25 June 08 - 13:49
An earth friendly day
Most days don't have themes but yesterday sure seemed to have one. Environmentalism was the theme of the day.We started the day sheltered by the trees in Ambrose A. Call State Park in Iowa. The park has a disc golf course that looked fun and challenging but we don't have any discs with us so we packed up to head out.
Packing up on this day included stashing a book I finished reading the night before and digging out another one. Both of these books were used ones I got at a campground book exchange by turning in ones I had read for ones I had not.
As we drove west on US Hwy 18 I was aware of the recent flooding there. The number of trees in the rivers indicated just how far those rivers had overflowed their banks. Many soy bean fields had large muddy spots in them. And the corn was going to have to work some to grow "knee high by the 4th of July" which is what I learned it should do as a child growing up in central Illinois.
Our first stop of the day was at a Sinclair station for fuel. I appreciate how much more accessible dielsel fuel is today than it was in the 1980s when friends of ours bought a VW camper with a diesel engine. We got 20 mpg on that tank which made me happy as it decreased our carbon footprint.
Our next stop was Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center near Ruthven, Iowa. All along the highway we had been seeing signs for prairie and wetlands restoration areas but this place was HUGE! The nature center is closed on Tuesdays but a woman working there invited us in anyway. The place is full of interactive exhibits some of which reminded me of the "bird board" my brother built as a scout project. You know, one of those where you touch one probe to a picture of a bird and the other probe to a name to see if you can match them correctly. I didn't play today because I didn't want to disturb everyone with the buzz of my wrong answers. :)
Another exhibit defined invasive species as: "Native or non-native organisms that are freed from the native constraints and allowed to reproduce and spread at rapid rates, crowding out native vegetation and degrading the ecosystem." That made me wonder how our species of RVers impact our environment. For instance, do you haul firewood from one place to another? A bumper sticker on the wall said, "Don't move firewood. It BUGS me." and referenced www.emeraldashborer.info.
I continued to look at exhibits and talk to staff while Dave went walking the trails. He came back saying they also have canoe trails to facilitate exploring the wetlands. How innovative!
The nature center also had a recycling bin where we could deposit the cans and bottles we've been accumulating. Minnesota rest areas have recycling centers but we didn't find one at the only Interstate Hwy rest area we'd stopped at in Iowa so our bin was overflowing.
While there, we decide to make tuna sandwiches for lunch. Dave used his P-38 to open the can of tuna. Talk about the reuse portion of reduce, reuse, recycle. This P-38 is a tiny, personal, can opener Dave received from the U.S. Army back in the 1960s. Dave said it was more work than using a regular can opener but it was also more fun.
Our next environmental activity took place at the grocery store. We bought reusable shopping bags. We had been using paper shopping bags from REI co-op to sort and store our laundry until the next laundromat. Those bags were getting pretty battered so we were pleased to find suitable replacement bags that are earth friendly.
The grocery store also had a place we could recycle plastic bags but we didn't do that since we reuse those bags as trash can liners.
Our next earth friendly stop was a Pizza Ranch for supper. The napkins there brag about being made from recycled materials. Plus, I ordered more pizza than I would eat so I could have cold pizza the next day--planned recycling that doesn't require cooking.
By now it was a bout 7 pm and we thought the South Dakota state park we had planned to stop at might be further than we wanted to drive. So, when we saw the sign for Rivers Bend Campground, we turned towards it. When we pulled up outside the park we could see it was a brand new park with concrete pads and very small trees. I didn't want to end our environmental day on that type of note but we were too tired to move on so we turned into the park anyway. Good decision. It turns out the entire park is a recycled gravel pit! Van Zee Enterprises donated 94 acres to the city of Rock Valley which is converting it to a regional asset. The park has only been open five weeks and, so far, it has a swimming beach and two catch & release fishing ponds and a scenic overlook of the bend in the Rock River. The park will have more amenities as they have time to build them. It was nice parking on the totally level concrete pad--this was the first night we'd been truly level and I slept really well.
TTYL,
Linda
one comment
Came from Froggi Donna’s. Great to read how you are managing the smaller RV, we are trying to decide on a C or a B.
Also, thanks for mentioning the P-38’s. Years ago I tried to find another one and couldn’t. Since you mentioned it here, I searched again and found them even at Amazon.
Marcia - 02 08 08
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