|
|
Woken suddenly at 6.30 by a storm - loud claps of rolling thunder and forks of lightening illuminating the tent - we couldn't decide whether it was safer to be inside or outside our tent during a thunder storm. Eventually we erred on the side of caution, got up and out of the tent and sat in the car. Thrown out of our usual routine we sat for a while bleary eyed watching the rain until we got the motivation to visit the washrooms for a shower. By the time we'd finished showering the storm had moved on and the clouds were clearing, but we still had to pack away our wet tent - this task must be high up in the top-10 grim camping tasks. Once packed we continued on our way, driving further east into Iowa, taking the backroads cross country which were often unpaved. In one tiny town we stopped for coffee and french toast (a treat after the bad start to the morning) in a friendly diner where the coffee flows until you can't drink anymore.
By midday we had already covered alot of miles and so took a few detours around Madison County taking in the covered bridges made famous by the movie - the bridges were covered to stop the horses from being frightened by the torrents during the flood season - very scenic. The movie have changed the fortunes of the sleepy little town next to the bridges. Set up our camp earlyish just south of Des Moines and watched as the camp filled with Labour Day vacationers, lots of shouting happy families!
|
