Déjà vu in Des Moines

Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa! Again!! I’m now in familiar territory and retracing the route I took east. I didn’t expect to be staying at the same motels, but it made sense to stop in Des Moines again. So here I am.

Today, I drove. And drove. I stopped (briefly) at two McDonalds, one Starbucks, one rest area, and two gas stations. Otherwise, my world was the highway. It felt like driving was my job - a job I really enjoyed. I slept well last night, which apparently made all the difference. Even though I drove for ten hours today, I felt like I could have gone another hour or two easily. But since I don’t have to get home on any particular day, I decided not to push myself.

I don’t have too much to say about the drive. Most of the scenery in Michigan was either woods or farmland, all beautiful. In fact, except for the area around Gary, Indiana, the entire drive today was through woods or farmland. The main attraction for me ended up being the sky. I started out driving under a cloudless sky, but the farther west I drove the darker the skies became . I eventually hit scattered showers in Iowa and then a heavy rain the last ten minutes of the drive. All in all, though, it was a lovely day.

Toby had a good traveling day too, or so it appeared. He started out with his usual first day nervousness – pacing back and forth between the front and back seats – but eventually he settled into a rather complacent state and spent much of the trip snoozing in his bed.

Highlights of the day: Taking a final walk with my brother and the dogs. The sign for KC’s Party Store. Seeing the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa. Seeing a cardinal (one of my favorite birds) in the parking lot of the truck stop. Trying to photograph the crepuscular rays that brightened a pretty dark sky towards the end of the day. Remembering what those rays are called. (Sometimes the old gray matter comes through!) And feeling so good for the entire drive!

Total mileage for the day: 625
Total time in the car: 10 hours
Total miles to go: 1669
Destination tomorrow: Perhaps Cheyenne again!