IOU Moonlight Float...

By, Sara Hollerich

I had never been on a moonlight float before and I had been looking forward to this opportunity for several weeks. I had wanted to give it a try ever since I got my boat last summer. I checked and double checked my gear to make sure I had everything I needed. Lifejacket, first aid kit, flashlight, glow in the dark sticks, food, etc, as far as I could tell I had everything. I loaded Brody in my car and drove over to pick up Stacey. She too was excited to have her new boat out on this excursion.

A quick stop at Target to pick up the rest of our crew and we were ready to go. When we arrived in Adel at the park where we were to put in, it was buzzing with activity. I had been to a CIP or Central Iowa Paddlers event before but there weren’t nearly this many people. We had decided to do the combined CIP/IOU float when the group we were going to tag with cancelled their float. It was a lot of fun to meet so many new people.

I had to laugh as we pulled out of the parking lot to do the shuttle. There were about 15 cars, we had a regular convoy heading to the exit landing. It was even funnier when we thought the road was closed going to the landing and everyone pulled over to the side of the road to figure out what to do now. We did a massive U turn and headed down the road anyhow. The landing was so small I was impressed that everyone could fit.

With the shuttle done we started our journey. There were so many people to talk to and we had so much fun. My dog Brody made friends with Alexis and Cinder (a cute little eight week old border collie). One woman, Cinders mom, even told an amazing story about her last boat. Apparently she had been kayaking in a small pond when all the sudden a loud noise went off and her boat sunk. She struggled to find her puppy, lifejacket and other gear. When she hauled her boat out of the water there was a huge hole in the hull. The only thing she could think of was that a tree or branch was under pressure under the water and when her boat passed over the top it was released and hit her boat so hard it caused a huge hole in the hull.

The float was very relaxing and we paddled for quite some time before stopping to relax on a sandbar. We let everyone catch-up. We swam, played fetch with the dog and got to know each other better. Once everyone caught up we continued down river for a little while then stopped for supper on a sandbar. Some people were going to be camping there and it was a very nice area. We collected wood for a fire, pulled a couple of boats up on shore, cleaned off the bottom and spread out of food. Everyone enjoy the smorgasbord we created while we waited for the fire to burn down a bit so we could cook our dinners.

Cooking with IOU on a campout or paddle is always fun. We love to go all out and make gourmet food. There was salmon, stake and pasta, of course, there was wine as well. It was all very good and I ate way too much, I felt like I was going to explode.

It was about 11:30 by the time the moon peaked over the trees near the river. Those of us who were heading home that night packed up and hit the river. It was exciting and a very peaceful experience for me to be on the lazy river after the moon had risen. It was a little bit hard to see but it was a lot of fun and way to short. Soon we saw the glowsticks that harolded our approach to the exit site. It only took us about ½ an hour reach the take out. I was a little bit disappointed but tired. It was late but I wasn't ready to be done. Some of us joked about paddling back up river to scare the paddlers who were camping on the sandbar, but we decided to hit the road.

IOU Rocky Mountain National Park...

Written by Mike...IOU takes no responsibility for his bantering and slight filtration of the facts :-P

Four of us road tripped it to RMNP. Once we got there we had to jockey for campsites at Long's Campsite. We simply asked around if we could share a site with these nice folks from CO and they moved over to take one site instead of 2.

We were joined that night by "Chillie" her husband RJ and their new golden retriever Jackson. RJ join us for the 1st day of backcountry and a nice day hike, we of course had enough food and he had enough "stuff" in his car to make the that leg of the unplanned adventure.

Our 1st day back country was great. We had wonderful weather, but it was a large elevation change. The trailhead is over 9,000 ft. which is substantial since Iowa tops out around a mere 700ft. After making camp we decided to hike up to the pass if we could and be in the shadow of Long's Peak, the only "14-er" in the park and reaches up into the sky to an elevation of 14,255 ft. All of us were sucking a little more wind and Ken decided to turn back and get some rest. Stacey, Mel, RJ & I trucked on. We took some incredible photos and saw a beaver at 11,ooo ft. Ok it wasn’t a beaver but a Marmot, but its more fun to call it a high elevation beaver.

