We stayed on the Lake Ogallala side of the many different available campgrounds in the Lake McConaughy area. Mike was hoping to launch right off our campsite and get some good fishing there.
Located on the east side of Kingsley Dam and massive Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala is known as “the little lake.” Chilled by the massive surface of Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala is a well-known fishing destination, particularly renowned for its fast-growing and feisty rainbow trout
Compared to Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala is small, gentle and sedate at 320 acres. It lacks the sandy beaches of its neighbor to the west, but its protected shoreline wards off winds.
The sites are large and parking was easy. It was off season so there a lot of options. The sites only have electric -no water or sewer-but do have a picnic table and fire ring. We had filled up in CA just prior to leaving so our tanks were in good shape to stay a few days and the park had coin operated showers and rest rooms to help conserve our water for our 4 day stay.
It’s a beautiful little park with vast grassy lawns and plenty of room to stretch out.
I wish I would have gotten a video of Louie and Kiya on our first walk there. It was late afternoon in the fall near a hay field in Nebraska-the grass hoppers and crickets were EVERYWHERE! I don’t think either pup had ever seen either one of these creatures before. Every step we took, set the bugs jumping-they couldn’t turn their heads fast enough to stay on top of all the action! So cute!
Mike’s first day of fishing in the small Lake Ogallala was a bust so he fished on Lake McConaughy the next couple of days and had much better luck.
I found a nice trail-more like a farming road between fields-but a trail all the same-and walked with the dogs for a couple miles along the hay field listening to some tunes. Very relaxing and allowed all the tension and anxiety from traveling to release. I was told at the visitor center-which is very nice by the way-that the trail would go all the way to some dam.
We had thunderstorms the first couple of nights there-I love thunderstorms in the motorhome by the way-there’s something awesome about knowing you are only a few inches away from all that Mother Nature is sending down, yet you are safe and dry-love rainy, noisy nights in Reva Mae! Anyway, with all the rain, there were a lot of muddy areas on the trail so we had to limit our use of it.
I work remotely for a few skilled nursing communities- doing electronic chart auditing-so I spent my days at Lake McConaughy alternating between playing with the dogs and finishing up a large, quarterly assignment while Mike did some fishing.
Since Lake Ogallala was a fishing bust, Mike loaded up the kayak-which still needs a name come to think of it-and crossed over to the Lake McConaughy side. Fishing was much better there. He had a nice time and did end up having to keep a few fish that were caught deep and weren’t recovering well. Our son Justin loves fish so he fileted it up for him rather than just let the poor fish perish for nothing.
He ran into a paid guide and his client for the day as he was loading up to come back to the campsite-they hadn’t had much luck all day and no fish. Mike caught 6 catfish, 5 smallmouth, and fat white bass.his first day on the lake.
It was a nice break to relax and finish my remote work so that I could fully focus on the G babies, the wedding, and family. I would definitely return sometime.
We had a pleasant 300 mile drive across Nebraska to get to our next destination. We did lose an hour driving east, but still arrived mid- afternoon and just in time to help with the G babies. Tyler had a test for a college class he’s taking and it was Emily’s bachelorette party night so rather than delay anything, we had Tyler drop the babies with us! OMG! I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to wrap your arms around a G baby that thinks you are just amazing! Pizza and cookies helped reinforce our greatness, but hey, grandparents can do that! LOL! We had a great time playing and having dinner with the babies.
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is about midway between Lincoln and Omaha on the Platte River. It has just about everything! It has a few full hook up sites, but most are electric only. They do have a nicely accessible large dump area with multiple stations for dumping and filling with potable water. We emptied and filled tanks before we parked for the week.
When I say it has everything, I mean everything! There are several different campground areas, a lodge, cabins, a marina that has water recreational equipment for rent and/or free use, a swimming pool with slides, an ice rink in the winter, rope courses, regular golf, miniature golf, frisbee golf, trails, horseback riding, pony rides, and on and on. It really is one of the most impressive list of state park amenities I have ever seen.
