Apr 29, 2020 - Iowa - The Weather State

. Since 1996, Intellicast.com has provided expert weather information to weather savvy users . http://www.intellicast.com/Local/WxMap.aspx . In December, 2019, I spent two nights in the parking lot of the "Diamond Jo's Casino" in Iowa during a darn-near blizzard, unable to make it back to Minnesota on my way home from Florida. Now, for a second time, I've been stranded in Iowa for a day because of weather. Traveling for ten years, the score is Iowa 2, all other states 0. Leaving the RV park in Springerville, Arizona on Sunday April...

Dec 10, 2019 - Stranded in a Winter Storm

. Blowing winds (30 or 40 miles per hour) and freezing temperatures kept me in this Iowa casino parking lot, 5 miles from the Minnesota border, for two nights. There was no way I could have driven the remaining 160 miles home until conditions improved. . The above paragraph pretty-much tells the story about why I had to stay in the casino parking lot, 5 miles from Minnesota, waiting for darn-near blizzard conditions to go away, so I could continue driving to the safe haven of our Minnesota cabin. Fortunately, I had plenty of fuel onboard...

Oct 30, 2019 - We are in Iowa!

Well we left on Monday morning and drove to Ogema where we had breakfast with Don's mom. We were heading towards the border by about 10:30. Everything was going good until we entered South Dakota. It was about 9:30 at night we were driving through a construction area when a really big raccoon came running out in front of us. Needless to say the raccoon probably died and the van came out somewhat damaged. We couldn't stop there so by the time we found a safe place to pull over the van was overheating and we were done. A call to CAA which...

Oct 17, 2019 - Turning Toward Home

Since Winnie’s window is not ready, we reached the western end of our trip. We started driving east along US 34. Our route will depend on the weather. If it looks like there is any snow or sleet in the forecast, we’ll steer a little south to avoid it. Right now it looks like the weather for the next several days will be warm and fall like. Still little color change in the trees. Along the way today we passed the exit to Maharishi University near Fairfield, IA. It was founded in 1973 by the Maharishi Yogi to establish a "consciousness-based...

Oct 15, 2019 - Pella Again

We drove through Pella on our way to the Des Moines area and decided it would be nice to return and spend some time there. We drove back on Tuesday to walk around the business district and visit the Vermeer Mill which is a museum and reconstruction of replicas of some of the building that existed in Pella during its early history. A group of 800 Dutch immigrants settled the area known they called Pella in 1847. The name "Pella" is a reference to Pella along the Jordan River, where the Christians of Jerusalem had found refuge during the...

Oct 14, 2019 - Moving North Again

We are edging our way north to eventually get to Forest City, IA to pick up Winnie's window at Lichtsinn RV. I'll be checking with them tomorrow to see if it has arrived. Hopefully the weather stay relatively warm while we're here. Before we headed north, I drove to the Hickory Grove Cemetery to see a Roadside Attraction - the Great Pyramids of Avery. It’s hardly roadside because you have to drive about 2 miles down a gravel road to get there. There are 3 Sandstone and cement structures built in 1939 for Egyptian pyramid fan Axel Peterson,...

Oct 13, 2019 - Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

I really enjoyed my visit to the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The children ( as well as adults) are completely taken with the animatronic figures and interactive exhibits. Upon entering you are given a journal to insert into stamping stations throughout the center that enter information in the book. What a keepsake! Sgt.Charles Floyd was the only casualty on the Corps of Discovery expedition. It is believed that he died from a ruptured appendix. The Corps buried him on a "handsome spot on the bluff" overlooking the...

Oct 12, 2019 - To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

We finally left Amana today. It was probably a mistake. Even the though the weather turned sunny, the north wind was blowing a gale, but more on that later. As we headed south, we made our first stop in Riverside, IA. In addition to it being the namesake of our hometown, it is also the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. A councilman from the town remembered reading in the Making of Star Wars that Cast. Kirk would be born in a small town in Iowa. The actual town wasn’t mentioned so in 1985 the town council voted to make Riverside...

Oct 12, 2019 - Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum

On my way to Sioux City I stopped in Waterloo to visit the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. The museum showcases the role Iowans played in the military from the Civil War to Afghanistan. The most famous story is that of the hometown Sullivan Brothers - Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison, and George. Genevieve, their only sister, served in the WAVES. It was the death of her boyfriend at Pearl Harbor that spurred her brothers to join the Navy to avenge him. They signed up on the condition that they serve together on the same ship - they...

Oct 10, 2019 - Vesterheim - The National Norwegian American Museum

Rainy day. Good time to visit the Vesterheim - National Norwegian American Museum. Vesterheim means western home in Norwegian. It was referred to as such in many letters that the immigrants sent home. The reasons for so many Norwegians leaving home were many. Improved sanitation, the smallpox vaccination, and improved diet made for a healthier population which led to overpopulation. Opportunities for farm ownership declined. Even laborers and craftspeople had a hard time finding work. The American frontier appealed to those willing to work...

Oct 9, 2019 - If You Build It, He Will Come

You have to be flexible when you travel by RV. We had planned on heading north to Minnesota and then west to South Dakota to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder site of Little House on the Prairie. The weather forecast changed our mind. A major snowstorm (12-24") is supposed to hit the Dakotas and Western Minnesota Between Wednesday and Friday. Rain is forecast for Iowa so we'll stay here in Amana for another day or two before venturing west in Iowa. I need to kill about 2 weeks while we wait for Winnie's entry door window to be delivered to an...

Oct 9, 2019 - Dubuque, Spillville, Unscheduled Stop

Visited the Dubuque Monument and the Town Clock before lunch. Afterward I drove to Spillville to visit the Bily (Beelee) Clocks Museum. Originally called Spielville after Joseph Spielman, a German immigrant who founded the town, the name was later Americanized. The Bily Brothers were bachelor farmers who never traveled more that 35 miles from their farm. They started carving in 1913 to pass the long winter nights. They never sold any of their clocks because their older brother, who was mentally and physically impaired , loved to hear the...