RAGBRAI

Vern has been doing a lot of bicycle riding for the past year, so he decided to ride one day of RAGBRAI. He picked Monday which was a 79 mile day, or if you wanted to ride a few extra miles your could make it a century day. Vern did the century ride. Tony drove Vern to Storm Lake on Sunday afternoon and he spent the night at the Fareway managers house. (along with about 35 other bikers) He slept on the floor of a 3 season porch. Vern left at 6:11 a.m. Monday morning and rode into Algona at 1:10 p.m. with an hour rest time during the ride. It was cool early in the morning but temps warmed to the low 80's by noon with a south wind. Our daughter-in-law Kathy picked him up in Algona and drove him back to Ames. He had a great ride with no problems. Vern saw several bike accidents and ambulances going to accidents. Estimated number of riders was around 20,000. Way to go Vern. Great job.

ROAD TRIP

Monday, July 12th Vern and I and our granddaughter Alexis (13) left for Elkhart, Indiana. We were taking Alexis to meet Travis, so she could spend the rest of the summer with her Dad. The trip out was pretty uneventful. The biggest thing was where we were going to eat. We got to Elkhart before Travis and Lynn, so Alexis was watching the clock like a hawk. I tried to interest her in different projects, but nothing held her attention for very long. She finally started texting her Dad, so she knew where he was at. When they turned off at the exit we decided to meet them in the lobby. Alexis got a text that said her Dad was by the CRV and she turned and started to run the other direction. (we were parked behind the motel) By the time we got outside Alexis had her arms wrapped around her Dad's neck and feet off the ground. It brought tears to my eyes. We went out to eat at the Texas Roadhouse. So good. We listened to Alexis talk about her mission trip to Haiti and the things she saw and did. A trip she'll never forget.



We headed back to Iowa on Wednesday in 90* + temperatures and high humidity. When we stopped for a break mid morning it was like walking into an oven. When we stopped for lunch and to find a motel it was so hot with a heat index of 115. We never left the motel until the next morning, not even to eat. We munched on snacks and popcorn I had taken. It was much cooler on Thursday when we left.



When we got close to DesMoines we decided to stop at the new Bass Pro store in Altoona and look around. We didn't need anything, but everyone said it was neat to look at. It is a neat store with the large aquarium and all the animal displays. When we got back to the Ledges Andy, the park manager said if we moved our golf cart they would put in out new grill and fire pit. It didn't take long for Vern to move the cart. We had to let it set over night before we could use it. What a surprise! We thought we had to wait another week before they were going to start putting in the new grills.

4th OF JULY WEEKEND

The 4Th was a wet cloudy weekend. We have had so much rain the last couple of weeks our golf cart cover has been on more than off. The campground had just started to dry up from the last rain and we get another 1 1/2 inches Sunday morning. There are several small ponds. One of them fills up then runs across the road into another site then through the trees into another site, then if it rains enough the water will run across the road into another site. The worst site is site 3 and we ask the campers if they enjoy their water front campsite. The only good thing with the rain, was that a lot of campers left a day early.



The lower Ledges is flooded and will be closed the rest of the summer. The water level is about 1 foot less than 2008 when it was around 26 feet. The park manager takes his canoe to the lower Ledges to check things out. He can go all the way to the 3rd crossing before he has to turn around. Once the water level goes down, then comes the clean up. What a mess.



There are a lot of people sitting on the road and fishing. There are a few taking boats or canoes and fishing from them. Now one of the questions we get asked is "when will canyon road and the lower Ledges be open". Like we know when. People think when the water goes down the lower Ledges should be open. They don't think about the clean up.

SETTING UP STUDIO

Monday and Tuesday I went to my sister Linda's to help with unpacking and organizing the last couple of rooms. Linda is a stamper and has a lot of stamps and everything she needs to make them. She had done a lot of the unpacking, but we needed to organize her studio. In a couple of hours we had her stamp studio all set up.



Linda had made a list of things she wanted to get done and we did it. We even had time for a little shopping. We even did a room that wasn't on her list - Jerry's office. It was full of boxes and you could hardly move around. Linda asked Jerry if he wanted us to unpack and organize his office, he said we could if we wanted, but do not throw anything away. It took a little organizing, but we got it done and Jerry approved.



I had so much fun. Linda and I don't get together often, so we had lots of time to talk. Linda thanks for two fun days of work, talk, and laughter.