Who Knew Iowa was so Pretty

So our first day of road tripping has brought a wonderful surprise - Iowa is pretty awesome.

It started in the far NE corner when we went to Effigy National Monument. These are burial mounds dating back over 10,000 years.

This place was amazing. The were multiple different hiking options including a 10 mile loop. I still wasn't feeling great so we opted for the 2 mile loop - not what the doctor recommended for heat exhaustion but definitely what my mind needed.

Also, a quick shout out to the park ranger here. He totally set us up with maps and recommendations. That is where most of today's stops came from.

So this was a busy day so ease bare with me. Next we headed to Pike's Peak. This is the highest point on the River.

Next we drove into Guttenberg. Why? Well of course we wanted to see one f the only remaining lock master houses left on the Mississippi. Apparently lock masters loved in it until the 1990's. It was pretty awesome and worth a stop in if you are driving through.

I have wanted to go to the field of dreams since I went to college at ISU. I can now check it off the bucket list.

The F of D is actually in Dyersville, IA. This town also has a Basilica. It is one of only 60 some in the country.

There was this old man in their cleaning when we arrived and he shared the history of the church, school and priest. It was actually really awesome.

From here we had to book it. The goal was to get to St. Louis which is another 5 hours.