Sometimes it is hard to leave...

Onawa, Iowa

Here we are in western Iowa. Not very scenic, but beautiful in its own way.

It has become apparent that the first day of a six-week journey is always the most difficult: You don't want to leave anything undone. You don't want to leave anything that you may need, but you don't want to be burdened with too much stuff. Yesterday we kept finding little things to do and before we knew it, it was 1:30 p.m. We got a late start.

An hour or so into the trip Sirius started going nuts. He hopped up onto Dick's lap, which was a pretty scary safety issue. We stopped at the next rest area, thinking he needed to go out. When it was time to get back on the road, Dick didn't have his keys! We spent 40 minutes searching. Thank goodness we have spares. I found the keys hours later when I was looking for my missing glasses!

We arrived at ON-UR-WA RV Park around 9:00. As Dick was setting up, the wind kicked up ferociously. Two minutes after he got into the coach, the skies opened up and it poured for a couple of hours. (Sounds like someone is dumping marbles on your roof.) We all got soaked when it was time for the boys to go out one last time. Even Baxter, who doesn't mind rain was a little freaked by the thunder and lightning.

Dawn in Onawa.

Baxter, Sirius and I took a long walk along an unpaved country road as the sun was rising. Even with the traffic noise, it was peaceful. The corn is really high. (We were surprised at the acreage along the way that is water-stressed. It is really sad to think of the wasted resources and effort of the farmers who are at the mercy of the weather.)

This RV park is quaint but very, very nice. Everything is spotless. The site is level. The utility hookups are well-maintained and in perfect order. I called ahead to let them know we were going to be late. The office was closed when we arrived, but they must have been watching for us. The minute Dick got out of the rv, the owner was there. She checked us in and then escorted us to our site on her golf cart.

Today we will move on to Oacoma, SD--262 miles. It should be pleasant in this cool, overcast weather.