Hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, and even OHV-ing is what I found when I visited Fort Dodge, Iowa on a FAM trip with Midwest Travel Network. This trip was 3 full days of outdoor activities! Any outdoor enthusiast will never get bored in this Midwest area. Even though this was a sponsored trip, all opinions in this article are held only by Happy Trails Hiking. We started our first evening at the Fort Dodge Grain Silo Mural. This 360-degree mural was created by international artist, Guido Van Helten. It shows local residents "who are part of the industrial and cultural fabric of the community". It was certainly a neat start to our visit to Fort Dodge. Dinner that evening was provided to us by Amigos Restaurant. Biking and kayaking were the activities for our first full day in Fort Dodge. We started our morning on mountain bikes at Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trails with guides from Fort Dodge Mountain Bike Club and Walker's Bike Shop. Lizard Creek Trails are 10 miles of mountain bike trails along the Lizard Creek water trail. You can access these trails near Water Trail Access 1. Our group rode 3.5 miles on the trails. As a beginner at mountain biking, I only crashed a couple of times, but I was "all in" and enjoyed the ride enough that Matt and I bought bikes when I got home. For the kayaking adventure, we headed to Dolliver State Park on the Des Moines River. After the high-energy on the mountain bikes in the morning, a relaxing float on the Des Moines River was a welcome change. It was a beautiful day on the river from Dolliver State Park to Lehigh, IA We were guided by Karen from Webster County Conservation and Doug Breyfogle. Day two in Fort Dodge started much more relaxed with fishing at Brushy Creek State Recreation Area. Brushy Lake is 690 acres. It is a "no-wake" lake for boating and fishing. Fishermen can fish for bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, channel catfish, walleye or muskellunge. There is an official swimming area. We had a few hours of fishing in the morning guided by the Iowa DNR officers and a volunteer, Daryl Roberts. I even caught two fish! That is a record for me! In the afternoon, we had an adventure of a whole new color for me. We got a tour of Gypsum City OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Park. Gypsum City serves at a destination for OHV riders across Iowa and the Midwest! It is the largest OHV park in Iowa. Gypsum City is located on around 800 acres of reclaimed gypsum mining land. The park offers over 60 miles of trails for riders of all skill levels. There are also fishing ponds and a campground with pull-through sites and a few "tiny houses" that can be rented. This park is managed my Webster County Conservation. On our last morning in Fort Dodge, we got to visit Camp WaNoKi. This park is run by Webster County Conservation. It is a 77 acre forest on the riverfront that used to be owned by the Hiawatha Council and used as a Camp Fire Camp. The Webster County Conservation website says "The primary goal of this property under the direction of the Webster County Conservation Board will be to provide outdoor education and recreation opportunities for the general public." They do have a secondary focus that provides programming for groups. The team building activities we took part in there would be great for organizations. To experience more of the trip to Fort Dodge, Iowa, please see the video below. The places you will see in this video are: Brookstone Inn & Suites, Fort Dodge Grain Silo, Fort Frenzy, Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trails, Hacienda Vieja, Des Moines Water Trail, Gaga and Hoo Korean Restaurant, - Shiny Top Brewing, Ja-Mar Drive in, Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, Gypsum City OHV Park, Dariette, Buford’s Steak House & BBQ, Soldier Creek Winery, and Camp WaNoKi. I am thankful to all the community and volunteers of the City of Fort Dodge and Webster County that take so much pride in their area and wanted to show us the best they have to offer. I am also thankful that they took such great care of this amatur outdoorsmen as I tried new things on this trip. I couldn't have done them without these volunteers. If you want more information about traveling to Fort Dodge and what they have to offer, please contact Kerrie at the Fort Dodge Convention and Visitors Bureau https://www.fortdodgecvb.com/ She will tell you how you can #DodgeTheOrdinary Other Bloggers on this trip were:
Travel with Sara - Sara Broers Des Moines Parent - Erin Huiatt Simplify Live Love - Michelle Marine Country Pilgrim - Dan Cline
Fall in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has always been something we have wanted to do. When Kay was a teacher, we never really had that as an option to travel in late October. So, this was a real treat when we got to start planning this trip! We wanted to plan a trip with Kay's family, her parents and her sister. October is Kay Mom's birthday month, so it was a perfect time to spend time as an extended family.
We rented a "Chalet" from Laurel Mountain Chalets in Gatlinburg, TN. It was the perfect place for us to call home base for the weekend. We had a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom cabin up a very windy road. It also had a hot tub and a grill on the deck. It was just what we needed and would recommend it for a stay in the area. We got to the chalet a day before everyone else so we could do some hiking on our own before exploring with the whole family. After breakfast and coffee at the chalet, we headed out to the Little River Trail over in the Elkmont area.
As you can probably tell from the video, we enjoy the beauty of this area as well as the history. We LOVE this trail for times when we need to escape from the world! The leaves were just starting to change color and to fall.
In late September 2019, we traveled to Northeast Ohio to explore some parks and meet our new friends, Shawn and Marianne from PANICd Paranormal History and Our Haunted Travels . We had great fun exploring Mill Creek Park and Cuyahoga Valley National Park and seeing those through their eyes too! Please see all of the links and pictures throughout the blog, that way you will see both versions of of our weekend.
