Tiffin I80 Rest Area West Bound

 The east bound I80 rest area is one of letters, where authors with local ties are highlighted.  The westbound Tiffin rest area focuses on education, including agricultural education.  There are also some letter blocks.

Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County Rest Area, West Bound.

 This rest area is at mile marker 17 on the I80 in Iowa.  It appears to be an older and smaller rest area.  There is no theme that I could see. 

Herbert Hoover: West Branch, Iowa Rest Area.

 Herbert Hoover was from West Branch, Iowa.  This is a bit east of Iowa City.

A representation of local crops

The Long Ride: Iowa to Logan

Sunday after church, and then into Monday morning we did the long ride home to Cache Valley.  This was a drive all day kind of experience, with five drivers.  We did give out during the night for a couple hours, and the fog in Wyoming was terrible.  We started in Fairfield, and went through Des Moines, Omaha, and then stayed on the 80 through Nebraska and most of Wyoming, but cut north through Kemmerer and went around Bear Lake and through Logan Canyon.

Iowa State Capitol Building

Lincoln Memorial on I-80

Tranquil Bear Lake

Iowa Trip Day 3: Des Moines

We started early from Terry's house after an interesting conversation about kids.  We stopped briefly for pictures in Elk Horn where they have a Danish windmill.  The also have an old viking house, circa 900 a.d. replica.

Danish Windmill

Viking House

Adair Iowa

We then hit the road, and were in Adair for breakfast where Jesse James and his gang carried out a train robbery.  The park was very nice, with a small playground and picnic tables.  We were off to Des Moines for our next stop.  

In Des Moines it was the first day of the State Fair, and we thought long about attending.  However, the crowds, my need for a haircut, and the need to pick up Ty at the airport put us short on time so we did not get there.  We drove through down town, no one wanted to get out, but have a couple pictures from the car.

801 Grand, tallest building in Des Moines

church through the bugged windshield

Des Moines Arboretum part of botanical garden

Cow and calf outside dairy

We picked up Ty, and then headed for something to eat.  We chose Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, which was a good choice.  They had breakfast as well as dinner.  I had the chicken fried steak with banana cream pie.  Very good.  

We then checked in to the hotel, and I was able to get in a swim.  Not the largest of pools, but I could get a bit of a swim in swimming diagonally.  The highlight of the day was picking up our Caleb.   This was Thursday August 13.

Trip to Pick Up Caleb Day 2: Across Utah, and Wyoming, and Nebraska

We made an early start, and were in Evanston for breakfast, milk and Chocodiles, and then across the state with only gas and rest area stops.  We followed the pioneer trail, and when we got further on I tried to get a good picture of the Platte River from the window, but it was elusive, darting behind trees or going away from the freeway.  However, I finally got it when we stopped for lunch at Grand Island.  We finally crossed the Missouri into Iowa, and then headed for Sheri's brother's house, Terry.  We were able to set up camp in the basement.   We discovered, 410 miles across Nevada, 400 across Wyoming and 450 across Nebraska.

Pioneer Monument

Wyoming Sky

Location of old fort along Platte River

In the car

Road Ranches

In Nebraska

Car again

Military Vehicle Museum

Fort Kearney Replica

Platte River

froggy

Platte

Missouri River