Day 33: July 8, 2021 A Long Drive Comment via blog

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The day started cloudy and a little damp but it cleared up fairly soon. Until it did, I brightened things a little by photographing the Klown Doll Museum in Plainview, NE, and a line of lollipop signs in Osmond, NE.

This phenomenal collection of windmills is just a few miles west of Jackson. NE. Every one of them is beautifully restored and each has an information panel next to it.

Here's a spot that has been on my to-do list for years. It's the burial spot of Charles Floyd, the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die during the expedition. A walkway beyond the obelisk offers a view of the river and a closer look at the flag. Although there were seventeen states in the union at the time of the 1803 expedition, congress had not authorized a change in the flag's design since 1795. The flag flown by the Corps looked like this one with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes.

Nice treads, dude.

I know I had not really been looking for it, but this stretch of old style Portland concrete pavement in Moville, IA, was the first I noticed. There were even some with built in curbs.

There are a couple of windmills living in the wild just a few miles east of Moville. About two miles separate the pair, one of which may have served someone in the now defunct community of Rock Branch. The Rock Branch post office operated from 1872 to 1904.

Roadside America describes these jets as being "incongruously parked in the grass" in Correctionville, IA. I suppose that's basically true but it seems a little less incongruous when you realize tha park they are in is connected to a former GAR hall that is now home to both VFW and American Legion chapters. The town obviously has a long military history. Besides the planes, the park, and the hall, two well preserved gas stations stand across the street from the jets.

Of course I stopped to see and learn about "The World's Largest Popcorn Ball" and to see some of its stuffing, but I soon discovered that Sac City has built a replica historical village in the park behind the ball and that there are other cool things around the town as well.

When I first saw this dire warning, I envisioned mud holes, deep ruts, and sheer drop offs. Instead I found a well manicured gravel road that seemed like a high-speed expressway compared to many roads I'd recently driven with no warning signage at all. Iowa likes road fans and we like you back.

If I'd thought about it, I would have realized that US-20 and the Jefferson Highway would meet at Iowa Falls and would not have been surprised by the signs. I didn't so I was.

The Rush Park Motel is another place that I don't recall putting on my list but I'm glad it was there. I knew booking it set an ambitious goal for the day and it was nearly 8:00 PM when I finally arrived. But my room was ready and waiting and I am where I want to be for tomorrow.

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