Clear Lake State Park, Iowa

Thursday Sept. 17, 2015 day 51               Clear Lake State Park, site 154, Clear Lake, IA    

309 miles towing

 We left Snake Creek Campground a little later than we normally do when we are trying to make distance.  It was a nice place and we took time with our coffee outside.  We planned our destination for the day by studying our atlas and using Microsoft Streets & Trips software.  We were going to spend one more night on the road and then go home.  But after the long 500 mile day, we decided to break the remaining trip into two nights.  Our destination for tonight would be Clear Lake State Park about ½ way across Iowa, at the intersection of I-35 and US-18.  Our next night would be halfwaypart way across Illinois on I-80 at Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park, then home the next day.

 We took advantage of the public showers in the bathhouse before we left.  We can use all the water we want.  We have to conserve in the Oliver so we just get wet, soap up, and rinse. 

We left the campsite at 08:50, but had to go to the dump station across the street.  We hadn’t dumped in 6 days since leaving Madison campground and we were nearly out of water. 

Took SD-44 all the way east to I-29.  Went south on I-29 about 1 mile and picked up US-18 east into Iowa.  Took US-18 across half the state to the campground.  Arrived at 15:00 after about 6 hours of driving.  It was 88^o and humid with lots of no-see-ums biting us.  Overcast and on and off sprinkles.  We sat under the awning with Journey’s Greatest Hits playing in the Oliver while we did the cheese and cracker and beer thing after arrival.

 

Clear Lake State Park, site 154,  Clear Lake, Iowa

Our site was self-registration and was only $16 for an electric site.  No daily fee like most state parks.  That’s the lowest price I’ve ever paid for an electric site in any state park.  The sites were all pull-through on a grassy surface, fairly level, but not much trees or privacy between sites.  It was just a place to spend the night.

 Made a salad and grilled some pork for dinner and climbed into air-conditioned comfort for the night.  Didn’t unhitch today either.  We’ve not unhitched in three days.