Davenport, IA to Kearney, NE

Here's Iowa. These corn fields are just what we thought we'd see. They were really very beautiful. Instead of totally flat land, which is what we were expecting, we discovered that Iowa has gently rolling hills and in many cases, the fields of corn are planted at angles to each other creating a patchwork of green that can be viewed from I80.

But Iowa had a few surprises for us. This sign at a rest stop on I80 was quite a pleasant shock.

Back to the expected -- just another traffic shot.

And the unexpected again: Iowa has hundreds of windmills generating electricity; We'd never seen one up close before. They're huge. It was amazing to see all of these white towers rising above the horizon as we drove along.

Our last stop in Iowa was at Breezy Hills Vineyard in Minden. It was a nice, little place, and we spent an enjoyable half-hour there tasing wines. The varietals planted here are not what we're familiar with on the east coast, and the wines were good.

And after we were in Nebraska we stopped an one more winery, James Arthur, in Raymond, NE, not far from Lincoln. Another winery with very good wine from unfamiliar grapes. Between the two wineries we bought a case.

We're now at our primary destination, Kearney, NE. We'll be staying here through the weekend, and eventually will get a few free minutes to add a couple Kearney entries. We are thoroughly enjoying our stay with Rob and Diana Luscher (Jesse's in-laws) and are busy checking out the area and getting a real sense of the Midwest.