Day 1 – we were on the road by 8:15 and started our 15 hour long day of driving.  We avoided stopping for anything longer than a quick stop at Subway so we could travel 985 planned miles.  A long day for sure, but it makes tomorrow a much better day.  Not more than 4 hours for the whole day and that’s going to be broken up in small chunks. 

 Here are some pictures from the day.

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Ready to go:  Kirsten, Jenny, Julie, and Tom Ready to hit the road!

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A monument to corn!  The folks in Iowa love their corn.  The gas here is 15 cents cheaper if you by 89 Octane instead of 87 because it is spiked with 10% ethanol and is subsidized to help the farmers with corn sales.  Seems to be working.  I bought the 89 octane gas.

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The first gas station where I got the subsidized 89 octane gas with ethanol had this sign on each post of it’s canopy over the pumps…

I think I know some people from this town in Missouri…

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Not too much to take pictures of along the way but one thing that was amazing was how hilly Iowa is.  I had no idea it was that rolling.  The farmers have created terraces everywhere to reduce erosion.  This shot is from the car but I like the green and the shadows.

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Now what are you going to do with a truck load of THAT?!?!?!

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 We stopped at a scenic overlook to stretch our legs.

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Wow, we’ve almost made it!   As the sun set we made it to South Dakota.  That leaves only about 35 miles to go and we are all looking forward to a good night’s sleep. 

 

Tomorrow, the BadlandsNational Park and a whole lot more…  Stay tuned!