Day-4 .. Iowa - Illinois - Indiana .. the I's rock !

Yesterday's re-routing south, I think, saved me from getting stranded due to the projected snowstorm and blizzard driving conditions.   Starting out in Sioux City required me to do a little homework.   Iowa state highway 20 would get me over to Waterloo, then I would head south to pick-up I-80.   A plan !

I was happy to motor on a smaller road!   My early AM radio listening found station KTIC out of West Point, Nebraska.   What a treat!   Agriculture news, local sports news, local events, .. what else do you need to be entertained?  The BIG agricultural news was .. the WORLD PORK EXPO, to be held in Des Moines, Iowa, was being cancelled due to concerns over the spread of African Swine Fever.   Normally 20,000 attend this event from all over the world!

I saw an interesting sign .. pointing to  The World's Largest Popcorn Ball ! 
I turned to go to .. Sac City.    Interesting town, it's designated as a 'Main Street Iowa Community'.   Here it is :

Whoa!   What an exciting find!   Talking about a good way to start my day!

Cruising along enjoying the rolling fields of our nation's food producers, I encountered Iowa Public Radio.   How much good fortune would I find today?  An Iowa author was being interviewed.  She was from Decorah and was brought up in a Lutheran church.   She was very humorous and had an interesting story.
It's well worth your investigation :

And sure enough, around the next corner, another town's sign caught my eye :

 Although .. I never could find that rock ..

This is why it takes me 12-hours for my typical day's travels.   My constant exploration of interesting names sometimes makes me ramble ~ 8-36 miles.
Blame it on smaller state highways!    Fun to go through small towns.

The next exploration was to visit a National Historic Landmark, the Amana Colonies.   Seeking religious freedom and a better economic situation, about 1,200 Germans first came to Buffalo, New York, and later in 1855 to this community in Iowa.   26,000 acres were used to establish seven villages.   If you're ever in the neighborhood, drop by.

By the time I finished looking over ONE of the villages, I saw that I needed to hustle East!   The Quad Cities and Chicago still lay ahead.   RavRover .. on!

Other than driving in hurricane-force winds all day, the weather allowed me to drive a bunch of miles.   Tomorrow, it's on to Pennsylvania.   I think I'll drop down to state highway 30, south of La Porte, and angle SE.   Lots of potential small towns along the way!

start odometer  :  108788     (Sioux City, Iowa)
4/10 odometer  :  109389     (La Porte, Indiana)

day miles  :   601
trip total   :  2480