Dinata Misovec

Perhaps it is because I’ve read all the works of Willa Cather this year. Maybe it is because the landscape is just so darn beautiful. But, driving across southern Wisconsin, Iowa, and part of Nebraska these two days has been a moving experience for me. And, I don’t mean because I was driving.

From Interstate 80, except for a city here and there, it has been all farms. Hills and vistas in Wisconsin, flat land in Iowa, then gently rolling countryside, and back to larger hills. And all of it is corn or beans. Parts of our country are amazingly lush, green, and fertile. My mind drifted back to the first European settlers than came to this region. They built their hovels out of the very soil. Then bled and sweated as they worked the land to keep themselves and their families alive. Each generation was a little, or a lot, better off than the previous. The ones who made it acquired the land from those who failed and left. Now there are enormous farms worked with huge machinery. They produce enough food to feed their familes and to sell the excess all over the world (getting a little tricky these days with trade wars).

It is the very earth itself that is the foundation for all our progress and wealth. Food for people, animals, and cars.

I hate driving on the interstates. Yes, the scenery can be amazing, even from a major highway. But, I can’t be in touch with it from I-80. It is whizzing by too fast for me to get a good look even when I am not surrounded by tractor-trailers. Driving can be stressful and exhausting. The interstate takes all the pleasure out of driving. I wish we could take a trip without driving on the interstate for even one mile.

We drove 376 miles today and arrived in the Prairie Oasis Campground at 1505. The campground office had some corn for sale, so that was our dinner. Scamp is nestled under another great tree tonight. The photo makes it look as though we have the place to ourselves, but more arrived after us. We do have neighbors.

There are fields of corn all around the small RV park.

Our usual practice is to take a walk around the perimeter of an RV park. Today that took us behind the maintenance building where we discovered a stash of snowmobile parts.

This park has the largest expanse of lawn than I have ever seen in an RV park. This shot is only a small portion of it. You can still see corn behind the trees.

The good-sized pond had paddle boats (or is that pedal boats?) for use on the pond. We did not try it.