Still In Iowa!

The month of June brought a us 13.43" of rain. We were short 0.02" for breaking the record from 2008. I think it really did not make much difference. The Des Moines River is getting very close to the top of the bridge in downtown Des Moines and when you drive by Route 65, you can see the flooded fields, electric poles under water, no streets visible and the water is about 2 feet away from the highway. We will need to get a small camera that I can keep in my purse so that we can take pictures. It is an amazing sight to see. Same goes for these amazing tall white clouds that look like big mountain ranges in the sky right before they turn dark gray and turn into rain. It sure was an interesting month of rain. I have started to draw plans for our arc on my computer.

We spend 4th of July working in the park. It rained most of the day just lightly, but they were able to get the fireworks in the park going around 9:45 pm. They are a little bit hard to see when you are working in a store. We got to see the fireworks from the casino next door the night before. They just started as we got out from work at 10:00 pm and they put on an amazing show. It was pretty cool to watch, just a little bit difficult to get back to the campground, since people parked on the side of the road, in the grass in front of the Adventureland Inn and we had to pass to security stations to get back to the campground. I have a new found respect for all the people that work on these holidays, while we used to relax, party and expect the stores to be open for our convenience. Very interesting view from the other side of the coin.

We had a big bright spot in our day last month. I had asked Jack to check out a Safeway in Colorado to look for a pancake mix we love and is allowed on our diet. He did not respond, however, Dale Bruss saw my post and checked out her local Safeway. She found four boxes and even was kind enough to send us one by mail right away. It is the same mix we had found in Oregon and our Sunday morning breakfasts are a pure delight again!!!! Thank you so much Dale and I am sure hoping you can find four more boxes on your travels before we met in Kansas this year. I will be forever grateful!

The month of July has arrived and at least in the retail department we are having our first round of people quieting. We all knew that it is not that easy of a job to stand on your feet for at least 5 hours day, but I don't understand how people can just call in and say they will not come in again. At least give a week notice so that the park has a chance to look for a replacement. Thanks to the quitters, we are now going to double shifts, which means you start at 9:40 am and work at least till 7 pm or as late as 10 pm a day. It sure makes for some long days. I did a double from 9:40 am to 9 pm last week and my poor feet were hurting at the end of the day. Next week I am scheduled for two doubles. I am certainly not complaining about not getting enough hours anymore. Doug's schedule has changed also, but not as drastically than mine. On the positive side, we are making enough money to pretty much cover our monthly bills and that was the reason why we started this job anyway. I have heard a lot of people say that they will look for work in campgrounds again next year. Maybe be will give that a shot next year. All I know right now it that the winter will bring a well deserved rest period for us.

Well, so much for today, I promise to look for small camera on our day off and start having some pictures in our blog again soon.