Maka-Oicu County Park

We stayed at this campground for 3 nights while we visited some friends who live just a couple miles away. It’s about 19 miles North of I-90 and Worthington, MN. It’s location in southern Minnesota does mean it’s surrounded by farmland, which really isn’t uncommon for rural campgrounds in the Midwest. (The same is also true for Lake Pahoja.)

For now, we’re giving it an honorable mention. It’s a work-in-progress, with a new county employee, who’s in the process of upgrading the facility. Besides a face lift, he’s also planning to extend its usable seasons. One of the completed projects includes new power posts. The work was completed by our friends, who are licensed electricians. The bathrooms aren’t fancy, but are cleaned and had hot water in October. Future improvements are making the campsites better defined, and addressing water quality. The campground’s water has a mineral odor due to some excess iron. For now, we definitely recommend using an inline water filter, if you fill your fresh water tank there. Besides smell, you won’t want any sediment making its way into your hot water heater.

Catfish a jumpin’?

Or maybe wall-eyed pike?

Kristal’s camera isn’t set up yet for high-speed photography.

She wasn’t quite quick enough to catch the fish out of water.

The ripples they left behind weren’t too difficult, though.

This campground, with its neighbor around the corner, are on two small lakes. They are natural spring-fed, rather than damned reservoirs. A joy-killer for us, it rained 2 out of the 3 days we were there. We were getting tired of cold, wet weather. (The weather wasn’t the campground’s fault.) Still, Kristal went out with her camera and explored a bit between storms. There are trees and shrubbery on the shores of most of the lake, which limits the campground view a bit. She wanted a closer look. While she was down at the dock/boat launching area, the fish were quite active, jumping at the surface. The population appears to be healthy and some were decent sized. She forgot to ask our friends what species live there, but that info is available from Minnesota’s DNR, along with information for obtaining the necessary fishing license. If you enjoy fishing, staying here for a few days may be worth it. We certainly would have enjoyed spending more time down by the lake, had the weather been more cooperative. The county website below lists the other activities available here. We had the place to ourselves due to the timing of our visit. Our friends confirmed it’s a popular destination for locals during summer weekends and holidays.

Do be aware of coyotes if you’re staying here with small pets or young children. Just use some common sense, and everyone will be fine. They probably aren’t as active in the immediate campground areas during the busy summer months, while more people are around and staying up late. When there are groups of these critters, they do sing. But you can’t count on absence of vocalization as a sign they aren’t around. Solitary animals, or while they’re hunting, aren’t going to make much noise. You need to be observant, or you may not see them until it’s too late. We caught a few glimpses of a howler or two sneaking from one soybean field to another, mostly at dusk. They’re also active at dawn. Encourage your kids to stay in sight and out of neighboring fields or tall prairie grass. Don’t ignore campground leash rules for pets. You should take wildlife safety seriously, especially as the weather begins cooling. Small animals start going to ground, making a meal harder to find. Retractable leashes are a bad idea, and are often against the rules anyway. A pet kept close to you is far less likely to become the target of a hungry predator. Staying in areas where there is decent lighting, when Pookie needs to take a bedtime “walk”, is also a good idea.

Farm country does attract other wildlife too. Sightings might include white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and pheasants. And it can be a great place to get some peace and quiet for a few days. Exceptions would be during planting or harvest, when a lot of large, noisy equipment is out & about. Including being on the roads while the farmers are traveling between their homesteads and fields. For those who have never seen farming in action, you might find it fascinating. Farm equipment runs the gamut from practically antique to mega machines equipped with GPS and other tech goodies.

While on your travels, keep an open mind when looking for places to stay. Occasionally, they may be a diamond-in-the-rough. Then again, you might just find a true gem.

http://www.co.nobles.mn.us/departments/public-works/parks/nobles-county-parks/

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/windom/lakes/topfishinglakes.html

Insiders’ Guide to NW Iowa

Our daughters during Orange City’s Tulip Festival, in the late 1990s.

They’re all grown up now.

We’re aware the Midwest states are often considered pass-thrus while people are on their way to more “interesting” places. We’ve been Texans for almost 18 yrs. now, and it’s probably safe to say our state is in a class of its own. Still, we have a soft spot for our former home. We enjoyed a few local specialties and businesses as a part of daily life, and still miss them. One is relatively new to the area, developed several years after we moved. Most of them are on our list when we visit, and you might enjoy trying them too.

