Saturday, July 16, 2011 Dyersville, IA 43 miles



Home of Ringling Bros. Circus

Beautiful vista of Iowa fields & wildflowers

Beautiful views today as we came our of McGregor. Riding along Main Street, I noticed the original home of Ringling Bros. Circus. To get to the vistas, we first had to make a 1.5 mile climb! Then for close to 20 miles the Iowa farmland was just beautiful. I am fascinated by the way fields are planted on hillsides and in curves and sections that are intermingled with corn, wheat, soybeans and areas left fallow. The curved hillside rows remind me of the sanctuary at First Baptist Church in Columbus, MS, or First Presbyterian. How in the world I thought of that, I don’t know!

We followed some quiet, county roads all morning, but they were packed with hellacious hills! At the bottom of one long descent was the quaint town of Guttenberg on Hwy. 52. Several of us left the route to explore the town and found a lovely coffee shop in an old, restored building on Main Street - Buzzzz by name. Inside we admired the exposed brick walls, tin ceiling and antique appointments. The owner and customers seemed so interested and amazed by what we’re doing.

From Guttenberg, we continued south thru New Vienna (according to the sign: The Envy of Iowa). The final five miles into Dyersville were hot and a bit uncomfortable due to several factors: (1) a light rain which actually felt good, (2) a wide shoulder of packed gravel which forced us to ride on the edge of the traffic lane, and (3) heavy traffic which, except for one or two rude drivers, was very tolerant. Needless to say, we were happy to get to the Super 8. Next door is a great restaurant (which I remember from ‘07) where we had mouth-watering hamburgers and salad about 1:00.

Rooming tonight with Nancy B. (NC), one of very fine SAG drivers. 

Silo with double rings

Huge corn storage bins

Corn truck and storage

Jean checking in at Super 8

Observations:  No matter which road we traveled today, the wild flowers were abundant along the shoulder.  Lady Bird Johnson would be so proud of Iowa!  Queen Anne's Lace, Chicory (blue), and small yellow flowers were the main ones today. 

Menu tonight: Chicken Picata (ala Michelle w/o a lot of butter), Steamed Broccoli, Spinach Salad w/Raspberries, Lentils w/veggies, Left-over Paella, Spinach/artichoke dip w/veggies, rolls, watermelon and cookies.  There are one or two vegetarians and two that eat gluten free.  If necessary, Michelle sets aside a dish of whatever she's serving but w/o meat for the vegetarians.