June 16, 2009

Start: Pella, IA
End: Carroll, IA

This is, after all, a business trip – I had an early (for me) conference call with the bosses at my client to review some work I had done. There were some substantial revisions and concerns so it was good that I had powered through on Monday – I was able to hop in the beast and mosey northwest in time for face-to-face meetings with some of the stakeholders in the afternoon. In an act of foolishness I decided that all roads in Iowa ran North/South and East/West so I figured I could take all paved roads North or West to their conclusion and make my way – unfortunately I ended up on a road that was going North East and all the cross roads were unpaved. After a few miles I decided to take one of the unpaved roads West, and as luck would have it, the road went VERY far before it met up with something paved, and with all the rain recently, the beast was well coated in a mud.

I made in time for my afternoon meetings and managed to get out of the office at a reasonable hour. I’ve decided that I am going to take advantage of one of the great parks in America – Swan Lake State Park in Iowa – it has a measure 3.8 mile track around the lake, part of the Sauk Rail Trail that links to a trail to neighboring Lake View about thirty miles away – home of the best prime rib I’ve ever had (Ryan’s – bring cash, no cards accepted). I stick to Swan Lake where I’ve yet to see a swan but there is a petting zoo (pigs, goats), eagle enclosure, three bison, and dozens of camping spots.

I have been coming to Carroll for almost three years now – at least one week a month on average, making it my home away from Virginia. For context, Carroll is a legit city with over 10,000 residents including a hospital, three major fast food chains (McDonalds, Burger King, Subway), two major discount stores (WalMart, Kmart); an NPR affiliate (90.7) and Catholic Radio Station (103.1), but small enough that if you go to any of these places, you will bump into someone that works at the client site. It is why I’ve never been to Ossy’s Show Club (the only place to see live/strange boobs within a two hour drive) lest others see me seeing more of others.

Pics: a) two trains running west/east, east west through Carroll (over 50 per day) with wind generators in the background; b) the coolest dog in the coolest car outside the largest liquor store (2 in town)



Day Miles: 204
Trip Miles: 2,076
Towns: Reasnor, Newton, Collins, Nevada, Ames, Boone, Grand Junction, Glidden
Gas stations in Collins: 0
Lotteries Played: GA, TN, KY, IN, IL, MO, IA
Illinois Lotto Numbers 06/15/2009: 03-07-43-45-46-47 (FOUR CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS!)
My Winnings: $0
States visited that require adult motorcyclists to wear helmets: GA, NC, TN, MO… non: SC, KY, IL, IA
Common sights at state borders: motorcyclists putting on/taking off helmets, adult book stores, fireworks stands
Avg Winter Temp: 21.8F
Avg Summer Temp: 72.7F
Temperature Mon 6/22: 95F, feels like 109F
Square Inches of dry fabric after running Swan Lake: 0
Use of super sweaty shirt while cooling off: wiping mud off Beast
Subsequent usefulness of shirt: 0
Tears shed over “Coors Cold” promotional t-shirt: 0
Only catholic signatory of the US Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll
My Wisdom: If you visit the shop of a custom cabinet-maker, and he has an extensive inventory – shop elsewhere (effective advice for any ‘custom’ provider with inventory)
Weirdest Cover Song: Bulgarian Women’s Choir covering “oh susanna” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2UJp3vN-y0&feature=PlayList&p=07A2DB6263466032&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8
Random Question: Where did moths hang out before humans made ways to make light?