Green Goddess Glamping Fall 2021 Wrap-up

Some fall camping at Lake Darling State Park

We've just passed the winter solstice, and I didn't even notice! Since this is a blog, I can write more personally and casually, so I feel comfortable telling you all that a week ago I had my front tooth pulled and some bone graft applied to that area for a future false tooth implant. I'm saying this because that's why I missed noticing the solstice and haven't been camping at the last of December, even though there has been some adequate weather. The dental surgery was more than I expected in terms of my body's reaction, so I've been taking it easy.

Because the end of the year is swooping down upon us, I might not get out in the next week. Therefore, this is a great time to think about this fall camping experience. Rather than attempt a trip-by-trip summary, I'm going to focus on a few trips and photos which encapsulate my experience of this year's "shoulder-season" camping during the first camping year my wife and I have used our new Airstream Basecamp 16-foot camper. I'm going to summarize in sets of three to keep myself from being too long-winded.

• This fall locally was warmer than usual. We have had no snow yet.
• I managed to camp in some new spots this fall, which added some new excitement to my trips.
• Using my folding Montague Allston bicycle added some extra fun to my trips.

Keeping with my "theme of three," let's look at three camping trips this fall.

A longer stay at Honey Creek State Park

Honey Creek State Park--Staying Longer

This is a park that I've camped at before. This year I set up for a longer stay with our Basecamp, allowing me to erect our Clam shelter and create a true basecamp for long daily walks along the lake shore. One of my continuing camping pursuits is to travel less and spend more time at each camping site. I was able to practice this philosophy this year when camping at HCSP. 

What I've found is that "drive less, camp longer" produces a deeper camping experience. I'm able to discover new trails to hike and learn more about the history and ecology of the area. Camping longer has provided me opportunities to get out my tree and bird identification books and to research the Native Americian early inhabitants of an area. Mostly, though, on shorter trips, my attention is centered around setting up camp and then breaking camp. One challenge during the summer is to find a spot that is available for ten days to two weeks. That isn't such a problem in the fall, though. Sometimes I'm the only camper in the entire park!

An unexpectedly hot hiking day at Wildcat Den State Park

Wildcat Den State Park--Off-grid Camping

This excursion was a weekend with my wife--in unseasonably hot weather. Since this is a primitive campsite only park, we had a chance to try out our solar panels as we camped off the grid. Our weekend of camping ended up not being as perfect as we had imagined because the weather was unseasonably hot . . . and we experienced a stink bug infestation. Because we were powered by our solar panels, we weren't able to button up the camper and use the air conditioning. Nonetheless, we did spend some fun hiking time together, and the solar panels worked well. 

Camping off the grid in Iowa's primitive campgrounds isn't the same as getting way out in the boondocks, but it is a different camping experience--one I hope to pursue more in the coming years. I know there are campgrounds that are less busy and more tucked away. Finding them will be among my more fun experiences on my wanderlust trips. What will be really interesting will be to combine longer camping along with off-the-grid camping. That will be testing my Basecamp and its solar capacity!

Watch out for slippery roots beneath the leaves!

Geode State Park--Bicycle Day Rides

It has probably been five years since I've camped at Geode State Park--on a bicycle tour--so I enjoyed camping here again after the campground was closed and lake was drained, reconstructed, and then filled. I brought my folding bike along on this trip and was able to take a day ride that circled the lake . . . and also a wonderful walk on a hiking-only trail. Even though the ride around the lake ended up being about half riding and half walking (and pushing), I was able to travel a longer distance more quickly because of the bike.

Prairie and windmills at a paved Diamond Lake trail

Another new campground this year that I discovered for bicycling is Diamond Lake Campground. I didn't have my bicycle when I camped there, but the area has some excellent trails and paths for bicycling, one that even goes from the campground to the local town of Montezuma. I expect next year one of my longer camp times will be at Diamond Lake for bicycling exploration.

Starting 2022 less a tooth, what a process!

