Iowa - Days 24 - 30 - in the campground, freezing

Des Moines West KOA, Adel

Thursday, 24 through Wednesday, 30 November 2022

I spent this week mostly in the campground, though I did make 2 trips out - one to Des Moines and the other to nearby Adel.  But first, Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

I bought a turkey breast to put in the slow cooker, but when it was thawed I realized it wasn't going to fit.  They hadn't just sold me the breast, but instead they'd removed the dark meat and sold me everything else.  So I separated the breast from the everything else and stacked them in the cooker, and they fit like that - sort of spooned into each other.  And I used a longer cooking time than I would have for just the breast.  And it worked out fine.

Of course, I watched Schindler's List, my usual homage to things I feel thankful for (thankful that my country's not at war, that my home hasn't been taken from me, that I have food to eat, that my family hasn't been killed in a concentration camp - like that).  Except for that last bit, those are the things Ukrainians are dealing with right now; their courage is stunning and inspiring.

Trips out of camp

I really hated to leave the campground so soon after I'd gotten there, but I seriously wanted someone to look at my tires and tell me if they're why the steering wheel shakes so badly when I'm driving.  The local tire shop told me their equipment couldn't deal with the extra weight of my RV and told me to go to Des Moines.  A Discount Tire shop in Des Moines said bring it on in and they'd take a look.  I learned when I had tire problems in Reno that I needed to be there about when the shop opened (at 8 AM), so we left the campground before 7:30.

One of the tire guys said the problem wasn't with the new tires on the rear but with my 2 front tires - that they had "cupping."  I hadn't heard of that, but he showed me that my tire tread wasn't all one level but instead different pieces of the tread were higher or lower than the ones next to them.  While I was waiting my turn to be worked on, I looked it up and learned this was an actual thing, and that if it happened again I should get the suspension system checked.  The guy here didn't mention that, just that I needed new tires, which I knew he was telling the truth about because even I could see it.

We got out of there early enough for me to stop at a PetsMart to get more kitten food (incredible how much those guys eat - and I can't find kitten food at grocery stores), and a grocery store, and then went on to the one theater in the Des Moines area that was showing Glass Onion, the 2nd Benoit Blanc mystery.  Actually, they bill it as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but I can assure you that it has absolutely nothing whatever in common with Knives Out, so they should have billed it as "A Benoit Blanc Mystery," which it is.  I saw the first movie in Alabama and left the theater feeling absolutely charmed and somewhat stunned because it was such a convoluted mystery.  I didn't feel that way this time.  It was a good movie, and it was convoluted, and I'd like to see it again, but I don't expect I'll ever develop the same fondness for this 2nd one that I did for the first.  I've read that they've already started production on the 3rd.

That was on Friday, and I'd planned to stay at the campground until we left Iowa on Thursday the 1st, but sadly I came close to running out of propane again, and it was clear I didn't have enough to last until the 1st.  Most of the campground was closed off, and they had those of us who were guests separated into a section I think must usually be used for long-term stays.  I think that because most of the sites had their own propane tanks, including mine.  But nobody ever explained it to me and there was no amount of money that could entice me to pump my own propane under these circumstances, so I got on the phone.  The nearest RV dealership said they could fill only portable tanks but they recommended the Tractor Supply across the road.  I went there and they filled my tank no problem.  Thank goodness.  

The Tractor Supply guy also had to relieve some air in my propane tank before he could fill it.  I mentioned what had happened down in Wellington, KS, and he said it was the cold weather that was causing it.  He said several people had brought in the propane tanks for their bbq grills and they'd had the same problem.  That was a different kind of relief for me, to learn that it wasn't just my equipment that was experiencing this problem.

Across from the Tractor Supply was a pet training business called "Heinz 57" and it's a measure of how spacey my mind can get that I couldn't figure that name out at first.

From there I went on into Adel to a grocery store, and then to a nice local park for Dext to have someplace new to walk.  And then we drove around town a little bit.  Nice, attractive older town.

Dallas County Courthouse, built 1902

The entire county has fewer than 100,000 residents, so this courthouse seems a little much - but this area might have looked different more than 100 years ago when the courthouse was built.