Starting near Lake Pahoja, Grand Falls Casino/Golf Resort is on Hwy 9 just a few miles SE of Larchwood, IA. It does have a 14-site RV park next to the golf course (link below). We haven’t stopped there, but Karl’s brother & sister-in-law enjoy the casino occasionally. It’s a just few years old, and looks very nice. Gambling isn’t our thing quite so much (Kristal thinks she sucks at it.) But there is also dining and entertainment. We might be tempted to visit in the future.

Our Rock Island post provided some info on Rock Rapids in 2016. So, we’re going to travel south on Hwy 75 from there.

Take a little side trip to the small town of Hull, IA.  It’s home to the Foreign Candy Co. (E on Hwy 18. to the town. FCC is at SW corner of town.) Their core business is school foreign language teachers, but the public can purchase goodies at the Warehouse Outlet. In researching this attraction to determine what they’re up to these days, I came across a reviewer who was underwhelmed by the outlet’s selections. They complained that the inventory was found just about everywhere. Which is actually true, but I don’t think this individual knew Foreign Candy Company was one of the importers responsible for bringing gummy bears from Germany to the US in the 1970s. (Were marketed to high school German language teachers). Haribo is a German brand. To be fair, anyone who is the same age or younger than our daughters, probably believe these candies have always been in the US.  When our kids were young, in the 1990s, FCC was the place to get interesting candies and other goodies for birthday parties. Kristal took the girls there once, as a special treat for a streak of good behavior she really appreciated.

Return to Hwy. 75. Your next stop is Sioux Center and Casey’s Bakery. It’s in the Centre Mall, located in the middle of town on Hwy.75. Kristal used to treat herself to an occasional lunch at the bakery deli, when she worked in Sioux Center 20 years ago. Can’t think of anything we wouldn’t recommend there, but if you’re looking for a regional specialty try the almond patties or soft rusk buns (6 in pkg.) They also have a gift shop stocked with kitchen items and Dutch imports such as Delft pottery. If you’re passing thru Sioux Center in the summer, keep your eye out for folks selling sweet corn at the city park (north side of downtown, also on 75.) The town’s summer festival is coming up at the end of May.

Of course, we almost always go to our home town of Orange City when in the area. The Dutch fronted downtown is popular with visitors. No surprise it’s the setting for the Tulip Festival, which is coming up very shortly. (Usually the third weekend in May.) Difficult to say if the tulips will be blooming in time due to the cold spring. But they can be surprisingly hardy plants, often coming up under the snow. Our favorite store, Woudstra Meat Market is a must-stop to stock up on cured smoked beef, brats and Saucijsjes (sa-saw-shees - AKA pigs-in-a-blanket.) If you ever do attend the Tulip Festival, yes, it is worth it to stand in line for the brats. Fresh meats can be ordered at the meat counter if you’re looking for something to cook right away. However, if you’re like us and don’t live close by, we recommend buying from their storefront freezers. Kind of handy to put already-frozen items in the RV freezer. The ready-to-bake Saucijsjes are only available frozen. (Can’t speak for anyone else from the area, but one of our favorite meals is still Woudstra’s cured beef in cream sauce on sliced rusk buns from Casey’s.) Orange City does also have a small bakery downtown, on the block just to the north of Woudstra’s. If we happen to be there with either of our daughters, we get cream filled long-johns and Care Bear cookies.

It is possible to get small pumpkins and winter squash as edible souvenirs.

These beauties made it all the way back to our house,

even though we traveled for a month after their purchase.

Just make sure there is no damage to their hard skins.

Otherwise, they should fit in an RV oven or Dutch Oven, if you enjoy campfire cooking.

Planning a late summer/fall trip? Be sure to visit Pumpkinland, just north of Orange City. They started in the 1990s with an assortment of pumpkins and squashes, including several heirlooms; at a time when many people were just starting to rediscover the almost lost diversity of our ancestors’ gardens. Now, they not only have the pumpkins, but a community craft fair; Alpaca products from a nearby farm; a variety of treats including preserves, caramel corn and whole pies; a corn maze and farm animals to visit. Kristal and Kristen stopped by while we stayed at Lake Pahoja. If it works with your travel plans, we definitely recommend going on a weekday. They’re very popular on the weekends.

http://www.grandfallscasinoresort.com/hotel/rvpark.html

http://foreigncandy.com/index.html

http://www.caseysbakery.com/

http://www.siouxcenterchamber.com/events--calendar.html

https://orangecityiowa.com/

http://www.woudstrameatmarket.com/

http://www.pumpkinlandiowa.com/

http://siouxcountyparks.org/

The last website is for the Sioux County Conservation Board, in case you’re looking for more camping and rec options.

