Our Little House on the Prairie

David & Bonnie Delino

  As stated in our previous blog, we are camping at various COE (Corps of Engineers) campgrounds on our trek up north. Ordinarily, we’d choose what we’d like to see on a vacation and then plan our lodging accordingly; however, because we’re now traveling in our home, we try to find a place to park it and then explore interesting places in the surrounding area.  

  Yesterday, August 1st, we left our last scheduled COE campground, Prairie Flower, located in Iowa (the second state we got to scratch off our map during this trip), approximately 10 miles northwest of Des Moines. This awesome campground was aptly named for the beautiful prairie preserved throughout, making it uniquely different from the previous campgrounds we visited. So, we literally stayed in our little house on the prairie! 

Our little house on the prairie!

 
A view of our home from a path
that was cut through the savanna.

They kept the grass mowed at each site.

    We took a stroll down to the beach where we left our imprints on Iowa! 

Our footprints in the sand.
Saylorville Lake, Iowa

    Here's a recap of the COE campgrounds we visited, all of which have at least one beach, one or more boat launches, walking and/or biking trails, etc.  We highly recommend these campgrounds to anyone looking for affordable camping near a lake/reservoir.

1.

        Canal, located on Lake Barkley in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. 

It's just a village, but it's so cute and inviting.

Nice park by the marina.

  2.  

    South Sandusky, located on Rend Lake near Benton, Illinois. There are several other COE campgrounds on this lake…and a golf course!

This is a very large and beautiful lake.

Such an amazing store in Benton, IL;
it was like visiting a museum!
Very neat and organized.
They even had Civil War memorabilia for sale.

Benton, Illinois boasts of being the
first place that George Harrison visited
in the U.S.; his older sister lived there.
This article about his visit was published
in Smithsonian Magazine.  He was
completely unknown in the  U.S.
at the time, so he walked around freely,
until he and the three other Beatles
 made their appearance on the
Ed Sullivan Show in NY
just a short time later.

3.

    Indian Creek, located in Missouri on Mark Twain Lake, fifteen miles from the nearest town, Monroe City.

The closest town to the campground.
Love their mural!
We know of a couple who
live in Laurel, MS that would
be so proud of this artwork!

The actual cabin Mark Twain was born in. 
It is located inside the Mark Twain Museum.

Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, a
tiny village located a few miles from
the Mark Twain State Park. 


This bust was previously mounted
on top of the monument (previous photo)
 erected in his honor in Florida, MO.
It was later placed in the museum.

Wonder how much this book
would sell for on eBay?

David created this cairn
alongside Mark Twain Lake.
All 21 members of our
family are represented.


A brief history lesson.


4.

    Prairie Flowers, located near Polk City, Iowa, on Saylorville Lake, which also has several other different named COE campgrounds.

The walk down to the beach from our campground.

So glad we found this COE!

Simplistic beauty!

Love the purple wildflowers

The Leaning Tower of Pizza. It was
voted best pizza in Ackney for the past
16 years. It was good, but not as good as
Pizza Village or Deano's in Lafayette, LA!

Another town mural!


Little bunny on the prairie!

    Lagniappes...   

    We’ve experienced lagniappes (bonuses) at each destination thus far … large beautiful lakes, cool summer breezes, a warm fire, a quaint village, interesting architecture, colorful wildflowers, town murals, a wonderful antique store, seeing the St. Louis Arch and the Cardinals Stadium, visiting Mark Twain’s birthplace and touring his museum, and much more!  

    Wonderments…

    You see, while we’re excited about opportunities to see the big wonders of Abba’s beautiful creation - National Parks, famous landmarks - we want to appreciate all the small wonders we discover along the way, too!  Like…Canadian geese meandering by our camper, tame deer grazing by the road, a bunny on the prairie, a butterfly by the shore, a pheasant in flight, and fireflies at dusk (we don't see them in the south anymore)…all of which make us feel thankful for getting to do what we’re doing!

    Current location…

    We just arrived today, August 2nd, at Grant Haven Campground, located near Bemidji, Minnesota (the third state we are scratching off our map), where we will be staying until next Sunday, August 9th.  All through this week, we will be venturing out in our toad with great anticipation of discovering more of this beautiful country we’re so blessed to live in!

Until next time...blessings from our neck of the woods to yours! 

Jeremiah 32:17






    









Location: Bemidji, MN 56601, USA

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