We have been home for several days as I write this last blog post for this trip. After staying the four extra days in Washington DC, we had a problem-free drive home, staying the first night in Ohio, the second in Indiana, and the third and fourth nights in Iowa City. The Ohio campground was very interesting and possibly worth a comment.
I had called ahead and gotten a reservation for the night in Cambridge, OH. Since the weather was not wonderful and it is still only April, we did not expect a full campground. Generally speaking, we have seen full campgrounds only in the summer months - largely travelers like us, or local families on a summer outing. When we arrived at the Ohio campground, it was nearly full. We surveyed the types of vehicles camped, and because of our experience in British Columbia last summer, seeing the lively activity of oil field workers, heavy equipment being transported, workers' big pick-up trucks loaded with work equipment and their trailers that are their homes, we knew right away that we had blundered into an area with natural gas exploration and possibly other energy/oil production activity. Sure enough, upon further research, Ohio is an active area for energy exploration - the Utica and Marcellus formations. Gary found a map that showed all of the sites in the state actively undergoing various processes for energy production. This was interesting to me because I had no idea Ohio was a state where this was happening, probably not to the extent that it is happening in North Dakota or in western and central Canada, but significant none-the-less. We felt like we were back camping in Ft Nelson, BC or Regina, Saskatchewan!
We stayed in Remington, IN, and went into the very small town for dinner at the local bar and grill. Eating at these small local establishments is always fun. We drove around the town and saw this beautiful brick water tower that is a National Historic Landmark.
Iowa City is great with the wonderful university and campus there, and a nice downtown undergoing a renaissance. We had dinner downtown the first night - not quite warm enough to eat outside, but certainly warm enough to sit by the open window. Our waiter told us that it was good we were south of US 20, which, in his mind, is the dividing line between where you want to be this time of year and where you don't want to be. This federal highway runs east/west near Mason City and Clear Lake. Sure enough, as we drove north, we began to see patches of snow beside the highway north of US 20. And then more and more snow the further north we drove.
The first day and a half we were back here in Minneapolis really weren't that bad. The sidewalks were clear and there was very little snow anywhere - just patches here and there, and some pretty big piles in parking lots. A little chilly but not too bad. In fact a friend of mine and I went for a walk around Lake Calhoun this morning. It was cold and windy, but the park was snow-free. This was good. I took a picture of the loons at the north end of the lake. When I first saw them they were clustered together, and it appeared that there were 50-75 of them. But when I passed by again, they had dispersed somewhat. I took the photo anyway. As you can see, there is still a lot of ice on the lake, but there are these little patches of open water where the migrating birds are hanging out, waiting for spring. They are going to be here for awhile because we hear the ice is not going to be out north of here anytime soon. We are too far north of US 20!!
Since the walk this morning, we have had probably 5-6 inches of snow. NOOOO! Say it isn't so! It was a miserable, windy, slushy afternoon with roads slicked by an icy mix. This is, I think, very unseasonal, even for Minnesota. I was told by one friend yesterday that everyone here is "cranky".
So am I glad to be home? Well, maybe not completely. My head is still in beautiful Maryland and Washington DC - those beautiful blossoms and the great kayaking, the warm weather and sunshine, the Paint Branch trail for walking and running. I hope it won't be too long before we have that here!
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