We have been to Yellowstone least 5 times in the last 15 years and one place that we always go is to The Upper Geyser Basin, better known as "the Old Faithful Area". Every time we go, it is familiar, but different. We have been to visit in the months of May, June, July, and December. Each time was different and full of fun! We love sharing this area with other people. And we got the opportunity to meet with some fellow YouTubers in this area of Yellowstone and show them around a bit. Mark and Chelsea are from Oregon and this was their first visit to Yellowstone. It was neat to meet them and to rediscover the area through their eyes. On our Winter visit to the Old Faithful area, we got to see Old Faithful turn into a geyser tornado! It was something I just had to see to believe. We were lucky Matt was taking video. We were also 2 of less than 20 people out there to watch it. It was a special time. Another special time we had in the Old Faithful area revolves around the Old Faithful Inn. I had found out that a few people each day (weather permitting) could go up on the roof of the Inn to "help lower the flags". You have to call ahead to get your spot and then plan really well. It was certainly a wonderful experience for Matt to help lower the American Flag and watch the geyser erupt right afterward. We had so many neat pictures of the roof line and the event, we couldn't put them all in the video, so you can see them below! The Old Faithful Area is a favorite of ours here at Happy Trails Hiking and a MUST SEE on our list! We hope you will visit there and tell us your thoughts about the area as well!
In the past, Grand Teton National Park has been a "pass through" on the way to Yellowstone National Park for us. but we camped there for a couple of nights in 2018 and then decided that we had to make it "the location" the next time we were in the area. We are thrilled that we did! Here's why you should too!
It is almost tragic the way local parks and their wonderful programs get overlooked by the people that live closest to them! We have visited The Historic Daniel Boone Home in Defiance, Missouri on many occasions. Sometime we go to support the event that they are holding, but often it is just to go and enjoy a bit of history and nature at the same time. One such time was during June of 2017 when the flower gardens were blooming and the pollinators were going crazy for them!
We left Missouri on July 13. 2018 and headed west in our Toyota Tundra for a 3-week road trip of the USA Rockies! It was a trip of a lifetime! We started out camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed for 2 nights and camped one night on the East side of the Park in Moraine Park Campground and one night on the West side of the Park in Timber Creek Campground.
Moraine Park Campground has reservable sites and should be booked well ahead of time. You can do that here. From the National Park Website: Moraine Park Campground (8,160 feet) is located in Rocky Mountain National Park, near the Beaver Meadows Entrance on Highway 36. It is situated on the north side of Moraine Park, offering beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. We enjoyed this campground because of it's proximity to easy trails to get us started on our trip. The first evening we were there we hiked Cub Lake Trail. It was the perfect way to start out in the park! The rain made it more beautiful. Everything was so green and lush! We are 13 weeks on the Hike 365 Challenge for the year! We love the Spring is finally making an appearance and the hiking is warmer now. Please see the spreadsheet below to see how our group is doing! We have cleared the 1200-mile mark! That is awesome! We have people that have been putting in miles ALL over! This map is fun to look at every week!
Happy Trails Hiking took a week off from posting videos and live shows to go adventuring in California. During that week the Hike 365 Challenge group got in a BUNCH of miles! Please take a look at the spreadsheet below to see how we are doing! We also had a an interview with The Beerbellied Travelers on Hike 365 Live. We hope you will take a look at that! Our hiking community also shares pictures with up from their hikes. Here are a few of them! The Hike 365 Challenge is coming along very well! Everyone has been get out and getting miles in even with the colder weather and rains! So amazing! Matt and I got in 2 hikes for week 5. The picture above is from Lost Valley Trail.
Getting up before dawn is TOTALLY worth it for hikes like this! We drove the 45 minutes north from Las Vegas, NV to get to Valley of Fire State Park. It was a great idea in July! We arrived at the park before 7:00am and were greeted by some 4-legged residents of the park. The bighorn sheep were very fun to watch and a great way to start our visit.
Our next stop is the parking lot at the Fire Wave Trailhead. The Fire wave is an Aztec Sandstone formation that looks like an ocean wave. It was a Beautiful way to start our day in the desert.
The First Wave Trail wasn't the only hike we took in Valley of Fire State Park. You can see the rest of our visit below. It included the Visitors' Center, Mouse's Tank Trail, better known as "Petroglyph Canyon" and some other stops and pullouts in the park. It is a place we will certainly visit again.
Until next time, keep on trekking! June 26 might not have been the BEST day to pick to hike in Missouri. Especially since we were starting our 8+ mile hike in the late morning. It was already 90 degrees when we started at 11:00 am. But, the Wilderness Trail in Meramec State Park was the hike I chose to start this adventure in publishing our hiking adventures. It has a gorgeous spring half-way through that I wanted to show off. I just knew it was going to be GREAT! We had treated our clothes for bugs the night before and have packed our backpacks with plenty water and food. We didn't really have a time schedule, so we could take as many breaks as was necessary. We were ready for whatever the trail would throw at us. The hike started out joyfully enough. The shade of the trees was nice and the bugs weren't bad at all. The first quarter of the trail travels along a creek or storm run off path. It was mostly dry, but we haven't had much rain all June long. It was quite enjoyable. Once we crossed the highway, we left the creek bed behind us and were walking in bottom lands with tall trees, but more sunlight filtering through (very pretty). The bugs, however, were a bit of pesky. At the 4.5 mile point, we got to Copper Hallow Spring. It was lovely here. We were in the shade of the bluff and the temperature dropped considerably. Of course, the water coming out of the spring was very cool and that helped as well. We enjoyed a bite to eat and dropping our packs for a few minutes there. The creek crossing at the mouth of the spring helped to cool off our feet (even through our boots). It was great! If we could have teleported back to the car from there, the day would have been perfect! The rest of the trail was much of the same as the first part only the bugs were horrible. I LOVE walking in the woods! We saw deer, chipmunks, lots of butterflies, and a box turtle. We also got swarmed by gnats and mosquitoes. There are some beautiful parts to the back half of the wilderness trail. We didn't take much time to take it all in on this trek. We walked to beat the bugs. Next time, I will plan to hit this trail in the cooler months of the year. This trail is a definite one to keep on the list of favorites. I took a few pictures and some video. To see the full version, please check it out on YouTube. Until next time, keep on trekking! |
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