My Happy Day on Highway 183

Yesterday -- in an attempt to not sit in front of the computer and obsess about the election all day -- Tim and I jumped in the 'ru and took off on a little road trip through western Iowa. We traveled up through Council Bluffs and hit Small's Fruit Farm in Mondamin, where we stocked up on apples and cider and acorn squash -- then traveled up the Loess Hills Scenic Byway to Pisgah, Moorhead and Mapleton.

We stopped for lunch at Ruth's Sweet Shop and Cafe in Ute -- which may be the strangest place I've ever eaten. The counters where covered in boxes of ancient candy (I bought a jawbreaker for five cents), and the walls were covered with hords of someone's baby photos -- each one enclosed in a ziplock bag... craziness! Then we hit the highway again and went up to Ida Grove -- took a long walk in this great park up there -- drove up to Correctionville, which has the best gas stations in Iowa, and then circled back down.

It really was an amazing day -- the weather was *gorgeous*, I discovered a lot about Iowa, and am now in possession of a pretty awesome stash of apples -- which will be turned into pies this weekend.

A few shots from the trip: