June 19: North Sioux City, IA to Adel, IA: 189 miles, 3 hours. June 20: Adel to Dubuque, IA: 227 miles, 3.5 hours
June 20-24: Dubuque, IA
Leaving North Sioux, we stopped in Adel (outside Des Moines) for a night at Chuck’s house. Chuck is an old friend of Nana & Papa’s, and he and his wife are fellow RV enthusiasts. Nana and Papa also joined for the night, and what started as a nice halfway point to break up our drive became a fun party!
We arrived at Coconut Cove (on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi) on Sunday afternoon. This was a FUN campground – a pool with splash pad, a small man-made lake for swimming with large inflatables (basically a trampoline on the water), and a beach with playground. The office was more of a clubhouse with a restaurant and those “claw” games that tempt us in with dreams of a sparkly-eyed stuffy…or perhaps a Yoda toy…and then crush those dreams after devouring Mama’s dollar. The one quirk? Our spot was about 20 feet away from a (rather active) railroad, and apparently a nearby railroad crossing. This resulted in RV-shaking, horn blaring train passings throughout the day and night. As an upside, we got some practice in counting to high numbers. *note: reduced counting is reflective of waning interest in the activity throughout the week, not fewer trains per day
During our few days in Dubuque, we reconnected with some cousins and had a nice dinner with Aunt Sue and Uncle Mike. And we had some fun looking up old college pictures of Nana (Clarke University) and Papa (Loras College).
In between afternoons at the beach/playground, the kids and I had a fun time at the National Mississippi River Museum (where you can pet stingrays!), Eagle Point Park with multiple playgrounds and paths overlooking the river, and the Fenelon (or Fourth Street) Elevator. The last freaked Grayson out a bit, but offered a beautiful view of the city and river. I thought it would be a pretty fun way to commute.
