Dubuque County Re-Opens Swiss Valley Park

Dubuque County's Swiss Valley Park Campground is open again.

Seven weeks ago flash flooding from the nearby Catfish Creek swept through the campground, forcing campers out.

Now park rangers say about half of the campsites are repaired and open for business.

Dale Davidson eats and sleeps inside his tiny pop-up camper during the work week. He's from Mount Pleasant but works in Dubuque.

Davidson said, "I was staying at the hotel until I found this. "

He missed this campground during the past seven weeks.

In that time crews have been working around the clock to fix damages.

Park Ranger Jeremy Kettmann said, "We had to wait for the campground to dry out first."

Since then crews have been moving dirt and filling sink holes.

And that work is far from over.

Kettmann said, "there are spots when it flooded.  It got scoured out and now we're hauling black dirt. "

As more and more camp sites begin to take shape, Davidson knows he won't be here alone.

Davidson said, "I am sure that the grapevine of everybody saying it's open will happen and they'll start showing up. "