Iowa leads the nation in corn production and has done so for the past 10 years. Iowa, according to the Corn Use FAQ, produces more corn than any other country in the world (other than the United States). We’ve seen a lot of corn today. In the rare case where there wasn’t a corn field on the side of the freeway, then the farmer was growing soybeans. There aren’t any of the big sprinkler systems here, either. There must be enough natural rainfall that those systems aren’t needed as there also doesn’t seem to be any other irrigation method, either. We’ve got about 28 miles left in the State of Iowa before crossing the Missouri River into Nebraska. We’re going across the northern part of Omaha (Interstate 680) so we can stop at the Winter Quarters Visitor’s Center and Temple for a few minutes. Today is a lovely day for traveling. It isn’t very hot — we don’t even need the air conditioning on in the front seat, yet. There are some high cirrus clouds but otherwise it’s a bright, sunny day. The cornfields are actually quite pretty. Every once in a while we’ll pass a farm with a red barn whereas most of them have white barns. The freeway is very noisey — that is, the concrete on the freeway makes a lot of tire noise. We like asphalt roads much better.

I don’t think I’ve ever driven across Iowa except on I-80. The only time we’ve been off the freeway was back in 1978 when the kids and I followed the ambulance from Ft. Madison up to Iowa City when Nina was being transported to the hospital. After she got out of the hospital a few days later, we did a small amount of exploring in the immediate area around Iowa City and then drove back to Chardon, Ohio and home. Looking at the map I see a number of interesting places in Iowa that would be fun to explore. After I retire we will take a few months to travel around the country driving on roads other than the freeway. Then perhaps we’ll stop in Mamie Eisenhower’s birthplace and look around on a scenic drive through Iowa….

The campground, Colony Country Campground was very nice. It was easy to find, easy to park, and very close to a large mall, great restaurants, and the Amana Colonies area for sightseeing. We pulled out of there about 6:30 a.m. CDT and after stopping for gas and a take-out McDonalds breakfast, we were on the road at about 7. We’ll be in Winter Quarters about 11 a.m. and then will settle in for the very long drive across Nebraska. This state is actually longer than Wyoming! And, at least along the freeway, there isn’t much of redeeming value. We are kind of hoping to get to Laramie, Wyoming by the end of the day. That’s about an nine-hour drive after we leave Omaha. Another long, driving day. But, we’ll soon be leaving the corn behind.