Trout Run Park, Decorah Iowa
Hello and thanks for visiting! What a spring it’s turning out to be. So much has been happening lately!
Serena and I took the van to Decorah on Wednesday and Thursday to do some trout fishing. We both had a blast and the fishing was fantastic! I caught the limit of fish (5) each day and they were a nice size! Sis is in town right now and got to sample some of the fresh smoked trout – she liked it. (Jesse and I had Parmesan Encrusted Trout for breakfast today as well).
Before I forget, many thanks to reader “C” who recommended trying a restaurant in Decorah called Ede’s & The Angry Pickle. Their food (cold and hot sandwiches, salads, and desserts) is amazing! I had the “Irish-American” (marbled rye, corned beef, cheddar, and a wonderful mix of ground, pickled veggies) The next visit will definitely involve a sandwich from there. You can’t beat a town with great food, fishing, scenery, and friendly folks!
Part of the Decorah experience is meeting new and interesting people. This older Norwegian gentleman was with his son and both were fishing at Trout Run park. During the mid-1930s, the grandfather worked on a crew that built this magnificent hatchery and trout fishing park. Three generations have fished and enjoyed the fruits of that labor. The W.P.A. and C.C.C. projects did a lot of good back in the day by building facilities used for many decades. I wish we had a similar government program today rather than just giving people money. </end preaching>
No religious artifact on the dashboard – just the navigator!
Someone else had fun on the trip. Serena really seemed to enjoy herself and kept waking me up with nose kisses on Wednesday night. I was “dead to the world” after making a batch of tomato-based “Trout Stew”. We camped at the Pulpit Rock campground in Decorah.
At one point during the night I caught Serena trying to get into the bag of Norwegian kringla (a soft, bread/cookie). She’s a fan of it now!
During the short stay, we visited five parks (and the two waterfalls). Serena had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the 65 degree weather! We both needed some fresh air and got plenty of it, as well as had some opportunity to think about the future.
The title of this post mentioned a new beginning. It’s going to be an exciting one. The closing on the house sale is rapidly approaching. Very soon, the cats and I are moving to a farm and will be living in the van this summer; the cats will be outdoors, likely in their own little hosue. The vandwelling skills will be put to use.
In the meantime, the search has been on for a more permanent place to land. There is a short list of two towns. The move will happen this fall and it’s pretty likely it will be north of here.
A shelter being considered for the kitties while living on the farm…
There are also blog content changes coming. This page has become too much like Facebook. I deleted a recent negative post about an employer … and may edit others. When life calms down, the goal is to be a better worker and live a more stable work life… but there are no plans to post about job situations. This blog was meant to inform and be interesting… not vent frustrations. Things are getting better. I’ll just be sharing the positives.
Take care! As always, thanks for riding along!
Brad, the “Van Trekker”
