Along the Way

We left Niobrara, Nebraska and drove east to Adel, Iowa to continue our camping and caching adventure. Sometimes because of geocaching we stop at interesting places; places I KNOW we would not have stopped to check out or maybe even noticed if not for geocaching. These are some of the things I noticed while traveling the roads in Iowa.

This metal sculpture of two pheasants is the perfect example. It was not near or in a town, but along I 80. And although quite large, I imagine many travelers don't even notice this roadside attraction.

This amazing sunset appeared one evening as we were returning to the campground after a day of geocaching. 

And sometimes the interesting things we see have nothing to do with geocaching, like this Hindu temple. We passed the sign and the temple several days before I insisted we drive in so I could take photos. The temple was located next to bean and corn fields, not in a town or even on the outskirts.

No one was around and although the temple looked like it could use some TLC, I think it is still in use based on the stacks of chairs off to the side of the temple entrance. Maybe they are gathering outside because of Covid-19? It was just too pretty, unique, and unusual to ignore.

Adel County Courthouse

The ditches in Iowa, or at least the parts of Iowa we saw were adorned with Wood Lily...

...Chicory

and Wild Carrot. The ditches in Iowa are not mowed like they are in South Dakota, because their ditches are steep and deep. (More about the ditches in another post.) Planting and encouraging wildflowers attracts bees and butterflies and makes for a very pretty drive.

Another interesting observation in Iowa communities is a Freedom Rock. This one in Minburn. 

Dallas County Freedom Rock in Minburn

The Freedom Rock® Tour. Created by artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen, The FreedomRock^® Tour was designed to honor veterans and provide a unique piece of art to each of Iowa's 99 counties. So far 88 counties are included on the tour. 

So not every community has a Freedom Rock (actually they are boulders) and not every county seat; just one in every county. We saw quite a few as we traveled throughout Iowa for a week.

This was one of our accomplishments while staying in the Adel IA area. About 120 caches in the ditches, along the fence lines, in trees and bushes and road signs. This is geo-art #27.