5 Hours, 5 Things About Iowa

Today was taken up mostly with driving and Iowa, so I will keep this short and sweet. So, here we go, a few observations about Iowa gleaned from my five hour drive:


1) Iowa loves its windmills
They were everywhere. Big, towering windmills, enough to give Don Quixote quite a run for his money. They added a kind of surreal interest to the otherwise flat landscape, a landscape covered with, you guessed it...


2) Corn, corn, corn
More corn, folks. More than I have seen on this whole trip. Huge valleys of corn. 


3)Iowa loves its biplanes
Seriously. I saw two in two hours. Not your typical aerial transport. I tried to catch them with my camera but no luck. At first I wasn't sure what they were doing. "North by Northwest" remake? Although I'm not 100% sure, I think the second one might have been crop dusting, so perhaps mystery solved. Or perhaps, I Iowa is just a fan of historic aviation.


4)What Iowa does not have: enough gas stations
Or more accurately, towns selling gas that are close enough to each other. This realization came after I left Omaha and realized I needed gas rather urgently and then went on a long, white knuckle search for a station, driving over many hills and dales covered in corn, but alas, no gas. I finally found one, so crisis averted, but, when I filled up, I had only a tiny fraction of gas left in my tank...the lowest it's been. So, word to the wise: if you're driving across Iowa from Nebraska, fill up in Omaha first.


5)George Harrison and Arcade Fire makes for a perfect soundtrack
Some might think this is a strange combo, but it seemed to fit right in with my drive through Iowa. Both selections were, in fact, motivated by chance listens: I began my day with Arcade Fire when Colleen put it on during breakfast, which planted the seed for later listening, and was motivated to dig out an old George Harrison CD after hearing "My Sweet Love" on the radio. At the very end of my trip,having forgotten about my early morning Arcade Fire listening, I put Funeral on. "Tunnels" came on: the first song I heard this morning. What a fitting book end, to hear this beautiful song at the beginning and end of my day's journey. I listened to it on repeat all the way to my couchsurfing house, the house of Jess and Matthew, two nurses who are both working night shifts as I sit here and write. Although I have only met Jess, and only briefly, they have been so generous to let me stay here and let me help myself to their well-stocked and deliciously veggie-heavy fridge, that I can't wait to spend a little more time with them and hopefully return the favor some day.


And with that, I will leave you for the night. Since I don't have any pictures, I'm including a link to a heart-wrenchingly beautiful cover of "Tunnels." I first learned of this from my musically charmed and charming roommate, Calvin Kan. It took my breath away when I heard it. Enjoy and goodnight!