On the road
Well, this is day two of the trip. It's morning in Missouri Valley, Iowa. We didn't get here until 11PM local time last night (midnight at home) because the start of the trip was like a three stooges comedy. We finally got on the road at 10:30, only because I had to do this and that and...oh yeah, bring the degu food to the college so farsarian can feed Diegu, and then, we were off, to the grocery store, because we hadn't gotten any road food. So while I was there, getting olives and carrots and pears and apples and stringcheese and....I remembered something that was absolutely critical. So, call to my husband, who is staying home (does NOT like road trips, especially marathon road trips) who drove it down to Marshall.
Okay so NOON, and we're on the road. Next stop, Battle Creek, "Mom! Please? Sweetwater Donuts for the trip?"
Okay so then we were on our way, and we were. We drove across Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, 636 miles. It is amazing how similar in some ways the geography is and how different in others. As you get to the west of Illinois the land changes, you begin to see a lot of glacial remnants as you go along. At one point, we drove between the two halves of a glacial esker. You can see drumlins and moraines as you look out at the land. It's easier to see at this time of year because the crops are still "short" and you can see differences in the topography you can't see when the corn and soy are high.
As you get to the Mississippi, the land starts to get very hilly and as we came across northern Iowa (where I've never been) I was amazed at how the hilly the land is. We drove by one valley, very small, but you could see the most incredible example of a river meander I've ever seen. It is "new" geologically speaking and it was a creek that is cutting through some of the richest, loamiest, looking soil I've ever seen. The creek meandered through this valley, cutting through the soil, it looked to be about 6 feet deep and maybe 6 feet across and the meander cut was straight down. None of the sides were collapsed, It just went straight down. I wanted to stop and take pictures but as traffic was barreling along that wasn't going to happen.
As night came on we started to get to the windmills. Did you know they are doing a lot with wind farming here in Iowa. At first we saw one or two, then groups of five or six and finally, for fifteen minutes (at seventy mph, you do the math) all that we could see were the blinking red lights and spinning propellers of these incredibly huge machines. At night, like that, they looked like something from "Mars invaders". It was incredible. You can see the numbers of turbines on this map http://www.iowalifechanging.com/Business/downloads/IA_WindTurbine.pdf and here is what they look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/edithosb/2788991312/
We got to the Missouri River and Council Bluffs in full dark. I was bummed out because I really wanted to be able to see the vista but it was difficult in the dark. So, made it to the hotel, got some sleep and now, time to get on the road, earlier than yesterday. I made my coffee (how bad is this? I carried my own Cafe Feminino and half and half, maybe it is time to admit that I have a coffee problem.) Time to drink the caffeine, pry the 15 year old (my son, aka Blitzy) out of bed, and hit the road. Blitzy is in severe World of Warcraft withdrawal. Next stop, Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska.
Okay so NOON, and we're on the road. Next stop, Battle Creek, "Mom! Please? Sweetwater Donuts for the trip?"
Okay so then we were on our way, and we were. We drove across Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, 636 miles. It is amazing how similar in some ways the geography is and how different in others. As you get to the west of Illinois the land changes, you begin to see a lot of glacial remnants as you go along. At one point, we drove between the two halves of a glacial esker. You can see drumlins and moraines as you look out at the land. It's easier to see at this time of year because the crops are still "short" and you can see differences in the topography you can't see when the corn and soy are high.
As you get to the Mississippi, the land starts to get very hilly and as we came across northern Iowa (where I've never been) I was amazed at how the hilly the land is. We drove by one valley, very small, but you could see the most incredible example of a river meander I've ever seen. It is "new" geologically speaking and it was a creek that is cutting through some of the richest, loamiest, looking soil I've ever seen. The creek meandered through this valley, cutting through the soil, it looked to be about 6 feet deep and maybe 6 feet across and the meander cut was straight down. None of the sides were collapsed, It just went straight down. I wanted to stop and take pictures but as traffic was barreling along that wasn't going to happen.
As night came on we started to get to the windmills. Did you know they are doing a lot with wind farming here in Iowa. At first we saw one or two, then groups of five or six and finally, for fifteen minutes (at seventy mph, you do the math) all that we could see were the blinking red lights and spinning propellers of these incredibly huge machines. At night, like that, they looked like something from "Mars invaders". It was incredible. You can see the numbers of turbines on this map http://www.iowalifechanging.com/Business/downloads/IA_WindTurbine.pdf and here is what they look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/edithosb/2788991312/
We got to the Missouri River and Council Bluffs in full dark. I was bummed out because I really wanted to be able to see the vista but it was difficult in the dark. So, made it to the hotel, got some sleep and now, time to get on the road, earlier than yesterday. I made my coffee (how bad is this? I carried my own Cafe Feminino and half and half, maybe it is time to admit that I have a coffee problem.) Time to drink the caffeine, pry the 15 year old (my son, aka Blitzy) out of bed, and hit the road. Blitzy is in severe World of Warcraft withdrawal. Next stop, Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska.