#83 PNW - Danish Windmills to Pipestone

2007 July 10

475 miles

PNW Trip
Day 3

Tuesday

Leaving out of Clive, Iowa (near Des Moines), I jump back on I80 to make some serious miles early in the day so I'll have time to stamp collect later in the afternoon. Running along the freeway, I see my first wind turbine as I continue to move west. Later I will see rows and rows of them.



I was riding along just fine, staying focused on making some miles, then it happened.

I saw a sign...and it distracted me. I couldn't help myself. I did it. I turned off the freeway and onto a side road where miles would not come along so quickly. But we knew it would happen. I cannot stay focused forever...even for just one day.

This time it's The Danish Immigrant Museum.

On my 20 +/- miles detour off I80, I get to slow it down a bit and be close enough to see what is flying past.

Seems that we have some cattle mixed in with the cornfields.

Driving by here smells like parts of Texas.

Right there in Elkhorn, as advertised for the last 20 miles, is the Danish Windmill.

Not sure what this building is used for. It didn't have signs advertising its presence for the last 20 miles.

I found an even smaller road leaving Elkhorn. This is an Iowa County Road.Then, even a smaller county road that will, hopefully, take me back to the freeway and a faster pace into Council Bluffs. Jill seems to think it will anyway. In Council Bluffs, I collect my first stamps of the day at Western Historic Trails Center. The visitor center at the Western Trails Center. The monument on the right shows the way west from the Mississippi River, over the Rocky Mountains and on to the Pacific Ocean.The Pacific Ocean ... just a few miles that way .. across the Rockies. Crossing over the Missouri River, I land in downtown Omaha, Nebraska.

In Omaha, along the riverfront, I find the National Park Service Regional Office...and another stamp. This was after my second attempt. the first time through I missed my turn to the riverfront and ended up back on the freeway leaving town. The second time by this building I was ready with the camera.

National Parks Service Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska. I had several stamping stops along the way today. I didn't make most of them. I wanted to make sure I made it to the last stop in Minnesota before the visitor center closed.

This is a field in South Dakota off highway 11 just before crossing into Minnesota.
There it is...another new state line crossed. Now I can say I've fleetered to Minnesota.
(How about that Shelly? I made it to Minnesota.)My target destination in Minnesota is Pipestone National Monument.
I made it to the Pipestone visitor center about 20 minutes before they closed.
Question: Guess what Pipestone is known for?

Answer: It's where you find the stone that the Indians carved pipes from! Who knew!? Many of the old local buildings are made out of the same stone.
...or trimmed in the reddish stone. It's time to head back to South Dakota and then head north again on I29. The winds are whipping around pretty good hitting me with a crosswind out of the west. By the time I get to Watertown, South Dakota for the night, it is getting late and I am tired and cold.

I stop for supper at Coffeeville Cafe on my way to the Super 8. I am so cold that I order hot coffee to warm up...in July?! It's almost 9pm as I get checked in and settled into my motel room.

Tomorrow I head west from Fargo and into the wind!