My husband has a business trip to Panama City in February and I’m hoping to tag along for a few days (sure beats Des Moines in February). Thought maybe we’d go to Costa Rica afterwards but now thinking we can find some of Costa Rica’s eco-tourism in Panama – and save money and complications with flights between Iowa and Central America. Just cracking open the books on this country but so far the places in the running to go to after Panama City are Boquete, an eco-tourism hotspot, and the San Blas Islands. Also heard good things about the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, outside Panama City, although we’re not really resort people.
Category Archives: RECREATION
A good bike ride in Des Moines
We made a nice new loop on our bike ride Monday – starting on the Urbandale trail then heading north on the newly finished trestle-to-trestle trail into Johnston, which petered out too early at an ice cream stand – but then we cut through some housing developments and rode on too-busy NW 62nd street to hook up to the Neal Smith trail which we took to the Butterfly Garden at Saylorville Lake (some of it on recently improved trail), then headed back on the Neal Smith trail to the bridge that connects back to MLK Blvd. and the Urbandale trail.
A little improvisational but it worked and was a fun interesting ride.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Des Moines
The best bike trail in Iowa City – still looking
We tried again last weekend to cobble out a decent bike ride via trail in Iowa City and did only slightly better this time than last time – a few years ago. Part of it has to do with the lingering devastation from the 2008 flood – which wiped out some of the trail along the Iowa River – not to mention several major arts buildings including Hancher Auditorium. (It was sobering to pass by those hollow wrecked buildings.)
Part of it is that Iowa City doesn’t have the trail system of a place like Des Moines to begin with – and no casino revenues like in DM to construct and pave trails. We did begin at the southern end of the Iowa River Corridor trail south of town and it got off to a pleasant enough start – a tree-lined winding trail along the river but then it got diffuse and hard to follow around campus and when we picked it up again at the city park north of Hancher, the trail petered out into haphazardly marked residential streets and then it dumped us out with no further explanation – just as happened during our previous ride – on a commercial strip under construction (again still-recovering from the 2008 flood). We ended up taking a sharp right and winding through a very odd housing development – what’s called the Peninsula Neighborhood – that looked completely out of place with mock-old urban architecture in a rural setting. It felt like a movie set. Granted the brick rowhouses and single-family new-old home cottages and bungalows are attractive – but looklike they belongin Baltimore or maybe Washington D.C.
We did manage to make the ride into a bit of a loop, riding past the housing development and a golf course to the north end of the city park where we rode through downtown and campus to catch the trail back to our car.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Iowa City
On the Raccoon River Valley Trail – Redfield to Panora Iowa
Biking was hot and slow on the trail today from Redfield to Panora, Ia. (farm country about 45 minutes west of Des Moines), with the weather warmer and more humid than expected (92 degrees; who knows what percent humidity) but as always the ride had its moments – we spotted three large raccoons (we think they were raccoons) crossing the trail, numerous exotic black and blue butterflies, a cyclist on a recombinant bike carrying a violin. (Yes, that was a violin.)
And there’s always ice cream. We used to go to PJs, a popular spot right on the edge of the trail when you arrive in Panora but one time it was closed so we asked around and found out about the 44 Drive In, west of town, past the small brick shops downtown. It’s nothing fancy – which is part of its charm. Just an old white and red trailer with a worn sign that smells a bit like onion rings and burgers, which we’ve never had. But the place is always busy. The malts are good and a small twist cone does the trick when you’re looking for a little kick.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Des Moines, DINING, Iowa
takemewithyou: Big Sur
My sister and her family may be heading south after her son’s baseball tournament in Monterey so here’s some ideas for Big Sur:
– Don’t miss a walk around Point Lobos reserve, on the ocean with its strange brown-rust-and-green seaside vegetation and rocky cliffs where otters and seals bleat as waves crash onto the rocks.
