Monday, June 27, 2011

Monday, June 27^thIt is cloudy and cool …and then we hit rain as we head for Iowa. Elizabeth, IL offered us a chance to pull over and take photos of the beautiful pastoral view that reminded us of some of the beauty God has blessed our country with.

Lookout Tower was closed due to high winds.
On the road again…

This is such a serene ride that it makes it easy to forget about the troubles our country is facing with severe weather, wildfires and poor economy. We have seen horses, sheep, goats and cows throughout this morning’s ride across Illinois. So many of the yards near the highway have beautiful gardens, plus many homes are preparing for July 4^th with American flags and bunting decorations. Galena, IL is a town I would like to spend a day in, but we must keep traveling. This town has the home of US Grant, and 85% of the downtown buildings are listed on the National Historic Register as they were built in the 1800s. Lots of interesting shops to browse through….maybe someday.
Some states make it hard to photograph their welcome signs, especially the ones that have a river border. I tried to photograph a riverboat on the Mississippi River as we were entering Iowa, but one can barely see it.

Iowa has a lot of fields to view and we start seeing some of the many wind farms that this state has. It is quite breezy here. Many of the fields still have water from previous flooding rains. I’m certain that “pond” in the middle of the corn field was not meant to be there.
Today has some beautiful clouds that are not threatening to drop any moisture.

I like these clouds.
We arrive in Algona, find a “Mom and Pop” motel and then head out for supper. This town closes by 7:00, but we find a place with home-cookin’ and eat supper.
Tomorrow we will be visiting some of my Dad’s cousins that still live in his lovely hometown, little LuVerne. I have many happy memories from the times I spent at my grandparents’ home on their farm here.
David is working on our expenses to see how well we have managed our money and how much we have to use until we arrive home.