October 15, 2013 Iowa and Freedom Rock

Late last night, we watched a very new motorhome towing a vehicle, go around and around the park - running into trees, over garbage cans, thru the grass and finally settling in the spot behind us.  So this morning Andy and I were up early and on the road by 7:30 AM.  We wanted to be out of the park before this person moved his rig again.  Our motorhome is not new but we value what we have.  Yikees.
There was a storm front coming through the area and you can see the threatening clouds.  The wind picked up and my Andy did a great job of driving - .   We did not see much rain so that was a blessing.
Some pictures along the way - we continue to pass many farms with miles and miles of corn, small towns, and many wind turbines.
Love the swirls:

We went from flat to rolling hills and back again - love this topography:

The water tower of Orient, Iowa:

The turbines were really moving today:

Rolling bands of clouds:

One of the things on my bucket list in 2007 was to see Freedom Rock (south of Menlo, Iowa). Here is a link to that blog: http://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-14-2007-travel-thru-iowa.html

Freedom Rock remains on my bucket list and it was great to be able to see it again.

First some information:

“The Freedom Rock is a large (approx. 60+ ton) boulder located in rural Iowa that is repainted every year with a different Thank You for our nations Veterans to honor their service to our country. The artist, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II, was inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, as well as, wanting to give Veterans a unique recognition on Memorial Day. Sorensen paints The Freedom Rock on his own with the tremendous support of family and friends. Sorensen is not commissioned to paint the rock but is able to do so each year with the generous help of donations.”

More information at:

http://www.thefreedomrock.com/

http://americanprofile.com/articles/freedom-rock-painter/

 

This rock is literally in the middle of nowhere. In the picture below, it is located on the right side of the road at the intersection (about the middle of the picture).

There are no words to describe this place.  What I said in 2007 is how I still feel:

It is an emotional experience to stand at the rock. It is an emotional experience to read the notes left for the artist. We thank God for all the freedoms we have and we thank all our servicemen for defending those freedoms.
If you ever get to this part of the country, I recommend stopping by and plan to spend a little time there.  Humbling!
There is a goal to put a Freedom Rock in each of the 99 counties in Iowa.  Now that would be a great road trip.
We continued on our way - check out this water tower:

That light area is the sun peeking thru the clouds and shining on the fields:

Corn planted on hillsides:

Scary clouds and the wind was really picking up here:

We got off the road right before lunch and we are staying in Onawa, Iowa at Lewis and Clark State Park.  Here is our spot:

We are the only ones in our loop.  Too bad it is so cold and windy - I could see us having a campfire and looking over the lake.  Maybe next time.

We have electric only ($11.00).  The full hookup area is full but we figured we are only staying one night.

We stayed in this park in 2007 - our first year on the road - here is that blog:

http://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2007/09/september-26-2007-travel-to-iowa.html

They have some great things on the Lewis and Clark Expedition including a Keel Boat but all closed - too late in the season -

We went to town to try to find a shower head - ours broke this morning (is there a pattern on this trip with so many things needing repair - ???).  There is one hardware store and they did not have any.  Oh well.

We took a ride around the town and found their museum area - dedicated to the veterans.  This was in the front yard:

But the rest was closed for the season - Bummer.

Back home, the wind continued - hopefully tomorrow will be less windy.

Stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

Stats for Today:
Miles Traveled: 187 Miles
Routes Traveled:
Iowa: CR-H33; I-35; US-34; SR-25; I-80; I-680; I-29; SR-175; Loop Road