2018 Trip 3: KY and TN: April 24

St. Paul, MN. April 24

Bottom: Leaving Louisville in the rain. Top: Driving in Iowa in the later afternoon

Home safe and sound. Our plan had been to take two days of easy driving from Louisville but as we reached Peoria IL and lunch, we decided to revert to forgotten practices. We drove for 14 hours and came straight home. In the last two years or so, we have limited our driving to about 500 miles a day at the max. Pella Iowa was a potential stop on Wednesday to see if their tulips were blooming yet but with this weather, the bloom map was just green for plants but no blossoms. So we canceled our Tuesday lodging, picked up some Coke and Fritos, and made it home around 9 PM.

Driving in Iowa, wide shoulders, farm machinery in center on roadway shoulder

Rainy weather in Indiana changed to sunny weather in Illinois. Once past Indianapolis, the land is flat and agricultural, with a few cities tossed in here and there. A few weeks ago, a person had challenged us on our assertion of the wide shoulders on roads in the Midwest. As you can see from the picture, wide shoulders are the norm. The size of agricultural machinery used on these large farms necessitates a wider road and shoulder to avoid accidents.

As we reached the far northern sections of Iowa and southern Minnesota, we could see snatches of snow piles along roads where they were shaded from the sun. Otherwise the unusual, major snowfall from ten days ago is gone. The rivers were running high and lakes are still half covered with ice. Farmers were busy in their fields, working late.

Approaching the Twin Cities from the Rochester area

As we approached the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the evening sunset provided a pleasant welcome home. Three weeks and then off again.

By our home in St. Paul: Ice still on lake, beaver lodge and nest for Canada Geese on water

Ed and Chris. April 25