Photos from Des Moines

We leave here tomorrow, and I can’t sleep because we stayed up late playing that Firefly board game.

It wasn’t until we were cleaning it up that I saw a severe storm on the radar, so we had to pack away all the outside living room stuff while being pelted by moths and beatles in the dark. By the time everything was stowed and I got in bed, I was way past my threshold for sleepiness. As usual, my sleep loss is this blog’s gain.

Campground Trails

Today was Father’s Day, and apparently every father in the area wanted to go camping/hiking/fishing at the Thomas Mitchell Park. I managed to avoid people and one dog off leash when I was out at 6 am.

By the way, the children’s book that’s posted page by page around the lake is Frog and Toad Are Friends.

When I went back out at 3 pm for an exercise-type walk, I ran into whole families ambling along in the woods. How dare they?

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Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

When we drove out to see bison and elk, they were all hiding from the heat, visible only through binoculars. We saw lots of new (to us) birds flying over the prairie, though, as well as butterflies—even monarchs. Gorgeous day.

Banjo spent the entire two-mile walk trying to pounce on small critters on the edge of the tall grasses. (She didn’t get any.)

I’ll say goodnight with a joke that my former co-worker told me tonight:

I’m calling from Iowa.

Where in Iowa?

It’s hard to say.

I’ll leave with that.

Next up, Cedar Falls.