Hello from Corning, Iowa
Drafted: Friday October 6, 2023 (First post of this travelogue)
Posted: October 16, 2023
We are camped at the Icaria Lake Campground (Google Map). We have stayed at this campground for the past three years as a part of Pat’s Cousins “reunion”. It is a beautiful campground.
We left Evergreen on Wednesday (9/27) and drove about 200 miles to Ogallala where we stayed at the Tri Trails KOA campground. Our original plans were to meet up with Pat’s brother Jeff and his wife Julie who were travelling from Guffey, CO. As it turns out, they sold their house a few days before our departure date and were not able to make the trip.
Our second stop was in Waco, NE where we stayed at the Double Nickel Campground. This was an amazing campground with great Halloween decorations (early, but fun) and very friendly folks.
When we were planning this trip with Jeff and Julie, we decided to make the 600 + mile trip to Corning in three easy days. We often make it in two days with a stop in Kearney, but these short days (average about 200 miles per day) sure worked out well. Besides that, we had a fairly open calendar, and the extra day was no issue.
We arrived in Corning on Friday 9/29. They were having an unusual hot spell with temperature in the low 90s. For the first few nights we had to run the air conditioning at night as well as during the day. The past few days have turned cool with daytime temperatures in the high 50s/low 60s during the day and low 40s/high 30s at night. We have also had a bit of rain which they really need.
There was a large vintage car auction at the Corning Fairgrounds on Saturday (9/30). There were close to 150 cars of all descriptions and conditions. Most were from the 50s and 60s, but there were cars from several decades. They were all from one person’s collection. They have been housed in several locations in Corning. Some went for well under $1000 and others well over $30,000. I had my eyes on a great looking 55 Oldsmobile, but it went for $21,000 (way out of my league {grin})
Early this week, they started harvesting soybeans. The beans are dry, but the stems are a bit tough and that makes the harvest a slight challenge. They say the yield is good this year.
From Pat:
The cousins reunion was wonderful as always. My sister and brother-in-law, Judy & Mike, also from the Denver area, were able to attend this year. It was great to spend some time with them. We also got to visit with my aunt & uncle, Jack & Janice. I love our time in Iowa; I tell them I love it so much as it feels like a warm fuzzy.
We got to see and visit with the following cousins: Jeanne & Bill, Mona & Terry, Terri, Dan & Jack, Joyce, Michelle K., Julie, Tracy, Jhett & Cash, Nikki, Joel, Bailey, & Chase, Tony & Paul, Doug & Jennifer, Michelle & Ally, Cody & Ashley. I’m sorry if I’ve left anybody out. We so appreciate all of them taking time out to visit with us.
One of my favorite things to do there is to attend an auction. The Kretzingers have an auction business and they all work at it. Several of them are auctioneers, and I love listening to them. I always have to come home with at least one item. This year I bid on a 3-pot crockpot, but I stopped bidding too soon and didn’t get it. My second choice was another large crockpot. It was almost new & I got it for the bargain price of $2. I love bidding while my cousins auctioneer. Jim bid on a couple of things but didn’t get either. One of his items was a big vise. My cousins teased him that it was the heaviest item at the sale.
That is all for this post.