Iowa

Going there, we had cornfields, farms, and wide open land in mind. And yes, there was plenty of that. Driving through Iowa, the fields seemed to continue forever, interrupted every so often by little towns, farmhouses, silos, and roads stretching straight toward the horizon.

One of those little towns was East Peru, near the birthplace of the Red Delicious apple. Naturally, we stopped at a nearby farm for some fresh apples.

We also visited the Roseman Covered Bridge in Madison County, made famous by The Bridges of Madison County with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. We spent time around and under the bridge and, following the tradition of so many visitors before us, carved our own family names into it.

In Des Moines, we visited the State Capitol, with its enormous gold dome rising above the city. It is one of those capitols that almost surprises you with how grand it is compared with the quiet landscape surrounding it.

There, we came across the words “Votes for Women” and learned about Mary Jane Coggeshall, one of the leaders of Iowa’s women’s suffrage movement. It became another little opportunity to remind the girls that rights people take for granted today often exist because someone before them stood up and demanded them.

We also spent time at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Iowa in the fall was especially beautiful, and we had nowhere urgent to be, so we simply walked around, explored the art, and took it all in.

But Iowa was less about one giant attraction and more about the feeling of traveling through it. The open roads, farmland, small communities, and calmness gave us a chance to slow down, stop at local farms, and say hello to the people, the cows, and the sky.