Mini Vacation

Last week we rented a cabin for a couple of nights at Backbone State Park, about 2.5 hours northeast of us. It was definitely not what you think of Iowa being--lots of trees, hills and rocky ledges. We felt like we were back in Alabama. Despite a rocky start the first day (we found out after an hour of searching for the office and cabins that there are two sections of the park that are not connected, and no signs to explain this fact) we had an enjoyable dinner of grilled hotdogs and beans--Alice's favorite.



The next day we went in search of the famous Backbone Loop hike, only to find after searching far and wide that the sign was missing (we were not impressed with the park's signage, or lack thereof). But we eventually figured it out and had an enjoyable hike. Alice did some rock climbing part of the time and was in the baby backpack the rest of the time.





We then explored the cave. Bruce and Alice went a little ways back into the passageway but because it was so low and muddy, the didn't go too far.


The next morning Bruce got up early and went fishing while Alice and I were still in bed. He didn't quite know if he was doing it right or not though. Growing up, he would always move up or down a stream, finding a good fishing hole, trying for a little while and then moving on. He said that everyone he has seen in Iowa is parked on a lawn chair with a cooler of beer next to them. But he did catch a little fishy and ate it for breakfast. Instead of cleaning out the pan, Bruce decided to just cook it in the sausage grease. No comment on how it tasted.


Besides the fact that we felt like we packed and unpacked about the same amount of time as we vacationed and of course the impossibility of relaxing with a child constantly on the go, we had a good time.