– We always enjoy eating at the rustic Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn. We found Cafe Kiva at Nepenthe Restaurant overpriced ($4 for a lemonade back in 2001) but what a view!
– At Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park our then-young kids loved crawling and stepping into the huge redwoods. Nearby is Pfeiffer Beach – another favorite on the ocean.
– The drive from Big Sur to San Luis Obispo took about three hours and is, of course, stunning. We really liked San Luis – a college town (cal poly) with a great midweek farmers market on its long straight main street (all the shops were open that night too). Also home to the wonderfully kitschy Madonna Inn – at least visit and tour the goopy public rooms and eat some pie in the coffee shop.
– Hearst Castle, again of course. We spent about three hours there with the kids, taking the tour and I’m not sure what else. gawking. dawdling.
Filed under California, DINING, hiking, LODGING
Canoeing on the Upper Iowa River
Just back from northeast Iowa where my daughter, a friend and her teen-age son, rented a small cabin and two canoes at Chimney Rock Campgrounds near Cresco and Bluffton, Ia. We requested a two-hour canoe ride but it was a lot less – largely I think because the river was so full and the current fast. We barely had to paddle – just steer every once in a while to keep from banging into a low-hanging tree along the shore. We stopped at a sandbar/rock-bar and body-surfed a patch of the river, allowing ourselves to get caught up and swept by the current which was fun albeit a tad scary since we had to land and stand against the same said current but no problems – two of us were/are lifeguards (I’m a little rusty but my friends 17-year-old son is a newbie.) The water was refreshing, not too cold. Paddling past the high stone bluffs rimmed with lush green trees was lovely.
Decorah is definitely in the running for Iowa’s pretty small-town college town – full of Queen Anne homes and interesting shops and restaurants along Water Street (the main street – not “Main Street” one street to the west). It was quiet on a Sunday night – except inside Mabe’s Pizza where half the town seemed to be eating – big families, little families, young kids, older folks. Nothing fancy but decent pizza with an interesting thin crust that bordered on a cracker in parts (and the 17-year-old teen in our group ate a cheeseburger served with a dollop of peanut butter. Sounds disgusting but he said it wasn’t bad. My daughter and I had the minipizzas and two drinks – $14 for dinner. not bad.
Filed under Adventure travel, Iowa
frustrating search for cabin/canoe in northeast Iowa
I’ve been trying for two days to reach a cabin/canoe rental place near Decorah in beautiful northeast Iowa to see if it has anything available on Aug. 1 for four people (me, a friend and our two teens visiting a nearby college) but it’s been frustrating. I’ve left emails and phone messages and heard nothing back. I did check with the tourism office and the place is still open but sparsely staffed (they’re probably all out canoeing.)
I can’t understand why businesses like this offer ways to communicate then don’t respond. The email address is particularly frustrating because when you try to use it up pops a message saying you need to go through a screening in order to use the email. Huh?
Meanwhile, I heard about another place and tried to contact it via the Internet but you need a Facebook account to reach them – which I don’t have and don’t want.
Come on people – don’t you want my business?
Filed under Adventure travel, Iowa, LODGING
Portaging a bike on the Great Western Trail in central Iowa
I’ve portaged a canoe, hauling it on my shoulders across land between one lake and another, but I never portaged a bicycle until yesterday on the Great Western Trail just north of Martinsdale, Iowa. Fortunately, we didn’t have to haul our bikes far – just lift them up and between the branches of a tree that had fallen across the trail, completely blocking it. The trail was rough in general, with fallen twigs and branches, thanks to a ferocious storm in the wee hours of Sunday morning that downed trees all over the metro and caused power outages.
We should have taken this into consideration when we choose a trail to ride on a few hours later.
The good news is after we portaged our bikes, we encountered a truck on the trail – a rare and jarring sight – that appeared to be public works of some sort. An hour later, on our ride back to Martinsdale, the fallen tree was gone and we breezed right through – no further portaging required. Impressive service!
