I left Des Moines and headed west. I needed an overnight stop halfway between there and Ashfall Fossil Beds, my next destination. There’s not much out here except farmland, but I did find a strategically located Harvest Host site, Windmill Acres, in Neola, Iowa. I requested and was granted a stay, so that was my destination.
With a shorter drive today, I chose a less direct route, avoiding highways and the curvier option that Google gave me. Once again, a section of the main road was closed and I had to detour down some slow gravel roads, but at least Iowa believes in marking these detour routes instead of leaving you on your own to figure it out.
Aside from that, this route gave me what I wanted, a moderate-speed tour through the landscape that passed through the small towns instead of bypassing them like the interstate. Iowa’s license plates feature a silhouette of the landscape that quite accurately reflects what you see here. Once outside the cities are farms, small towns, and wind turbines, which are precisely what I saw along this drive. The world is no longer flat in western Iowa. Rolling hills have returned, which nicely break the monotony of the flatlands.
Once I entered Neola I once again left the pavement. After a few miles of slow gravel roads, I pulled into Windmill Acres. The owner, Mike, had correctly told me it was the only house on the road. Between that and multiple windmills out front, it was easy to find. I parked between a couple of buildings on a flat grassy spot and gave Lister the chance to roam more than he had during our stay in Des Moines. Mike brought snacks and wine out, and he told me all about the windmills he restores, how he fell into the hobby as well as this property in general, and the local farming that goes on all around him.
While clouds obscured the sunset, we still got quite the light show once the sun sank below the horizon. I’m definitely back in big sky country. Mike pointed out some radio towers on the horizon and told me they were in Omaha, Nebraska, 34 miles away. They looked no farther than a mile or two away, which is still farther than I can see most places on the east coast.
After dark, I had a quiet night in the van. Cell service is poor but Starlink is working perfectly, and with such long days of solar charging I’m not worried about running down my batteries using it for hours after dark. In planning the days ahead, I realized that I’m much closer to the Sturgis, South Dakota area than I expected, only a few days of driving at my slow pace. I’m not familiar with the geography of this part of the country, so this really snuck up on me. I’ll hit Badlands National Park in a matter of days, and reach Sturgis at the same time Get On! ADV Fest is happening next week.
After careful consideration, I decided that since the timing was already going to work, I’m going to Get On! ADV Fest. I haven’t mentioned this event up until now because while I’ve been aware of it, it hasn’t really been on my radar, plus my ultimate goal is the Rocky Mtn Roll two weeks later. But since my current travel plans just happen to put me in the right place at the right time, I might as well. I’ve missed out on all of this year’s Overland Expos, and this is basically the same thing focused specifically on motorcycles. My V-Strom is ready for dirt, and there are guided rides around the area every day, which will show me places beyond the paved roads I already know about. I can always stay in the area a little before or after to ride those paved roads again. It’ll also be a good networking opportunity for me as a motorcycle journalist (I already know a few people who are going to be there), and I’m sure I can get some stories out of it.
Smokey Da Van 