Road Warrior - Journey to Spirit Lake

It down poured all the way to Cedar Rapids and I was drenched after carrying in my luggage. Its difficult to juggle an umbrella with several bags. I arrived early and my room wasn't ready so I went shopping and bought a much needed clothes rack for the van.

I headed out bright and early this morning, a travel day, which means I can take my sweet time getting there, I don't have to work tonight. It appeared the weather was going to be more of the same. The weather cleared up nicely and when I stopped for gas in Mason City, it was hot and humid. I was hoping to get to Estherville before Noon which is nearby Spirit Lake and Lake Okaboji. It should only have taken 4 hours according to the search engine map. However I didn't pull in to town until near 3:00pm. I was only prepared to drive six hours home from here, now its looking more like eight.

I stopped briefly in Clear Lake as Hwy 18 goes right through it. I spotted "Main Avenue" and thought there must be a post office nearby, its a little town, I needed to drop off my deposit and get a money order. Driving down Main Avenue, I stumbled upon Clear Lake, it was the quaintest little downtown, right on the Lake with little shops and galleries. I asked for directions to the Post Office and walked there, only taking up about a half hour of time.

Heading out of Clear Lake I passed "Billy Holly Place". I was very tempted to turn down that road but had to use restraint. I am planning on stopping on my way home to see the crash site of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper (so stay tuned). One of the toughest challenges for me out here is "not stopping"! Its like eye candy, so much to see, so much to photograph. I see the photographs in my mind as I'm passing, thinking "that would have been an awesome shot".

Somewhere along the line, I passed the turn for Estherville. I recall seeing the sign that said "Estherville 25 mi" and the road kept going, and going and going. I finally arrived in Spencer Iowa and knew I had done passed my turn!! . After having stopped a moment and snapping a shot of a church being elevated off its foundation, I pulled over and observed my "old fashioned" map and determined the map had screwed up again. I ended up going the long way to Estherville by passing it and going through Spencer, Lake Okaboji and then through Spirit Lake to hit Hwy 9 going East when I was supposed to arrive in Estherville from the South West.

Highway 9, between Estherville and Spirit Lake is interesting. I passed two abandoned trains and a field of mules, yes, mules maybe they are burros, I don't know but I hope to get a picture of them. The Super 8 in Estherville is not a great looking motel, nor does my bed look comfy, its old and I'm looking across the street at a much newer "Sleep Inn" thinking "why am I not staying there"? They have an indoor pool and a whirlpool! My peers who arrive tomorrow will probably move across the street, I might even join them.

I freshened up a tad when I got here and decided to head back to Spirit Lake for some shopping, dinner and photography. I checked out Hill Avenue and its many shops, my favorite was "A Piece Of Work" Art Gallery ( I might return for a little something for myself later). Dinner was "Charlie's Barfly Saloon" and they had the most excellent 1/2 lb. Mushroom and Swiss Burger. While there I asked the owner where there was a good place to photograph the sunset and it just so happened that he also owned some condos on Spirit Lake and he gave me directions and said I should sit between the condos for a good shot.

I arrived long before sunset and I crashed a couple getting ready to have themselves a campfire, they had just come in from skiing. I chatted with them a bit and they made me feel welcome but I decided since it was their last night on the lake before heading back to Nebraska, I should leave them alone. I took some shots and departed, I think their privacy was more important than me capturing a shot of the sunset (I already have over 400 sunsets in my database). Even if the Owner called the sunsets on the lake here "Iowa's Maui". What I did capture was beautiful enough for me and that moment.

So ends the journey to Spirit Lake. Tomorrow I work and hope for a better experience.

Peace
Liz