We have finally reached the end of the exciting journey back to Iowa. Hopefully everyone is still with me! While I have really enjoyed writing about the trip back to Iowa, I am ready to get back to my mountain living and current world.
To continue where we left off, I’m going to dive right in to talk about one of my favorite places in Iowa: Clear Lake. My grandma, Ann, has had a cabin on Clear Lake as long as I have been alive. Clear Lake has kind of become our place. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve going with Grandma to open and close the cabin every fall and spring.
Yes, you read that right- we have to open and close the cabin. Her cabin is not winterized, so it is only able to be enjoyed during the more temperate times of the year. Personally, I think that only adds to the charm. I will include a photo of the cabin below.
While the cabin may not look like much from outside, the view of the lake is what is important. Believe me, the view is definitely worth not having heat, a/c, or wifi for the duration of your visit. 🙂 The photos below are taken from the dock and yard.
Even though it was raining for most of the day, Grandma and I made the most of our time. We went to dinner, played Yahtzee (she won), and played Scrabble. It was a pretty great time and an important part of my trip.
The next day (the day before I was supposed to fly home) I got some ice cream with my little brother and got to see some friends. If you’re ever near Cedar Falls or Waverly, check out Four Queens Dairy Cream- you won’t be disappointed! Check out the picture below of the sizes of our medium and large malts for reference of non-disappointment.
Another thing I used to love about going back to Iowa was seeing my old dog, Truman. I got to see him while I was there, before he passed away. If that doesn’t make my trip even more worth it, I don’t know what does. He had basically been my dog since we got him when I was in middle school. Truman and I were inseperable.
The last major thing that happened was, once again, my flight had issues. I had to work the next day, so I picked the most optimal flight to get me back to Denver, then Cody after that. Not surprisingly, the airplane had other ideas.
My dad, grandma, and I set off super early for my flight so that we could meet my mom for lunch before getting to the airport. While we were eating, I got the first delay text. It was only a half an hour, so no big deal. Fast forward a couple of hours, and my flight is delayed over three and a half hours, due to brake issues in our original plane that was coming to Cedar Rapids.
I missed my original connecting flight from Denver to Cody, but it was no biggie, as there was another connecting flight later in the evening. Finally, we are all sitting waiting to board, only to find out that there is an engine issue with this new plane that is supposed to take us from Cedar Rapids to Denver. It takes about two hours for them to look this issue. However, once they were done, I could’ve still made that last connecting flight.
Then, we received news that our original flight crew left, because their hours for the day were up. We would have to find an overnight crew to fly us to Denver. Best case-scenario, we would’ve left Cedar Rapids at midnight, meaning that I would miss the connecting flight, and wouldn’t get to Cody until after 3:30 the next afternoon anyways. So, I missed work the next day already.
Long story short, my awesome parents drove two hours back to Cedar Rapids to pick me up. I wasn’t going to leave out of Cedar Rapids anymore. I was able to switch airports, and ended up leaving from Des Moines the next afternoon, and made it to Denver and then Cody, with only a 45 minute delay in my flight from Denver to Cody.
Just about the only good things that came out of these flight issues were: more time to spend with my family, Grandma got to drive me to the airport the next day, we got awesome pizza in Cedar Rapids that night, and lastly, this awesome sunset pic (below) from outside of the Cedar Rapids airport.
My parents and grandma are seriously troopers for putting up with so many flight delays and cancellations. I am seriously so thankful for them, I would not have made it to Iowa and back to WYO without them!!!
While this blog may have been short, I hope it was plenty interesting! If you are from Iowa originally, perhaps not 🙂 That being said, we have officially come to the end of our Iowa Trilogy!! I hope everyone is cheering right along with me!
Next week, I will post a shorter blog about the Billings Rimrocks and Two Moon Park. Both the Rimrocks and Two Moon Park are nice little breaks from the hustle and bustle of Billings, that aren’t a far drive.
Until next week, Happy Hiking!!
Also, in the meantime, enjoy another photo of Clear Lake below.
Wonders of the West 