“…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

US 34 just over the line in Iowa. Lots more agriculture now than in north western Nebraska.

        Omaha is a pretty big city. LOTS of traffic lights, and, of course, people. Very different than Wyoming or Montana. Getting out of Omaha took some planning, but, after about 1/2 an hour I managed to cross over into Iowa. Once again my chosen route got me away from a lot of the traffic. 

Western Iowa is very hilly, but lots of crops..

        The riding today was very good. Although the roads are very straight, there are some elevation changes as  you go up and down over the hills. One of the things I really like about traveling like this is seeing the little towns along the way. An interesting aspect of this trip is how the architecture has changed. In South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming there were lots of apartment houses, and single houses that looked like pre-fab houses, obviously new. As I rode across Iowa there were many more houses than before riding across from Wyoming. When I was in Nebraska as I got closer to Omaha there were more and more houses. Now in Iowa this continued. 

Central Park in Corning IA. The bike IS in the picture!

        Since I only had 300 miles to do today I decided to take a break around 10 am. I approached the town of Corning and decided to ride in and find a city park. I did; Central Park. It had lots of benches, a pavilion and a fountain. A surprising aspect of this was that as I sat there reading I could hear oldies music, as if one of the houses was playing the music too loud. After reading for 1/2 an hour I decided to get back on the road. As I walked back to the bike I realized that light poles had speakers on them and that it was the town playing the music. How American. 

The Pavilion in Central Park, and a view of down town Corning IA.

        I had ridden around 100 miles by then and decided to ride 50 or so more get lunch and fill up. This brought me to the town of Osceola IA. After gassing up I asked the clerk in the convenience store if there was a family restaurant in town. She gave me directions to Nana Greers Family Restaurant. I enjoyed my lunch there, especially the desert.

Apple pie ala mode…with about a PINT of ice cream on the pie!

        I had about 3 hours of riding left. US 34 proved a very good road. I rode through the agricultural richness of Iowa, the land growing less hilly as I approached Burlington IA, my destination for the day. Arriving there I gassed up again having traveled 153 miles since lunch. By 4:45 I was at my motel. Tomorrow across Illinois, into Indiana to Logansport another 300 mile day. 

The monument in Corning dedicated to those who served to protect America.