Gull Point

We spent the night at Gull Point State Park after following Hwy 86 through Iowa's farmland and wind harvesting fields. We pulled over in the middle of no where, surrounded by windmills and not much else. Adam had dropped his phone between the console and the seat and needed to retrieve it.

We got back in the car, and finished our drive to the state park we'd scoped out the night before on the internets. We missed the turn-off, and while finding a place to turn around we saw some giant ants.

We finally returned to the exit we had missed and picked out our campsite for the evening. We set up the tent and went to buy firewood. Adam had been fairly convinced that he would be able to scavange enough to make a fire. He was misguided.

I drove us to an old gas station. It had the old school pumps, no awning over it and a small shop located off to the side. An old man in overalls who had probably been in some proximity to the filling station his entire life and probably since the founding of the station in 1930. A menagerie of mangy cats and kittens adorned the lawn. I picked up one of the little bug-infested critters and asked Adam if we could keep it. He gave me a scornful look and told me to grab a bundle of firewood.

Back at the camp, he worked on building the fire while I pranced around and didn't do much of anything. I did bring him a beer and set up the chairs.

Once the fire caught, it was a hot fire. We sat and I played my guitar and we drank a couple of beers before we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on the metal prongs Adam had insisted were not necessary when we were in nature because we could totally just find a fruit tree and cut off a branch and then use that. He had to admit that yes, having those sticks wasn't a stupid idea after all.

Suddenly, I heard something that sounded suspiciously like a critter scuttling about. It was a friendly little salamander, not a scary poisonous snake like I had originally thought.

The sky was clear and the stars were gorgeous. We had great intentions earlier in the day to chronicle our adventures, but instead, we went to sleep.

Day one was highly productive and successful. Adam and I are ridiculously proud of ourselves.