July 25 – We got an early and very rainy start this morning. We crossed the Mississippi River, and I crossed into my 50th state, Minnesota. Woo hoo! No sign of course, due to construction. But we caught one later.
I have now seen/visited all 50 states and all 5 Great Lakes. And, I have seen them all at some point, with Eddie too! I have visited in all of North America, most of Central America, and some of Africa and Europe. My feet have been in the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Oceans and so many rivers and seas that I would need a map to name them. I’ve seen the Northern Lights and the Southern Cross. Pardon the braggadocio,but I am a lucky duck, and my mom would be proud! I am crossing items off my bucket list and adding more as we go.
Northern Minnesota may be covered with lakes, but the southern part of the states is the land of farms: big ones, small ones, new ones, old ones. All seem to have the types of barns, silos and farmhouses that are stereotyped on movie sets. Add to that innumerable windmills turning lazily against the overcast skies. Despite the heavy clouds, the landscape conveyed an idyllic sense of peace.
From Minnesota to Iowa there was little change in landscape. The farms seemed to get larger; traffic lighter. The wind rocked the van all the way across and the prairie grass undulated in waves moving toward the horizon. We made a brief stop in LaMar, Iowa at the “Ice cream capital of the world”, had an ice cream and took a picture. What a cute town with big, multicolored ice cream cones on every corner of the downtown.
Then, when we reached Sioux City, we did a quick jump into North Dakota for Marty to add a state, then hopped over the Missouri River to Nebraska bringing Marty’s total to 30…all but 3 were on this trip! Another stop at Freemont Lake…man it was hot! I didn’t realize how acclimated we had become to the cooler climes. We pushed hard for Grand Island and made it in time for dinner.
To Grandmother’s House We Go
13 Wednesday Aug 2014
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