Day 12: The long and not so winding road home

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The last day of our trip. I intended to wake everyone early, but they were sleeping soundly. Instead I worked out for over an hour bike, elliptical, and pool time. I am glad I have maintained a workout schedule throughout this trip or I would not want to get on a scale. Woke the family up at 7 am for breakfast and to leave. After breakfast the plan was for me to drive through Nebraska.

Nebraska was so flat and green. Very few trees were noted. The farms seemed grow hay and not corn like I would have assumed.

The road was so empty and I could easily push my speeds on this road making it a nice drive. A hawk flew in front of the car window as if he had some sort of death wish. The Platte river followed us to Lincoln Nebraska. This river was not quite the majestic Colorado, or as large as the Mississippi, but it broke up the monotony of the green flat plains. It was 300 miles of flat land and 1 scenic rest stop before we reached Iowa.

Iowa had a busier traffic pattern and more cars, so my speed slowed down. After driving for 5 almost 6 hours we stopped outside of Des Moines to change drivers. This was the longest I have every driven by myself. Iowa seemed more scenic than Nebraska. It was green rolling hills, and trees. It reminded me the most of home, besides Illinois. As we approached the border of Iowa Tim pointed out a monumental landmark. The worlds largest truck stop stood to our left. The kids did not want to stop even with an opportunity for souvenirs, so I snapped some pictures and we kept going.

The last scenic view of trip was the mighty Mississippi as we crossed into Illinois. We had crossed the river in Minnesota also. I took another picture to compare the river in different locations. One last fill of gas and we were only 3 hours from home.

The kids had been entertained on this leg with sleep, electronics, and movies. I wonder how this trip would have went in a generation without so much technology. Maybe more find the license plate or I spy game like in my childhood. As I pondered road trips of my childhood the Indiana border came into view, only a little over an hour and we would be home. Finally after what seemed like forever our house became visible. Even before the car came to a complete stop I jumped out of the car and ran down to the barn to check the goat and rabbits. Issy ran into the house to find the cats. She was beyond excited. It was a fantastic trip with so many sights, sounds, and beautiful country to see, but there is no place like home.

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