I parked us in the wrong spot to start-oops lol! I thought the site marker was on the far side of the site, it was on the near side. We discovered the oops when hosts came by to do their evening check. Fortunately, no one was due in that night so we agreed to move in the AM. That was a bit embarrassing! Fortunately, we hadn’t set up any outdoor things yet-too many bugs to sit out at night without a fire and not doing fires with little ones we’re not used to watching so we had little to tear down and move. Mike takes all my navigational oops in stride for the most part lol!
Spent the next couple of days helping Sherman pick up his tuxedo, getting Hannah from the airport, going to rehearsal dinner-a great picnic by the way-picking up my momma from the bus station, etc. Time went so fast, then boom wedding day is here!
Well, I wish I would have focused more on the wedding location when I was figuring out where to camp. I chose Eugene T. Mahoney state park because there aren’t a lot of parks close to Omaha and the amenities at the park are really amazing! It was only about a 20 minute drive to their home from the park, but it was nearly an hour to the wedding venue.
Tyler and Emily chose Bella Terre Reception Hall and Vineyard for their wedding. It was just beautiful! Lovely views outside and such a neat hall inside. The walls are decorated to give the feeling you are outdoors in a courtyard surrounded by beautiful buildings. Really neat!
It was a beautiful, moving ceremony. I held up fairly well until the mother son dance, when I almost lost it. Tyler looked at me and said, “I swear you and Emily both picked the longest songs to dance to.” Made me laugh and was able to hold it together. Great moment!
Because of the distance to the campsite and arriving early for pictures, we weren’t able to stay as long at the reception as I would have liked, but that’s lessons learned, I guess. We had to cut out and get back to Louie and Kiya.
We stayed at the Mahoney state park for 5 more days, taking care of the G babies. It was AMAZING! We had a little port a crib for Gus who slept all night long and my little Addie girl loved her own little bed -the loveseat folded down easily and was perfect size for her.
Mike headed out a day early to get to Justin’s house while I stayed back at Tyler’s place with Addie and Gus. Once Tyler and Emily got back from their mini-moon, I drove Yeep over to Justin’s place to rejoin Mike, the dogs, and Reva Mae.
Justin has a home in Calendar, Iowa, with a nice large driveway where we were able to park Reva Mae and run an electrical cord. It was nice to have our own space while visiting him and Hailey.
Our next stop was Brushy Creek Recreational area. There are several different campgrounds around Brushy Creek lake, a few with full hook ups, but most just have electric. We filled up with water before leaving Justin’s home and then dumped tanks before setting up at Brushy. Sites are large and pretty level, the dump site has easy access and there are great grassy areas and playgrounds. There are showers and toilets-we used our own so I can’t speak to the condition of the bathrooms.
While it was rainy the few days we stayed at Brushy, we did get some breaks and we got to see several old friends and family. It was great to reunite with so many people we hadn’t seen in over 12 years! Thanks to everyone who came out to see us-Craig and Darla, Mel, my momma and Doug, Bobby and Kay, and Chris and kids! It was so nice to see everyone and get a chance to share our journey with you.
I also spent some time in good old Webster City and got to have lunch at Second Street Emporium with my two best friends, Peggy and Angela! Much, much needed girl therapy! Thanks ladies! Yes, the Emporium still serves the awesome dip and crackers!
Mike drove Reva Mae back to Justin’s driveway while I lunched with the girls. While I was lunching, Mike and Justin were doing some very important, top secret shopping, apparently.
That night, while hanging out in Reva with Justin and Hailey, Justin dropped to one knee and proposed to Hailey! How very sweet and special to share this moment with us-she said yes by the way! Now we’ll have another good reason to return to Iowa sometime next year for another wedding! Looking forward to it!
We spent two nights at Justin’s then it was time to head out. We wanted to be at Pyramid Lake for opening day October 1st and also wanted to make a stop in Idaho to see Mike’s sister. We had one last meal of Casey’s pizza-yum and headed out-next stop, one of our favorite home away from homes, Pyramid Lake!