I got gasoline for $3.29/gallon.  The price is definitely coming down.  I'm surprised all those folks who were blaming Biden for the price of gas before the election aren't praising him now that the price is going down.

From there I headed back to the campground, only to discover that Google told me the wrong mileage - by a lot.  Instead of finding the road to turn on in 1.4 miles, I finally found it after 2.9 miles.  Finding places to turn around on those narrow country roads ain't easy, and I kept turning around thinking I'd missed seeing the right road.  But I hadn't.  Good old Google.

Back in the campground, I filled my water tank and dumped my waste tanks, though I'd dumped them only a few days before.  I just figured it was better to do it now than to wish I had when it was less convenient in some other campground.

Life in the campground

Iowa has some really beautiful red sunsets.  I've been noticing them all month and really enjoying them.  I don't know if it's a function of the weather or if they're typical for here, but I can see that they'd be a real advantage for living here, if you like sunsets, which I do.

On the other hand, my asthma has been terrible all month, and I wondered if it too was a casualty of the cold weather.  Though one of my theories is that it's the dry air that's causing it.  Yes, I know that lots of people say dry air is good for asthma and they all move to Arizona.  But I still remember that I used my inhaler a lot when I was in Arizona and wondered why on earth everybody kept saying how great the climate was for asthma when it clearly wasn't for mine.

Not that Iowa has an Arizona climate, because it doesn't.  But when it's seriously cold, I keep the RV closed up as tight as I can get it and turn on both the electric portable heater and the RV's propane heater.  I figure those circumstances are making the air in the RV a lot drier than it might be outdoors.

I found it reassuring that all my critters seem to be starting to accept each other.  Here are 2 photos I wouldn't have thought possible for another year.

Of course, they're all trying to stay warm
in front of the heater, which is why they've
allowed the others to be so close. 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw
Lily was allowing the kitties to be so close.
But here's the proof.

Both the kittens are developing their specific characteristics.  For instance, Jimmy turns around and around like a toy top when I'm setting the food bowls down.  Bucky often trills.  Not for any reason I can see, I guess it's just his commentary on something.  But it's very sweet.

I've been noticing more and more that I no longer have any floor space to speak of.  There wasn't a lot to start with, and the stack of dog beds under the table and the stack between the seats both tend to protrude into the open area and I have to shove them back now and then.  Plus the pets' water bowl on its plastic mat.  And recently I've added the portable heater to the space.  But with the kitties I now also have a horizontal scratching pad and a vertical scratching post, and what seem to be proliferating kitty toys.  Add to all that the kitties who seem to be constantly in motion and haven't yet figured out that they bear some responsibility for staying out from under my feet if they don't want to get hurt.  So I spend much of my time shuffling across the floor, trying to keep from stepping on something.  It's weird.

In the 5 days I was actually in the campground, I wrote 11 daily posts for Iowa - most of the month, in other words.  I really hated to be so far behind, but between the weather and Iowa's rural nature, I just had trouble getting things done.  Anyway, I was glad I'd be leaving with only the last 2 posts to do for this state, which is much better than my recent record.

And through all this time, we were getting hit with increasingly cold weather.  Actually, the daytime temps weren't bad, considering this was the end of November - in the 40s and low 50s.  It was the constant, very strong wind that made it feel so cold.  And by Wednesday, our last day here, the forecast was for a high of 29° (which got knocked down to 14° with the wind chill) and tonight the low temp would be 15°, not counting the wind.  Kind of crazy.

On the other hand, I heard the Deep South had a heavy dose of tornadoes and 2" balls of hail.  If that's my choice, I guess I'll take the cold - especially once I got a propane refill.

I heard on the radio that almost 90% of recent covid deaths are people 65 and older.  And I heard that many of those catching the virus have been vaccinated, which apparently means most of them are getting a mild case and recovering with few problems.  But being a senior citizen, and one with asthma, I get really worried about that 90% statistic.  I'm still very careful about wearing a mask always indoors anywhere and hoping that will help.  I even wore it throughout the movie.  I figured I was already taking a big chance just being in a theater with a bunch of strangers who had who knows what attitudes about vaccines and covid.