Templeton, IA / Sioux City, IA (4/26 - 5/1/23)

Moving closer to South Dakota, we stopped in Templeton, IA at a Harvest Host location at the Templeton Distillery. Harvest Host members can stay a night for free in your RV at various locations across the country, with the only expectation that you spend some money on whatever product or service they provide. After Templeton, we headed to far northwest IA near Sioux City to stay at the campground and exact site we will be staying the night before RAGBRAI begins July 22nd.

At Templeton Distillery, we sat at the tasting room bar and tried various rye whiskey cocktails they had on the menu. Here I enjoyed my first smoked old fashioned. The distillery also has a gift shop, museum, and does tours and tastings. We were the only ones staying overnight and camped right in the parking lot out front.

There are stories that Templeton whiskey was Al Capone's favorite and was smuggled from Iowa to his speakeasies in Chicago during prohibition. The tour speaks in interesting detail to how the whiskey was distilled and able to be kept hidden from authorities.

This distillery is fairly new and takes the name of the original Templeton bootleggers and intends to make whiskey with the same recipe they made during prohibition.

The Scenic Park Campground in South Sioux City, NE, is just across the Missouri river from Sioux City, IA. This site has a view of the river and sits right next to the community pool. On our first day of RAGBRAI this July, this is where we will hop on our bikes to ride 77 miles to the next overnight town in Iowa.

From the campground, you can bike across the river and ride the Siouxland trails along the river for about six miles each way.

The trails are in good condition, flat, and all paved. You almost always have a view of the river, but it is also an urban trail so the noise of the city is present as well.

Not too far from the trails is the downtown of Sioux City that has many restaurants and bars. Here we sampled the offerings from Marto Brewing Co. We weren't planning to eat here, but they had a pizza dinner special we couldn't pass up. Highly recommend! This is our last stop in Iowa and next stop is South Dakota!