.  You don't have to do a thing wrong to end up banged up.

Have a good weekend....

Brad the Van Trekker