DAY 5 - ONOWA, Iows via I 80 West, I 680 West

We have had a very interesting day.  It began at one of the rest areas on Interstate 80 West, where they had one blade of a Wind Turbine mounted in front of the Visitor's Center.  While we were eating our picnic lunch there, we saw three super long tractor trailers going down the highway, with one similar blade on each one of them.  Later, I had a chance to take a photo of numerous Wind Turbines as we drove along.   Then, the ultimate happened when we pulled off to get gas at a Pilot station.  All three tractor trailers were parked in an adjacent parking area.  While Russ pumped gas, I walked over to get a close look.  I convinced Russ to drive over to the other parking area and to pull up next to

the super long tractor trailer, so you could see a comparison of the two, side by side.  The combined length of our RV and truck is 53 foot.  The length of one blade is 126 feet.  You can read more about these Turbines at:  www.develop.hamiltoncountyiowa.com .

As we neared the Western edge of Iowa, we exited Interstate 80 West and took Interstate 680 West.
One of the opportunities on 680 was a Scenic Observation Tower pull off.  It enabled us to see the Missouri River Flood Plains.  From the Tower I was able to take a photo of the Omaha, Nebraska skyline, and the Missouri River.  Last year the Missouri River flooded, and portions of Interstate 29 was under three foot of water for three months.  Today, it was one of the highways we traveled on, to our destination in Onowa, Iowa.

The final point of interest for today was driving over to Lewis and Clark State Park where we saw a three quarter sized replica of Lewis and Clark's Keel Boat that they traveled up the Missouri River in, through Iowa, in 1804. 

I want to thank all of you for your interest in our Journey.  It means a great deal to hear that you are traveling with us in Spirit.  As I take pictures I am constantly thinking of sharing this "Once in a Lifetime Trip" with all of you.  I ask myself the question, "What are we seeing that excites us about being in this place, at this point in time?"  There are surprises in store for us every day.

Russ reports we have traveled 1182 miles so far, and have fed our Ford 350 truck $605.09 worth of gas.  Average mileage is now 6.86 per gallon, and costs about 51 cents a mile.  We love to keep records. 

Today we traveled 177 miles, beginning at 9:27 AM CT, and arriving at the camp ground by 3:38PM.  We then took a side trip to the State Park, and our first grocery store since leaving home.    The store was similar in size to Breens.  A bottle of Newman's Own salad dressing was $4.09, so we bought the store brand for $1.99.  An ear of corn was 50 cents, and here we are in Corn Country where you see miles and miles of field where Corn is growing.  Russ thinks all their corn is being made into Ethanol.  You don't realize how good you have it at home, until you travel and compare your prices with what others pay, somewhere else.  We are rather happy to have bought some Super Unleaded gas for $3.34, today.  We always wonder how that compares to home.  Maybe what we save on gas, will offset what we have to pay to feed ourselves.