Now that winter has finally arrived, cold winter (near-zero) will be coming soon. My plans are to not publish on this blog for a month or so, focusing on my fiction writing and also on researching and writing some stories about other campers who went out on some great adventures during 2021.  Happy 2022 new year to everyone, and I'll be sending you some new articles in a bit. 

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Is This the End of My 2021 Camping Season?

A bright but happy ride

The first couple of days of December 2021, I was indeed out in my camp trailer--in fact, the only camper at Geode State Park. My wife and I joked with the ranger, saying that is was a great deal to reserve the entire campground for just ourselves for only twelve dollars a day. 

I like the idea of camping at least once during each of the twelve months of the year. It just seems so right! Last year with our brand new Airstream Basecamp, we camped during December and then in January of 2021, two nights and an overnighter, respectively. Then the snow and ice hit, locking us out of local camping for a good two months. Will the same be true for 2022? I don't know, but there is still a chance to camp some in the upcoming weeks, if I feel like it.

The "feel like it" is not about if I'm in the camping mood; rather, it's about the dental surgery that's coming up--the removal and replacement of my front left tooth. I'm having the tooth removed in two days, so how will I feel afterwards . . . and what will be the schedule of appointments to complete the job? We'll see, but I chose to not camp early this week, even though the temperatures were camp-worthy, being in the 50s and 60s. However, I've chosen to get my house in order so that I can just rest after the oral surgery. 

Today, though, I did ride the 16-mile bicycling loop trail around my town. I just couldn't pass up the good weather which included very little wind. This is the second time I've ridden the trail in the last four weeks, the first being on November 20. This trip I took the trail in the opposite direction, which was an interesting experiment. I didn't have to climb the steepest hills traveling counter-clockwise; however, I did have some long slogs up hills with good inclines yet which I still rode rather than hopping off and pushing. I probably prefer hopping off a couple or three times to long, tedious climbs in the lower gears, but it was all good. For the long climbs this time, I used my phone to put some music on and just kept grinding up the hills.

Bentonsport, Des Moines River

By heading out from home for a bicycle day ride, I did choose to not camp this week, but I made that choice feeling that I can camp a bit later in the month, even though temperatures will be lower with highs around freezing and lows in the teens. I can do that if my face feels okay, though, and I can wear a mask if my face happens to be a front tooth shy. Perfect! I might like to camp along the Des Moines River at Bentonsport Campground. That campground has no water during the winter but does keep the electricity on. There is some good hiking there and a gravel road for bicycle riding. I camped there three years ago in my tiny camper, the Green Goddess. 

When does the 2021 camping season end, anyway? Is January 2022 a new camping season or just a continuation of winter 2021--kind of like (only backwards) how new model cars come out before the new year. Most likely, I just have to be literal and say the 2021 camping season ends at the end of the year. The exciting thing about that, though, is that the new camping season begins in a bit over two weeks. Yay!

All that calendar stuff is pretty much arbitrary, anyway. I'm just glad to be able to look forward to some more camping in the next few weeks. Beyond that, if the roads are clear, I can always head south.

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My Excellent Basecamp Bicycling Day

Starting the day with french toast

My bicycling day began by waking to rain in the early, pre-dawn hours of darkness, a light rain, soft and gentle. I listened to the musical sound of rain falling on the roof of my Airstream Basecamp, then drifted back to sleep. When I woke again, it was light out, but the sun had not yet risen above the horizon. With little wind and the temperature above freezing, I washed my face outside from a bucket of water I had drawn the night before, the water now cold from the late-autumn chill. The air was clean and pure, washed free of any dust by the light rain, and the earthy smell of wet leaves scented the air. 

Today was the day to ride the Lake Trail around Lake Geode, about seven miles, and I planned to make a day of it, leaving around eleven o'clock with a lunch and an easy schedule. I wanted to enjoy the entire day, so starting the morning with a breakfast of french toast was a good beginning. I'm still getting used to having a kitchen inside my camper. With refrigerator and propane stove inside, breakfast was fast and easy. Following breakfast was preparation for my day ride, the first step being cooking a one-pot Instant Pot stew for a Thermos lunch. While, the stew was cooking, I prepped my Montague Allston, my folding bicycle that I had put together the day before. I added the Topeak rear bag and filled it with lunch (stew, apple, bread and cheese, chocolate milk, and an energy bar) and then packed a few emergency supplies. I'm always careful and go prepared when bicycling alone, especially during the quiet off season.

