Diary for Harry and Judy's RV Trip


Day 40-July 10, 2015 Iowa Casinos and Wineries

2015-07-10

Day 40-July 10, 2015-Iowa Casinos and Wineries

A bit overcast but in the high 70’s.  Nice day.

Started the day at the Horseshoe Casino.  It’s owned by Harrahs and also has a greyhound track.  We signed up, played a few slots and then left to go wine hunting.  We heard of a few wineries but they were all at least a half hour away.  But it was too early for wine anyway so we decided to take a ride through rural Iowa.  And rural it was.  Corn, corn, corn.  Miles and miles in the middle of nowhere on gravel roads with nothing but corn fields.  Our first stop was Kings Crossing Winery which was closed and for sale.  The next stop was a half hour away down more gravel roads.  Just when we were thinking we were lost we saw a small sign for the Prairie Hawk Winery.  We learned that Iowa has mostly sweet wines, which we don’t like.  But they had one dry red that was OK.  The owner told us about another vineyard, Prairie Crossing, in Treynor, again about a half hour away. Again on a gravel road where just as we thought the directions he gave us were bogus we saw a sign.  Again, mostly sweet wines, but a pleasant view and nice people.  Here we got a brochure for the Loess Hills District Wine Trail and info about a new vineyard, Bodega Victoriana, in Glenwood.  Yes, a half hour away.  This winery is the largest in Western Iowa and was only opened four weeks ago.  They only had two dry reds, but the Bull’s Blood was great.  Drove back to the RV, miraculously only a half hour away.  We’re getting used to the new traffic and construction patterns.

After dinner we decided to try our luck at another casino, Ameristar, which is a riverboat on the Missouri River.  There are three floors and all of them were noisy, crowded, smoky and unlucky.  There’s one more casino in town, Harrah’s, right across the street from Ameristar but we know when to call it a night.

Off tomorrow.