New state of Indiana and another Harvest Host stop, Leaning Locust Woodcraft in Waynetown.

The name of the host was a clue as to what to expect. Chris had looked at his website ahead of time and saw all the spatulas and spoons he made, the prices starting at $25 each, trouble is she didn’t tell Steve. First of all we went through another GPS failure, we were driving down one lane dirt roads in circles, not quite knowing how to get out of this mess. We finally did and arrived at the property where the host came out to meet us. This was when Steve said to the host, “we need a ton of spoons and spatulas”. The guys eyes lit up and before you know it he’s put up 2 trestle tables filled with wooden spoons and spatulas mostly in the $35 range. They were very well made, but we stay at HH properties to save on park fees. So for the second time we fell right into the trap.

The guy did suggest we keep our generator on all night if necessary due to the heat, which was kind. We were out in the middle of nowhere and even his house across the street was a hike

The parking area was around a tree which was a little tricky to maneuver, the shed here was his workshop

We left the following morning having spent $72, an expensive campground, but it could’ve been worse, and we have 2 lovely spatulas and chip bag clips.

Next state, Illinois was another Harvest Host stay at a safari park in Hanna City. We sent a message to them the day before asking about their generator policy. Typically “quiet” time is 10pm to 7am, but they  didn’t respond. Upon arrival it appeared we were the only campers in a large field away from the park. We started our generator and settled in. At 3pm when it was 100 degrees they responded to our question and said “no generators”, so we packed up and took off. Fortunately we had a back up plan and called a campground 20 miles away who had electric hookups and were happy to accommodate us last minute.

Allison Lake Storey Campground our plan B

The host of the campground was great and offered Chris help if she needed it.

Then on to the next state Iowa and our next major stop,  Bauer RV Upholstery to get our captain and co pilot chairs reupholstered

The mighty Mississippi River

We’d made an appointment with these guys months ago and ordered our new cloth. The owners understand our complaints, they used to work for Flexsteel and were there when they installed this inferior material on our furniture, consequently they see a stream of unhappy RVers come through to reupholster after a few years. It effected all the high end RVs

Went out to get something to eat and when we returned our chairs were gone. They do not waste any time.

The next morning at 6:30 we see them sitting there all done and ready to be installed.

“Here we are, all restored and ready to come home”

The install starts and this man said he probably built our couch when he was at Flexsteel back in 2014/15

All installed and they look great

We found an RV park behind the Q Casino about 5 miles away and it was on the Mississippi River and another GPS failure, the Jeep this time . We booked the last site with electric for the weekend as it was going to be close to 100

It was a very sandy site, like being on the beach. It was pretty deep sand. Chris was concerned at first about the constant traffic thinking it was drug traffic! also the coach was hanging out of the site a bit due to the sand. Steve said before bed, I hope it doesn’t rain. Chris was concerned all night but finally went to sleep only to be woken up by rain on the roof . It stopped quite quickly and all was good.

it was fun to watch the different boats going by

There was a concert going on in the parking lot behind us which attracted hundreds of people. Too many shootings go on at events like these, so we gave it a wide berth.

This was a small exclusive cruise ship that sailed from Louisiana to Minnesota, a 21 day cruise for $15,000, not sure if that was per person, but at $714 a day, the food had better be good, and certainly didn’t appear to be crowded.

We went into downtown Dubuque, and what a hidden gem it turned out to be. Julien Dubuque considered the first white man to settle in the area in 1833 mined the area for lead

There was an old manufacturing area called the Mill Work District, with several blocks of buildings that had been refurbished and redesigned, some had courtyards in the center surrounded by dance studios, art galleries and restaurants.

This piece caught Chris’s ear, to hear the London Underground announcements.

There are many distinctive churches dotted around with many different denominations

It’s a very interesting city with 3 colleges, dance companies, some well preserved older homes, an array of restaurants and when we visited on a Sunday was very quiet with a few people just wandering around

The Dubuque county court house built between 1891 – 1893, an interesting structure.

And then there are the murals. While in the Visitors Center Chris picked up a map and description of the 48 murals around the city and who painted them

Undercurrent. This work was installed in 2017 by Werc

Automate by Gaia installed in 2017..

Ada Hayden installed in 2017

Bird Dog. The work of Werc and Geraldo.

Young David installed by Starfighter in 2017.

And of course Notorious RBG installed in 2020

The Fate of the Santa Clara installed in 2019 by Miles Turner

America Needs a Hug installed in 2019 by Werc and Geraluz