Lake Anita State Park
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:15 pmGuess I'll fill you all in on my recent trip to Iowa. For some reason, don't ask me why, when I was planning this trip to see my son, I decided to invite my Ex to travel along with my granddaughter and me. I guess I was having a generous moment...who knows. Anyway, we left on the 4th...about an hour later than I had intended to leave. That should have been a good indication of what I was in store for! 
Well, the GD was excited to have him coming along, so I guess it wasn't all bad. And he is my son's father too.
I decided to take the northern most route out, and really wish that I had planned on taking longer and stopping at some places along the way. I guess I'll have to do that next summer when I go out again. I didn't realize how flat Ohio and Indiana are.
But it was beautiful countryside.
When we left Maryland, we realized that we had a hitchhiker. Here it is eating. We set it free in Illinois.
When we got into Iowa, it was beautiful rolling hills, very lush and green. DIL said they have had lots of rain this year.
The wind turbines in the background are what my son works on. Actually, he runs the warehouse for the techs that install and repair them. They are huge.
The campground was really nice. Just about every site had a view of the lake. The sites on the upper level (where we were) were full hookups. The sites on the lower level, closer to the lake, were electric only.
Our site.
View of the lake.
This was one of the lower sites after a good rain the night before. I think I would have been a little upset about sitting in that puddle!
This is the swimming area of the lake. We had to drive over to get there but the kids enjoyed it.
The sun was trying to peek through the clouds.
One day while we were there we went to the zoo in Omaha. Lake Anita is about an hour west of Des Moines and an hour east of Omaha, Nebraska. I think this is the first I had ever seen black swans. And there was some sort of duck with a very blue bill. I wasn't able to get a good picture of it though.
They had a petting zoo there for the kids. This little goat had just been trying to get into a bag on the back of this stroller.
And this one, though you can't tell too well from my picture, was very pregnant!
Turtles basking in the sun.
The grands, in and on a hippo!
I even saw a bear! I know, not as exciting as other bear sightings on here.
The tigers were all napping. It was afternoon...nap time at the zoo.
The zoo also has an aquarium. I thought the jellyfish were awesome.
The grands in the butterfly chair. I want one of those!
On our way out, we rode the train.
It was good to visit with my son and his family. Having the ex along about tried my patience. I had reservations for 10 days, from the 6th through the 16th. My plan was to leave there on Thursday and be home here on Saturday, leaving me Sunday to get ready to go back to work on Monday. Along about Sunday the Ex announces that "we are leaving on Wednesday instead of Thursday". I thought I was going to blow a gasket. "At your convenience?" I asked! If I had thought faster, I'd have handed him the keys to the jeep and told him to get his stuff and go right then. Needless to say, we left on Thursday and got home on Saturday. And, it was a great reminder of why we are no longer married...I really don't need someone to make decisions for me!
Here are a couple of pictures of the evening sky.
And no camping trip would be complete without one of these!
Fred, wishing he could ride shotgun!
Well, the GD was excited to have him coming along, so I guess it wasn't all bad. And he is my son's father too. I decided to take the northern most route out, and really wish that I had planned on taking longer and stopping at some places along the way. I guess I'll have to do that next summer when I go out again. I didn't realize how flat Ohio and Indiana are.
But it was beautiful countryside.
When we left Maryland, we realized that we had a hitchhiker. Here it is eating. We set it free in Illinois.
When we got into Iowa, it was beautiful rolling hills, very lush and green. DIL said they have had lots of rain this year.
The wind turbines in the background are what my son works on. Actually, he runs the warehouse for the techs that install and repair them. They are huge.
The campground was really nice. Just about every site had a view of the lake. The sites on the upper level (where we were) were full hookups. The sites on the lower level, closer to the lake, were electric only.
Our site.
View of the lake.
This was one of the lower sites after a good rain the night before. I think I would have been a little upset about sitting in that puddle!
This is the swimming area of the lake. We had to drive over to get there but the kids enjoyed it.
The sun was trying to peek through the clouds.
One day while we were there we went to the zoo in Omaha. Lake Anita is about an hour west of Des Moines and an hour east of Omaha, Nebraska. I think this is the first I had ever seen black swans. And there was some sort of duck with a very blue bill. I wasn't able to get a good picture of it though.
They had a petting zoo there for the kids. This little goat had just been trying to get into a bag on the back of this stroller.
And this one, though you can't tell too well from my picture, was very pregnant!
Turtles basking in the sun.
The grands, in and on a hippo!
I even saw a bear! I know, not as exciting as other bear sightings on here.
The tigers were all napping. It was afternoon...nap time at the zoo.
The zoo also has an aquarium. I thought the jellyfish were awesome.
The grands in the butterfly chair. I want one of those!
On our way out, we rode the train.
It was good to visit with my son and his family. Having the ex along about tried my patience. I had reservations for 10 days, from the 6th through the 16th. My plan was to leave there on Thursday and be home here on Saturday, leaving me Sunday to get ready to go back to work on Monday. Along about Sunday the Ex announces that "we are leaving on Wednesday instead of Thursday". I thought I was going to blow a gasket. "At your convenience?" I asked! If I had thought faster, I'd have handed him the keys to the jeep and told him to get his stuff and go right then. Needless to say, we left on Thursday and got home on Saturday. And, it was a great reminder of why we are no longer married...I really don't need someone to make decisions for me!
Here are a couple of pictures of the evening sky.
And no camping trip would be complete without one of these!
Fred, wishing he could ride shotgun!
