After an excellent sleep I awoke to a very foggy morning. I wanted an early start so packed up and was on the way by 8:30. In my befuddled state last night I had left the key in the door. Since there was no chain on the inside a lot of good it did locking the door before I went to sleep!

The manager directed me to a restaurant in town where I could get breakfast. I have come to the realisation that there was a standard layout for towns in Iowa which consisted of a central square where the county courthouse or county buildings were located. Around this square the town’s businesses developed. It seems that every place of any substance I’ve been to in this state has this or a variation of this as the basis for the town square. They also use the term ‘plat’ to describe the establishment of the town. They say, for example, that Centerville was platted in 1852. I’ve not come across this before … I must look up its origins.

I found the restaurant and went in. It was quite busy with most of the clientele consisting of elderly ladies. This was not so much a reflection of the restaurant’s fare but the fact that there was a 50^th reunion of a local woman’s college. I waited to be seated and after some time a woman came by and told me to sit anywhere. Most helpful. I ordered pancakes with scrambled eggs and then sat down with my book since the order took quite some time to arrive.

Pastor Muir kindly loaned me a copy of the ‘Desire of Ages’ which is a book about the life of Christ. If you have not read it I would strongly recommend it since it amplifies, explains and elaborates on many aspects of His life. I have been reading about John the Baptist and his ministry and found it most inspiring an helpful in answering some of the questions that I have always had about John the Baptist. I therefore didn’t mind too much the delay in getting my food.

It is a pity that Americans don’t have a clue how to do scrambled eggs. When done properly I find them to be absolutely delectable, particularly when on toast. Indeed, it is the only way that I will eat eggs. When Lis and I cycle toured in England I had them regularly (too regularly she said) and I was seldom disappointed. America needs to import some English housewives to teach their chefs about scrambled eggs. What I seem to always end up with is something that looks like a failed omelette and has the consistency (and sometimes taste) of rubber. Today was no exception. However, when it comes to pancakes Americans reign supreme and the two pancakes that I had with the eggs were the biggest pancakes I have ever seen and very tasty. I managed to get about 75% of the way through them before giving up.

The helpful waitress had forgotten my orange juice and also seemed to forget about me entirely once my food arrived. She was probably the least friendly waitress I have met on this trip and her tip reflected her character and abilities—i.e. there was none.

The fog had slightly lifted when I left the restaurant but the air was very humid. As I bumped along the cobblestones around the pavement I decided that it was Gortex weather so I put on my jacket. However, before too long the fog was burned off and it became a brilliant day with blue sky and temperatures in the 30’s.

I continued East along Highway 2 and the road was more rolling hills. The wind wasn’t too bad until about 11:30 when suddenly it came up and started blowing fairly hard. Naturally it blew against my direction of travel …

This part of Iowa is beautiful. There are rolling green hills with lots of trees in the low parts of the land and clumps of them along the highway. The earthy smell of the trees is everywhere. The highway itself is lined with yellow flowers (actually weeds but they are so colourful I prefer to call them flowers), interspersed with white and purple flowers. As I cycled along I thought how wonderful it is to be alive and to be able to experience God’s beautiful nature.

By the time I reached the Interstate at Duschene I was ready for a break so I stopped at a petrol station and had a glass of ice and an apple juice. I sat outside on a chair and ever so slowly savoured the sweet coldness of the drink. I was entering Amish country and I passed a young couple parked by the side of the road in a buggy selling home baked goods. I found the picture slightly confusing as she was drinking from one of these enclosed thermoses that are used to hold several pints of drink and yet enable them to be drunk without spilling. The 17^th and the 20^th centuries meet.

The petrol station manager David came by and had a chat. He was most friendly and explained that he was actually a full time farmer from central Iowa who works here on weekends. His wife’s father owns the station and she came in when the previous manager was found to be embezzling from the station. I commented that I thought it would be difficult to embezzle given that you know how much fuel you buy and sell and he agreed. The problem was with the other stock such as refreshments and they were looking at putting in a bar-code scanner to improve stock control. I hadn’t appreciated that a side benefit to the bar codes was a reduction in pilfering.

I commented on the changing terrain and the fact that the corn farms seemed to be giving way to cattle and horses. He told me that the farming varies across Iowa with the central part that he comes from having lots of corn, soy beans, and hogs. Here, where the land is not as good, the size of the corn farms were much smaller; also limited by the terrain.

He made an interesting observation on the Amish. He told me that when they purchase a farm they remove any modern conveniences like plumbing or telephones. However, they don’t have a problem visiting a (non-Amish) neighbour and using their phone. I mentioned the drink container I saw and he said that they regularly visit him an purchase soda pop etc. It must be so difficult to tread a fine line between your beliefs and the modern world.

From Duschene the road was much of a muchness but the terrain was definitely milder with longer hills, but not as steep or as frequent. I stopped in Corydon for lunch. It was a delightful town with a nice park and I sat at a picnic table in the shade and had a simple meal from my supply of canned food. Even though it was 15:00, it was still 35 degrees and I appreciated the break. I noticed a nearby stage with power plugs so I went over and plugged in my computer and caught up with my journal. The concrete floor was cold and very refreshing to sit on.

It was a further 50 km to Centerville and, as seems to always be the case, the wind was abating and my energy increasing. I made it there by about 19:00 and found a pay telephone near the courthouse. Now this was an achievement since there have been few, if any, payphones to date in Iowa. I called Lis and had a long chat with her while keeping an eye on the goings on around me.

The local pastime seems to be to drive around the courthouse square. I observed a number of people in cars going around and around and around. Occasionally several would park together in the centre of the town before continuing the circuit. After getting off the phone I decided to ask a local policeman where to camp. I mentioned about the revolving traffic I observed and he said that this was indeed a local custom. He said that people from all over the country come and cruise around the square to meet friends, or to make new ones. I commented that he seemed to interrupt their festivities as I had seen him pulling over a couple of people. He laughed and said that the locals sometimes needed a gentle, or not so gentle, reminder that there are some limitations.

I was directed towards the local reservoir and I found a spot in the campground. Given it is the 4^th of July weekend I was surprised that there was space but even had it been full my little tent could easily fit in anywhere quite unobtrusively. The local ranger Mark was collecting camp fees and we had a chat. He picked up my bike and was amazed how heavy it was … I guess that I just take it for granted except when I drop it over and have to lift it. Then I curse how much I have, but a lot of it is water and food.

He had only been on the job for 3 months and they were still developing the campground. To that end there is no running water and power for half the sites was put in on Friday afternoon! A good thing as most of the campers have come with trailers, lights, televisions, etc. and would have been disappointed to have to rough it.