This year's road trip had my wife and I meandering soutwest from Ames to Malvern and back...375 miles in exactly 12 hours. I've had a gift certificate to Classic Cafe in Malvern burning a hole in my pocket for the past 3 years, and yesterday was the day we chose to cash it in. 375 miles is a long way to drive for a tenderloin, but hey, times are tough, and a free meal is a free meal 😁
We hit 36 towns in 10 counties. I wave to everyone, so I might have waved to one of you as I was driving by. We were in:
Boone, Ogden, Minburn, Dallas Center, Panora, Guthrie Center, Casey, Greenfield, Fontanelle, Bridgewater, Massena and Lyman;
Grant, Stanton, Red Oak, Emerson, Hastings, Malvern, Elliot, Griswold, Lewis, Atlantic, Brayton and Exira;
Hamlin, Audubon, Dedham, Coon Rapids, Bayard, Bagley, Jamaica, Dawson, Perry, Luther, Napier and Ames.
Counties traveled: Story, Boone, Dallas, Guthrie, Adair, Cass, Montgomery, Mills, Audubon, Carroll.
Observations:
--Lots of tall corn in SW Iowa, especially in the river bottoms, but corn of all sizes looked great all along the way. Some of the biggest corn I saw was between Atlantic and Audubon. Lots of standing water in many counties from last week's rain. I think I only saw one planter running yesterday over all those miles.
--It was the first time I had driven Hwy 25 through Adair County. What a beautiful drive...I had no idea the county was so hilly and suitable for cow-calf production. It was sunny and clear yesterday, and the lush green hills were covered with cows and young calves enjoying the warm sunshine. Nice! Of course, there were many more cow herds to see as I continued southwest.
--My wife was bummed...one of the reasons we headed to Panora was so she could go to the old Five and Dime downtown. But we found out it is closed and is now a boutique and outdoor power equipment store. The world needs one more boutique
. My wife loves old-time drug stores and five-and-dimes, and this store was a favorite. So if your town has one, let me know. We will likely come visit.
--Panora and Guthrie Center are beautiful communities though. Going to bring my granddaughter to the little historical village in Panora someday (and the ones in Greenfield and Manning, too).
--We stopped by the original Freedom Rock on Hwy 25. We had just featured Ray Sorensen in our latest issue of Our Iowa. Ray "Bubba" was out painting the finishing touches on this year's edition. It was such a nice day, lots of people were stopping by. I visited with one motorcycle group from Colorado...they were Iraqi War veterans and stopped to pay their respects. I thanked them for their service before we headed out, and one of them offered to snap my wife's and my picture by the rock. This group was on its way to a veterans gathering in Illinois this weekend.
--Made our way to Malvern in Mills County. Saw the remains of Mulholland Grocery and Meat Market that burned down last winter...that place was quite an institution. Anyone know what new business they are building on the north end of Malvern? A new grocery by chance? Our destination for the day...Classic Cafe....was jam-packed with customers over the noon hour. Had a great meal....as good as advertised! I had to try the tenderloin, of course.
--Headed back northeast. Stopped at a pretty little country cemetery south of Griswold...wanted to touch base with some folks we know buried there, and it was a first-time visit. Went into Griswold...what a nice, clean little community. And it appears they still maintain their own school district? The school facilities looked very well-kept and modern.
--From there we headed to Lewis for our last stop of the day to tour the George Hitchcock Underground Railroad House outside of town. Quite a piece of Iowa history...well worth the $5 each for our one-hour tour. What history those old sandstone walls of the home hold.
--I lied...one last stop at Micky D's in Perry for chocolate shakes on our way back to Ames.
This concludes your tour...thanks for coming along. No charge, and tipping is not necessary.
We hit 36 towns in 10 counties. I wave to everyone, so I might have waved to one of you as I was driving by. We were in:
Boone, Ogden, Minburn, Dallas Center, Panora, Guthrie Center, Casey, Greenfield, Fontanelle, Bridgewater, Massena and Lyman;
Grant, Stanton, Red Oak, Emerson, Hastings, Malvern, Elliot, Griswold, Lewis, Atlantic, Brayton and Exira;
Hamlin, Audubon, Dedham, Coon Rapids, Bayard, Bagley, Jamaica, Dawson, Perry, Luther, Napier and Ames.
Counties traveled: Story, Boone, Dallas, Guthrie, Adair, Cass, Montgomery, Mills, Audubon, Carroll.
Observations:
--Lots of tall corn in SW Iowa, especially in the river bottoms, but corn of all sizes looked great all along the way. Some of the biggest corn I saw was between Atlantic and Audubon. Lots of standing water in many counties from last week's rain. I think I only saw one planter running yesterday over all those miles.
--It was the first time I had driven Hwy 25 through Adair County. What a beautiful drive...I had no idea the county was so hilly and suitable for cow-calf production. It was sunny and clear yesterday, and the lush green hills were covered with cows and young calves enjoying the warm sunshine. Nice! Of course, there were many more cow herds to see as I continued southwest.
--My wife was bummed...one of the reasons we headed to Panora was so she could go to the old Five and Dime downtown. But we found out it is closed and is now a boutique and outdoor power equipment store. The world needs one more boutique
. My wife loves old-time drug stores and five-and-dimes, and this store was a favorite. So if your town has one, let me know. We will likely come visit.--Panora and Guthrie Center are beautiful communities though. Going to bring my granddaughter to the little historical village in Panora someday (and the ones in Greenfield and Manning, too).
--We stopped by the original Freedom Rock on Hwy 25. We had just featured Ray Sorensen in our latest issue of Our Iowa. Ray "Bubba" was out painting the finishing touches on this year's edition. It was such a nice day, lots of people were stopping by. I visited with one motorcycle group from Colorado...they were Iraqi War veterans and stopped to pay their respects. I thanked them for their service before we headed out, and one of them offered to snap my wife's and my picture by the rock. This group was on its way to a veterans gathering in Illinois this weekend.
--Made our way to Malvern in Mills County. Saw the remains of Mulholland Grocery and Meat Market that burned down last winter...that place was quite an institution. Anyone know what new business they are building on the north end of Malvern? A new grocery by chance? Our destination for the day...Classic Cafe....was jam-packed with customers over the noon hour. Had a great meal....as good as advertised! I had to try the tenderloin, of course.
--Headed back northeast. Stopped at a pretty little country cemetery south of Griswold...wanted to touch base with some folks we know buried there, and it was a first-time visit. Went into Griswold...what a nice, clean little community. And it appears they still maintain their own school district? The school facilities looked very well-kept and modern.
--From there we headed to Lewis for our last stop of the day to tour the George Hitchcock Underground Railroad House outside of town. Quite a piece of Iowa history...well worth the $5 each for our one-hour tour. What history those old sandstone walls of the home hold.
--I lied...one last stop at Micky D's in Perry for chocolate shakes on our way back to Ames.
This concludes your tour...thanks for coming along. No charge, and tipping is not necessary.