We ran a bit low on water on the way back to our campsite and made some gator-aid and chugged two Naligen bottles before we did anything else. The camp site was incredible! It was off the main path and had plenty of room for our tents and a stream near by.

We took slept well that night and RJ departed without breakfast. Doesn’t he know that is the most important meal of the day. We packed up and headed off. The hike was much more difficult with full packs on, but we made head way. We stopped for lunch at the Chasim Lake trail head. The fact that it is over 3 miles form a parking lot, Mike does not understand how it can be called a trailhead, but that is way besides the point. After lunch we begrudgingly put our packs back on. The clouds starting their taunting their threat of rain. We still had a few miles to go and it was all up hill until Granite Pass.

We marched on and talked little. The winds picked up and almost on que as we reached the pass. We made a quick stop to put on our rain coats the sky opened up a bit and rained on us for the next hour. We didn’t seem to mind the rain because it was the 1st part of our trip where we were going down hill and off the Long's stair master.

The next few miles flew by, until we were really wondering where in the heck our campsite was. We eventfully came upon it. It seemed like it took forever to find the campsite. Once we found it and set up, the search for the "privy" continued. It started up earlier but we decided to set up camp and then resume the search. We never did find it. Love the back country life.

We marched on down to Alberta Falls and the Bear Lake trail head. Had lunch and laughed. There were a number of folks at the falls and the trailhead. I am sure they were wondering why we had huge backpacks on for the .5 mile hike, but of course they had no idea that we triumphed over grant pass and were in the back country for the previous 2 days and not at the Holiday Inn like themselves. Of course, once down wind I am sure a few figured out that were did not start from our car a stones throw away. We filled up our water bottles and bladders and of course emptied our other bladders took the shuttle to the Storm Pass trail head for the fun of it, well kinda. Mel and Mike decided to march on and Stacey and Ken took another route with some local assistance form RJ.

The conversations between Mike and Mel are never to be repeated while going over Storm Pass and the mention of leaving a body behind did not really come up as much as the rumors have it, nor the part about Mike saying that he never wants to do this again :-) Storm Pass is rightfully named due to the fact that it rained most of that after noon and the gentle rumblings of thunder seemed to increase the higher they went. The two groups were re-joined at the campsite and the other tent was put up quickly and easily. Everyone changed into dry clothes, then the search for a water source began and dinner plans were being made as well as the search for the bear bag. Note: we need to bring a bit more rope next time :-) We had a fine dinner and the beverage selection was fabulous! ;-)

We hiked out on the last day, tired but wow the sights, the sounds, the friends. We cleaned up at Long's Peak Trail head, got the car, packed up and had a buffet of a trail lunch with our leftovers and other snacks and foods that we had. Then we high tailed it to Chillie's and RJ's home for showers and an incredible meal. We are grateful to our CO hosts! We had an incredible adventure and are looking forward to our next visit to RMNP.

These views once again were writen by Mike without the premission or appoval of the other three.

IOU Balloon Glow...

By Sara Hollerich

The National Ballooning Classic is held in Indianola, Iowa every summer during the last week of July and first week of August. During the classic balloons can be seen floating all over the metro and surrounding areas landing in strange places – like unsuspecting people’s back yards.

I caught wind of the balloon glow late in the game and always wondered what it was. Once the balloons are done with their flight for the day they are brought back to the field and reinflated. The balloons are not flown after dark but the glow consists of the balloons being blown up and while the fire is going they glow softly.

Chris H., Doug P., Emily V., Sara H., Kristen C. and David W. all went down to the balloon glow. We got their early and enjoyed the variety of foods that were available. I had an elk burger. Yum.

There were balloons of all shapes. The purple people eater, a bottle of wine, and my favorite a big tree with a toucan perched on it. There were also the regular types of balloons. They are beautiful to look at, but the glow was really pretty. It is not often that you get to see something like this. Just after dark they began. The announcer would count down then the people would fire up their balloons all at the same time. It was really beautiful.

They let everyone go out on the field and walk around for a while during the balloon glow. It was pretty amazing.