Lake Pahoja Recreation Area

Lake Pahoja was our home base for the last 2 weeks of Sept., while we visited with Karl’s family in NW Iowa. Autumn was also making its appearance there; with leaves changing color, waterfowl beginning to migrate, corn field harvests and mercurial weather.

The rec area is about 13 miles W/SW of Rock Rapids, IA. It’s a Lyon County Conservation Board project. We chose to stay there, rather than the park in town, because it was quieter during the week. For the most part. West Lyon Community School is just a couple of miles to the E of the rec area. There were some school related activities, such as a picnic lunch for elementary students and a high-school cross-country meet. During the 2 weekends, a surprising number of campsites filled up, even though it was after Labor Day. (West Lyon School is on Hwy 182. Lake Pahoja is off 180^th street which runs on the S side of the school.)

Would we stay there again? Most definitely, though like most campgrounds we’ve stayed at, there were positives and negatives. Campsites 1 – 42 have a lot more shade, are a bit shorter in length, and some aren’t level. We stayed in #19. While we had a view of the lake from that site, it went downhill a bit. We also had to get creative when parking the van to keep it out of the road. The shade on those sites would be nice in the middle of summer. But as the weather was cooling and days getting shorter, the ground just wasn’t drying out much between thunderstorms. We were rained on about half the time we were there. Cleanliness/stocking of the bathrooms isn’t exactly a complaint. County employees took care of the bathrooms every morning. Our main issue was night-time use. If campers left the interior lights on all night, bugs invaded in droves. The creepy-crawlies were “not quite dead yet.” There hadn’t been enough freezing weather at that point.

Lake Pahoja is an ADA compliant facility. The main roads in the park had recently been resurfaced. Gravel areas are also kept maintained. The paved path around the lake is easy to access. It was one of our favorite features, nice for walking the dogs, especially when there was plenty of wet weather. There aren’t any specific campsites labeled handicapped, but those with mobility issues would definitely find campsites 43 – 71 suitable, and sites 64 – 71 have water hook-ups. This section’s sites are generally longer and more level. The lake isn’t within sight, but it’s not very far away. There are also seasonal sites. 1 – 8 are paved with concrete. The seasonal sites were all occupied by RVs, most likely owned by locals. We weren’t there for the season, so we don’t know how often those sites become available. (Don’t own an RV? There are cabins to rent.)

This rec area can be a destination in its own right. There is more to do there than just camping; such as disc golf, swimming, no-power boating, fishing and archery. You can get a history lesson at the museum site just north of the lake dam. There are also signs along the path identifying different trees and plants. Kristal enjoyed the photography opportunities which were provided by the transition of seasons. Besides changing leaves, there were purple asters still blooming and bushes with ripening berries. As an overnight stop from I-29 or I-90, it’s probably not as practical, though it is less than an hour from I-90. But if you’re looking for a nice little detour for a few days’ rest, Lake Pahoja might suit you. There is an entrance fee on top of campsite fees. Pay by the day, or a season pass can be purchased. Our visit was long enough the season pass actually made more sense for us.

Find more information and directions at the following website.

http://www.lyoncountyiowa.com/lake_pahoja

Sioux Falls, SD is the closest large community. It’s about 45 minutes away. Need to take care of “household” matters while in the area? There are newer shopping areas E of I-229 & off Hwy 11/42 (Arrowhead Pkwy). Target (Dawley Farm Village) and Walmart are around the corner from each other. A Hy-vee grocery store is a bit further to the west on the pkwy. Take Hwy 9 thru Larchwood. It becomes Hwy 11/42 in SD. Restock on any supplies you need & head to northbound I-229. From I-229 you can reach I-90. Heading to southbound I-29? From the east side of Sioux Falls, travel S/SW on I-229 to the interstate. If you need to do laundry while in the area, there is an Uptown Laundry on 26^th street. The laundromat is almost new and well-maintained. The owner was on the premises both times we were there. (She’s very friendly and does offer laundry services. Why not drop off your items? Then go have a nice lunch, check-out downtown, or do your shopping?) We were there on weekdays, so it wasn’t a problem to use multiple machines at one time. Even with the 45 min. drive, we found it faster & easier to do laundry there than at the relatives’ house, whose laundry room is in the basement. From the pwky, turn south on 11. (Dawley Farm entrance is on this road.) The next light is 26^th. Turn right, heading west. Uptown Laundry is on the south side of the street. A gas station is on the corner just to the east of it.

So you know… many counties in Iowa have a conservation board. If you find yourself traveling thru any part of the state, visit the site below to find and learn more about CCB camprounds. You might find a campground in an area where there aren’t many other options to stay with an RV.

https://www.mycountyparks.com/default.aspx