All this made me wonder if there is a trail hot line you can call to find out the condition on a trail – or to report a problem like a fallen tree.
Filed under bike trails, Des Moines, Iowa
The High Trestle Trail – central Iowa
We have now ridden the entire 20 miles of the High Trestle trail – and it’s a nice addition to the trail offerings in this area. Earlier we did the Ankeny to Slater portion. Yesterday we did the Slater to just past Madrid bit – and it was a pleasant trail through wide open cornfields, with a few portions canopied by trees. Just past Madrid the smooth concrete trail goes native – becoming a bumpy gravel trail that leads for about a mile to the Des Moines River and the new High Trestle Trail bridge which is really great. It’s not done yet but we were surprised that we could walk – and even ride if we want – across it. We parked our bikes at the edge and walked onto the bridge to catch the glorious view of the broad river and tree-covered banks, with the occasional motorboat speeding underneath the bridge. A young couple rode their bikes east across the bridge and reported that there was a gravel trail/road on the other side, to date. How great it will be when the bridge opens and the trail going further west is paved!
We had a nice picnic in a pretty little town park in Madrid, near the public library. No one there, just us and the flies.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Iowa
Cycling and swimming along the Chicago Lakefront – Xoco – Taste of Chicago
Chicago on a beautiful summer day is hard to beat – and boy did we get lucky on Tuesday. The temps were in the 70s, bright sunshine, light breeze. My sister and I rode on the bike trail along the lake front south from North Beach down to around Hyde Park area – great trail, easy riding, little congestion (on a Tuesday), stunning views of the lake and the city, riding past sandy beaches and landscaped gardens. I borrowed a bike but there is a bike rental at North Beach (and a few other places) – and the rental place has a free air pump, which we made good use of.
On the return trip, we stopped for lunch at Taste of Chicago – crowded but not as bad as a weekend. We “tasted” some good Thai dumplings, a so-so Greek sausage, and an icky Ukrainian dumpling (starchy dumpling with what looked like tomato soup atop it). Later, I swam for the first time at the Oak Street Beach – the lake was cleaner and warmer than expected with a nice sandy bottom and manageable waves. Laid out on the beach for awhile. Very nice.
For dinner, I went with E and M to Xoco (“cho-ko”) the new Rick Bayless restaurant – we picked just the right time to go: 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. We’d heard about long lines and limited seating but this time worked great. We stood in line for maybe 5 minutes, got our food right away, and sat at a high top table on stools outside overlooking the street. Well-managed place. Food was interesting – supposedly it’s Mexican “street food” but smarted up with artisanal ingredients – the sources for the food – the bread, cheese, meat etc – were prominently displayed. The Woodland Mushroom torte was a favorite. The Ahogada – which some critic likened, accurately, to a Mexican version of an Italian sub, was messy and hot and tasty (golden pork carnitas, black beans served on crusty bread face down in a tomato broth with a “spicy arbol chile sauce” (wisely, this is not offered for take-out.) We tried one of the caldos (soups) – the pork belly vermicelli which was interesting but not our favorite although the avocado was especially creamy after floating in the thin broth. The churros were outstanding – a lighter, less greaser version of what we’ve had in Spain. The hot chocolate wasn’t our cup of tea – I’m sure it’s authentic but too sweet for us (we had the Almendrado – a chocolate shot with almond milk.) Very good guacamole (made according to the recipe used by Xoco’s fancier sibling next door, the Frontera Grill) with “just made” (of course) chips. The homemade Mexican vanilla soft serve ice cream tasted pretty much like regular vanilla soft serve…But overall, the place felt unique and fresh, like something truly new and ambitious – and reasonably priced. We spent $60 for three – granted we didn’t have any alcohol.
Next time I’d like to try the Pepito and one of the griddle Tortas (our two tortas were cooked in a woodburning oven). Also would like to try the carnitas and the cocoflan (which they didn’t have when we visited.)
TakeBetsywithyou 