On the early part of the trail

Having scouted out a bit of the trail the day before, I knew that circling the lake would involve both riding and pushing the bike. Prepared for this at the start, I was still surprised by the lake trail. Although designated as a multi-purpose trail, I still found that my initial estimate that the ride/push split would be 50/50 percent. The light rain the night before, the density of the leaf fall, and the roughness of the trail necessitated a conservative approach. I'm sure the trail was slicker and hazards more hidden than during the summer. A particular hazard were tree roots that were partially covered, especially those that grew across the trail at a diagonal angle. The combination of moisture, leaves, and slick bark would cause the front tire to slide out if crossed at too narrow an angle. The route around the lake was no rails-to-trails route, but I soon learned to pay close attention to the area immediately before the front tire and to dismount the bike when the trail grew too rough with root and stone, or too steep with either ascent or descent--or both rough and steep, which was often the case. 

I enjoy both bicycling and hiking, so the alternation of pedaling and pushing wasn't a bother. I actually found that on the steep, leafy ascents and descents that the bike acted as a sort of hiking pole (or walker!) for stability. Because I wasn't bicycle camping, the bike was still light for pushing, too. Perhaps this is a good spot to emphasize that I'm aware that this seven-mile ride would be a short one for most regular day ride enthusiasts. However, the novelty of a new trail allowed me to feel comfortable with the quality of the route, rather than focusing too much on the distance.

One of the longer riding spots on the trail

Fording a tiny stream, then a long push up the hill opposite

The backside of the lake from the campground had more level ground that followed the lake, keeping to one altitude, more or less. Ironically, though, the opposite side of the lake from the campground also had the steepest ground and also the crossing of a tiny creek. The circuit of the lake took an hour and a half. Including lunch and time for photo stops, two hours and ten minutes.

A nice look at Cedar Creek as it enters the lake

Cedar Creek upstream

I'm not certain of the distance around the lake. The park brochure states it's 6.2 miles; however, the park ranger said it's 7.4. Also, some parts of the trail are marked as being a new trail. The estimated time for traveling the lake trail, according to the brochure, is 3-3.5 hours, so my hour and a half by bicycle was good time. Another oddity is that the brochure says the trail is for hiking, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling. It doesn't mention bicycles, although the ranger said biking was okay, "just don't try it with a 10-speed." I think bicycling would be easier than cross-country skiing or snowmobiling, but maybe that's because I was willing to get off and push. Still, though, parts of the trail were narrow and steep. Also, I think bicycling when the trail was wet would be bad for the trail. That was my first concern with the early-morning rain. I was glad when I saw that the rain was light enough to not matter. Parts of the trail would be best bicycled with 3.5-inch tires, but my 1.50-inch tires (38 mm) were fine with the dry trail and with my willingness to hop off and push. 

Lunch on the trail . . . what a treat!

I ate lunch having completed about eighty percent of the ride, then finished with some easy riding and pushing. I find when riding, my enjoyment of nature is really the enjoyment of the workout, the working of my body. That's nature, too, inner nature! When hiking, there is also the enjoyment of the exercise, but more attention can be placed on the surrounding environment because there's less chance of crashing and burning from a fall. Having the trail completely covered with leaves does provide a challenge, though, whether hiking or bicycling. That beautiful, smooth carpet of leaves may cover bumpy ground, just waiting to slide a wheel or turn an ankle. I always take it slow and careful when traveling alone. 

I prefer my exploits to be an inspiration rather than a cautionary tale. This ride was an inspiration to keep myself active, which sometimes can be a challenge since I love to read and write so much! Nature is always an inspiration, the greatest evidence in my life that harmony is not a human concept; rather, it is an essential aspect of existence. Earth abides, and finding kinship with the greater world is a great joy.

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