Corn and the MidWest

We left Starved Rock and headed out onto Route 6 towards Iowa.  If there is anything about the midwest that I will remember is all of the corn and soy beans.  The fields never ended.  The Dog Park app had nothing for miles.  It certainly pointed out the state parks that dogs where free to walk around on leashes, but nothing where a dog can play ball.  We had to do something on our own.

The grid-work of farms and roads was plentiful.  Somewhere in Western Illinois, I just decided to take a left hand turn and stop along the road.  There was not much traffic, if any and it seemed like a plan just to stop and toss the ball between the corns lined up on either side of the road.

Corn is Ready!

Tom and the Cornfield

Ford Escape on One Corn Road

TravelingDogs

We were running low on balls again.  What we did have was BuddyJacks big green ball (last seen in Canada) and one tennis ball.  The best thing about the big green ball was that it bounced high off the pavement.  We only had to stop tossing the balls once when a solitary car came down the road.  I threw one ball askew and it landed in the cornfield.  BuddyJack went for it.  I was afraid that BJ would not find his way out of that dense maze, but was pleasantly surprised that not only did he find his way out, but he also found the ball.  I tossed one in again and took the following video:

Buddy of the Corn!

They played for a good twenty minutes until it was time to rest.  They both found a spot in the shade of the corn and Tom and I just stretched our legs and took a few more pictures.

We headed back on to the main road and continued our trek.  It always seemed that 80 was just a small jaunt away and at times we could toss a stone onto it from Route 6.  I continued to try and plan the route with my phone.  Tom took this shot as he berated me about texting and driving.  I'm not texting.  I did get the point, though.

We passed through middle America at a quick pace.  There was not much to see except more corn and more soy beans.  There where many classic American farm buildings along the route and we slowed and took some of these shots.

We arrived into Iowa after crossing the mighty Mississippi from Illinois.  We were in the Quad Cities.  We wanted some coffee, so we broke out the iphone and searched "coffee."  We were directed to the Redband Coffee Company in Davenport.  It was so out of the way it was crazy.  It was great when finally arrived at this small store and got there New Orleans style coffee.  It was tasty and strong.

Both Tom and I are fans of the major rivers of the country and so we headed down to the shore of the Mississippi.  They had a Mississippi Valley welcome center in Davenport for the Quad Cities.  They were hospitable to the very end.  They offered us maps as we told them about our trek on Route 6.  The kind man behind the desk gave us some advice about food and other little known places to stop at.  We thanked them and drove across the street to Leon 'Bix" Biederbecke Memorial and the Modern Woodmen Park.  They had a huge field there along the banks of the river and another great place for ball play.  The dogs were more into trying to find there way down to the water.  No such luck.

Centennial Bridge

We got back on the road, going through, what seemed, a beautiful city, Davenport.  We had crossed the Mississippi and, in my mind, one third of the way home.  Next milestone...the Rockies!

Route 6 was very close to I-80 for many miles in Iowa.  I tried to pay close attention when it took me on and off the highway.  There were at times that I could toss a stone to 80, we were that close.  I took this shot as we were on one of those byways:

The day went on.  The corn was there.  The soy beans were there.  Again and again and again.  We got to Council Bluffs, Iowa by early evening.  If you recall, there was lots of flooding a number of months ago.  We had witnessed some of the devastation in Canada, just North of us.  Council Bluffs had there own along the Missouri and Platt Rivers.

Big fans of Lewis and Clark, we decided to go check out the Lewis & Clark Monument.  We finally found it after losing track of the signs for it.  It was built in 1936 to celebrate their trek and they erected a large monument and scenic overlook of the Missouri River.  What we saw was flooding.  Lots of flooding.

If you look at the picture, you'll see that row of trees in the middle of the water.  On either side of those trees is a highway no more.  It was sad to see.  It was also sad to see a monument in such disrepair.  The small park was being used by, by appearance, hoodlums.  We did not stay long and even Luther and BuddyJack were glad to say goodbye.

We were now in Nebraska.  Omaha to be exact.  It was getting late and we needed to find a place to sleep.  The rains were holding off and there was a state park on the outskirts of Omaha called Two Rivers State Park.  We headed in that direction, arriving very close to 8:00 PM.

The park was about to close up shop.  We got in just in time, although the attendants were gruff and anxious to leave.  They had me pay an Entrance Fee, search for a campsite and then return to let them know which one.  This was the first campsite that we had to pay an entrance fee on top of the camping fees.

The park had lots of water and thus was very buggy.  It had been a long day of driving and we still had to get some food in us as well as find some wood.  I head up the road to a small store and picked up a few subs.  They were sold out of wood, so it was just going to be a sleep night.

I got back to the camp and pulled out the sandwiches for Tom and me.  We scarfed them down as we finished setting up camp.  I noticed on my phone that there was a bar called the Rusty Rooster just a few miles away in the next town.  I started to chant, "Rusty Rooster!"  "Rusty Rooster!"  Trying to entice Tom into going for the drive.  He was not too into it, but with a few more chants, we were off.

The Rusty Rooster is located in Yutan, NE.  It is a small local watering hole with a friendly staff and clean bar.  We settled in at the bar and played some 45's.  Cold beer and no bugs!  It worked for us.  We came to find out that the rusty rooster was none other than the pheasant.  Silly name.

Rusty Rooster Bar Sign

Rusty Rooster Interior and Ice Bar

Husker Painting on Side of Building

We left for the campsite about midnight.  We all settled in the tent and went to sleep.  When we awoke, the campsite was not the worst that we had been in.  It was the first time we had seen it in the daylight.  We had gotten a few neighbors since the night before.  Come to find out they were headed to Burning Man in CA.  We had packed up the car, waiting for the last of the tent and coverings to dry when they came over.  It seems that their car battery had died.  It played with my mind a bit, as we were still using borrowed time on our battery.  We drove off after everything was packed and headed towards a shower.  They were not the cleanest, so we decided just to head towards Route 6 and start the day.