The decision to end our tenure with Saylorville Lake was a
tough one. We love so many things about the place. Afterall, it is where we met 20 years ago and
where our story began. We loved all our years camping there and would never
trade a second of the four summer seasons we lived and volunteered there.
It’s nice when a vision comes to life and that is what has
happened this summer. Many discussions with our oldest son last year led to us
building a full-service pad on his acreage 40 miles north of Des Moines. A
nephew dug the septic field for us and our other son ran the service for our 50-amp
pedestal. The concrete was already here. But the infrastructure was just the
bare bones of our vision. The real vision was being more connected to the
family in the northern counties and an opportunity to spend more time with
grandkids who previously looked on us like virtual strangers. They now come in
the motorhome and know where to find a juice box and snack rather than having
to be reminded of who we are the 1 or 2 times a summer we see them. The kids in the southern counties have more
contact with their north Iowa relatives because of our location and the grade
school aged cousins are becoming quick friends.
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| Part of my butterfly gardens getting established |
I stumbled into an awesome part time job, just 4 miles away
working for a local produce / flower/ Iowa produce market. The owner and his
family are incredible and the local clientele are sprinkled with old neighbors
and acquaintances that make the average workday feel like old home day. It is
Iowa nice in its true form.
The weather has been perfect for motorcycle seat time. We
took a weekend trip with a group of people, most of whom Champ has known for
decades and some new friends made last year on a similar trip. We covered a
little over 700 miles of Southern Iowa towns and made a lot of great memories
as often happens on such trips. I ride my bike to work most days and evening
rides are frequent.
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| Champ and I on the last day of the June trip |
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| A stop on a day ride with the kids |
The coolest thing for us this summer is, our daughter and
family entered the RV world by purchasing their first camper. We have camped
with the one time so far and are looking forward to another weekend soon.
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| Kids at a picnic table. Pretty normal in our world |
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| Kelsy and JP 1st Camping trip with their new camper |
We basked in our bubble of joy until about 4 weeks ago. There
are sobering reminders of how fragile this life is and how vulnerable full time
RV’rs are to what goes on inside our bodies. Within 4 weeks, we lost one our cats who
succumbed to old age. We feel fortunate that we are here and had a place to
bury her. The next day we received news
that my brother-in-law has an aggressive form of Lung Cancer. He is currently undergoing
chemo and radiation to the extent his body can tolerate it. A few days ago, we
got word from a couple in our RV life that we have become close friends with
over the years, that he has Pancreatic Cancer.
Another RV friend is being treated for Cancer that has come back in
another part of his body. My Father is declining because of Lewy Body Dementia
as well. Suddenly, our plans for the winter
are tentative. There are times when one must draw a line between choosing what
we want to do and being separated for a time from our friends and family to do it
and knowing that you need to set those desires aside and be present to those
who need you.
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| Annie's grave site along the fence line where she liked to lay |
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| Champ on the right supporting Steve while he goes through chemo and radiation |
We are looking forward to our trip to Maine in a couple of
weeks. Each day we look for the joy in our lives. Watching the young kids play
together, watching the butterflies and bumblebees cover my pollinator habits
that are growing bring me great joy. Knowing we made the right decision to come
to our son’s property for the summers bring us all joy. Amidst the trials that
life has handed to people around us, who we love deeply, we will do what our
hearts tell us to do in the coming months. Like most of RV life the plan is
fluid.
Until next time…
