Friday, June 14, 1996
Day 34
Anamosa, Iowa to Morrison, Illinois
Today's Miles: 87
Cumulative Miles for the Tour: 2287
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Terrain: Slightly Rolling, Newly Planted Corn Farmland
Find of the Day: Mary's Cafe in Delmar, Iowa
It was a big day, psychologically, as we crossed the boundary of the Mississippi River into the eastern United States. We've got less than 1000 miles to go before reaching Washington DC in two weeks. It's starting to get exciting!
I left camp this morning before some people were out of their tents. I like riding in the early morning when the air is still crisp and everything is waking up. I spun my way through the first 30 miles before I realized how far I had gone. Stopping at Delmar for breakfast, I was directed to the a cafe called "Mary's". Good call...
Mary and her Cookie Jars
Mary's is another one of those "Big Food" Iowa places. You'd think I'd have learned by now...orange juice, 2 eggs, sausage, hashbrowns as big as a house and a pancake so large it couldn't fit on a dinner plate...$3.50. I ate what I could and vowed not to make the same mistake again. It's worth the time to go to Mary's just to see her collection of cookie jars lining the wall behind the counter. It looks like she's been there since the town was built, so I'm sure you'll find her if you're passing through.
Part of the Collection
I pedaled into Clinton a little before noon and settled in to let the others catch up. It was a quick morning, covering the first 75 miles before lunch. I must be getting stronger because there is no way I could have sustained that kind of pace before beginning the trip. I grabbed an ice tea and two bowls of fruit at the local deli, then sat outside, one block walking distance from the Mississippi River.
I was raised in Greenville, Mississippi, a small agricultural town like Clinton. The feel of the two places in remarkably the same. I sat watching the street activity for about 3 hours, waiting for the rest of the riders so we could take a video, crossing the bridge into Illinois. It gave me time to think about the week we had spent passing through Iowa.During the first part of the week, I couldn't shake the feeling of the landscape somehow being "transient". It wasn't until Tuesday that I figured out the landscape wasn't transient, I was the one that was just passing through.When traveling through mountains like we did for the first 3 weeks of the tour, it is easy to "make a memory". The scenery slams itself into your consciousness and there is no way to ignore it. The Iowa countryside is just the opposite. It's here, it's always been here, it's always going to be here...soft, rolling hills with no majestic landmarks to help mark its identity. There is something that feels transient about it because you don't really "see" anything...it's just "here". How do you "make a memory" if the landscape is so consistent, there is nothing to describe? That's the dilemma.As we leave Iowa and continue east into Illinois, it's the people of Iowa I will remember the most. Everyone, to a person, has been friendly and has helped us any way they could. The simplicity of the lifestyle is enticing, carrying with it an honesty that comes through in the simplest of transactions. I will definitely be coming back through here, again...especially when I want "BIG FOOD!".
Bike America Tours
dblair@wtp.net
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