Step 1: Throw a dart at the map.
Step 2: Grab a collection of your favorite road trip CDs.
Step 3: Lock the door and go.
Pretty much spur of the moment, I thought, “This is a good weekend to escape – perfect weather, no responsibilities, nothing better to do.” So, on Saturday morning Zooey and I piled into the car and took off.
Most of the time we were chasing dotted lines (the map marks scenic routes with dashes) and searching for towns I’d read about in local magazines.
I had no idea how far we’d go or where we’d stop, but over the course of 420 miles we visited southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa and a sliver of western Wisconsin. We stopped in good ol’ fashioned Midwestern towns like Lanesboro, Decorah and Rushford. And yes, we saw a heck of a lot of corn!
To those of us from big city Minneapolis, this part of the country is known for it’s antiques, rural bike paths, Amish heritage and hills. Three out of four isn’t bad. As someone who grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, I had to chuckle at what southern Minnesotans and Iowans consider “hills”!
All in all, Zooey and I had a great time discovering new places along the way, and the miles just seemed to fly by. Probably helped that the radio was on full blast most of the way. I loved listening to Radiohead while passing Amish buggies, U2’s Rattle and Hum while cruising along the Mississippi River (“And the delta sun burns bright and violet / Mississippi and the cotton wool heat…”), and my favorite techno tracks while flying down the Interstate (90, of course… it’s always 90) as day turned to night.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos below.
Oh, and I’d highly encourage escaping for a weekend, too, if it suits your fancy.
You just might want to pick somewhere a little more exciting than Iowa, though. 🙂
Photo: So many roads. So many options. So many corn fields.
Photo: A bit of Midwestern humor.
Photo: A pretty common site in this part of the country.
Photo: Walking the streets of Lanesboro.
Photo: Field of Dreams?
Photo: A little bit of American history.
Photo: A typical storefront in Lanesboro.
Photo: Traffic in the country.
Photo: A common site on the prairie.
Photo: A museum in Decorah, Iowa.
Photo: Zooey taking a break (and happy to be out of the car!).
Photo: High above the Oneota River in Decorah.
Photo: Bridge over the Mississippi River to Wisconsin.
Photo: The mighty Mississippi at dusk.
Photo: Picking up a perfect roadside pumpkin just in time for Halloween.
Photo: Taking one more break before heading home.
My 40x40 List 