I-80 in the Morning

January 5, 21013

I started early this morning at 6:30 so I could do 12 miles to make this first walk 30 miles in total or about 10% of the way across Iowa. I had intended to walk Sunday also but had last minutes travel to Atlanta for work. The flight leaves at 5:45 am on Sunday and I have to get organized. So I walked in the dark the first part as I walked out of the old river bed of the Missouri, which was flat, across I80 and back into the rolling hills out into the Iowa country side.

The grade was always up in it totality but up and down for 10 sets of hills before going around a series of curves on Magnolia Road. Down in the little valleys the wind was calm as I climbed to the top the wind picked up so at the end of the day I had the ruddy windblown look of an arctic explorer. 

I visited Council Bluffs a bit in the afternoon yesterday after the walk. I had gotten the book "Iowa Curiosities" at New Bo Books by where I live in Cedar Rapids. A wonderful place to sit and look at books and to watch some of the New Bo pedestrians walk to the New Bo Farmers Market or Legion Arts at the CSPS building. If you get to Cedar Rapids come see New Bo, it is across the river from Czech Village so lots to see in a small "walking" distance.

In Council Bluffs though there are lots of hidden treasures and in the book of Iowa curiosities was the Squirrel Cage Jail (only open April through October). It is downtown next to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum another gem in the city. There you can see how the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad was completed along with a replica of Lincoln's funeral train. I had no idea of the links Iowa had to all that history. I also visited the Kanesville Tabernacle where the first Mormon battalion left on their 2000+ walk to San Francisco. After 30 miles I cannot imagine walking to the west coast.  

I will try to walk again in two weeks. I will drive I80 to exit 34 and head south to where I left off at M16 and Mahogany Road. I see there is a sign for the "Nishna Heritage Museum" in Oakland. I am interested in the Native Americans that lived in Iowa and also had to be great walkers. March of Dimes has a special program called Coming of the Blessing for our Native American families.

Thank you for all the support and views of the blog. Also remember to follow me on Twitter @75MoDIA and the walk at #walkacrossiowa.

Cheers,

Ron