Every hour of the day seems precious as I try to make my way across the country to NYC by September 21. I have a visitor and support this week so I took time off my highway 34 route for a lunch break and was driven 5 miles south to the hamlet of Eldon. This is the location of Grant Wood’s backdrop for the painting ‘American Gothic’. It is said that next to the Mona Lisa it is the most recognized painting in the world … An american Icon for sure. Pat & I fit into this photo parody nicely … don’t you think? It was good to have the hour or two off the road in Iowa.

Heavenly simplicity … Thank you Mr. Wood!

Iconic Americana in Iowa’s small towns

I continue to roll by at my regulated 3 miles per hour to witness America’s past, and it’s present here in Iowa. Who would know, except maybe an Iowan, that Johnny Carson grew up in Corning. “Here’s Johnny!” I recite in my head as I look at farmers having breakfast at the town cafe. If Johnny had only worn overalls he could pass for several of these guys at their morning coffee gathering. A day or two later the road takes me past the tiny hamlet of Lucas. A bushy-browed likeness of John l Lewis, the famous (or infamous) UMW leader is on a sign in front of one of Lucas’s few remaining buildings. Here in Albia, I walk by a sign proclaiming it to be the birthplace of the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross.” This road of mine follows an older road, which followed the railroad that, for the most part, followed routes of the Native American. From the perspective of a man just moving 3 miles per hour, it seems a short time really for so much
history to pass by. It is a wondrous feeling to glimpse preserved fragments of each piece of the American stage. They are all here. Some crumbling, some growing, and some waiting. Iowans seem resilient in keeping what they have, even if it means some inconvenience.

In days to come I will walk near the house in Grant Wood’s Iconic masterpiece “American Gothic.” I will also pass the Fairfield area and will most likely see ‘Pundits’ who came here to pray for peace at the Maharishi Institute… another community experiment on these Midwest plains.

Interesting to note that Iowans have been involved in climate awareness for years. The Iowa Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience Report was assembled in 2011 with the assistance of the EPA. It asked the question; How should hazard mitigation and other community planning programs respond to climate change? What I witness in my walk past their historic roots suggests involvement and action will be natural and forthcoming.

Iowa icons are abundant

Public icons

Difference between a good days walk and a bad one. Asphalt and gravel

Pig patriot

Pig patriot in Creston, IA

Thick summertime haze and humidity

Storefront in Albia Iowa

Grocery cart with engine in Osceola Iowa

It’s old news now. I am 3 days into Iowa. It seems as if everything here is growing in the month of July. The humidity makes me feel as if I am growing. Gone are the days of the flat open prairie. The earth has begun to roll in a quick pitching motion, as if we were at sea in a storm. The little gravel roads go up and they come down. At the top of a hill there’s just enough time to glance ahead at more hilltops in front of you before you begin to descend yet again. “Sigh,” the ups and downs can get tiring. especially when your cart wheels are on a gravel shoulder which is all i’ve seen in this state.

In every small town there is a big rock in the park. Usually it is a memorial of some sort. I mentioned it to a local and he said: “Folks always want what they ain’t got, and in Iowa we ain’t got rocks.”

I was passed by a cross country cyclist from France named Pierre. As we spoke of our trips we learned that we both were Peregrinos that traveled the Camino De Santiago to Compostela Spain. He had the scallop shell on his saddlebag and I carry a small one on a keychain. We were both so pleased that we just hugged right there on the side a busy section of highway 34. It was as if we were old friends reunited. It was hard to push the cart in the opposite direction of Pierre but that’s what our journeys are about. I will also include a photo of Kevin from Wisconsin. who was pushing his cart from home to the Grand Canyon. Again, it’s hard to leave them … you have so many stories to share. I am in Creston, Iowa tonight and hope to travel to Osceola tomorrow. It should tie with the longest milage day to date. 33 miles.

Pierre biking across the USA

Chance meeting of Perigrino

Curious mom and her foal in Prescott Iowa

Endless ups and downs in Iowa

Every Iowa town’s got one

Hard choices in Iowa