STATE #43 – IOWA

In 2019, my wife and I did a 3,500-mile round trip drive-about in order to pick up most of the remaining states in my quest to visit all 50. Now, as we did this trip, I did not give equal opportunity or equal justice to every state. Some I stayed in overnight(s), some I quickly passed through, and some I only had a token drink. The first “unvisited” state along our path was Iowa.

I choose Dubuque, IA, as the day #1 stop for our first day of travel. We stayed that night at the Q Casino. We ran into a late April snowstorm in the final hour of getting to the casino. The casino/resort met our purposes very well. Q Casino had a restaurant and a casino…it worked well as a place to drink a few then crash after a long day of driving.

On the next morning, we did manage a few points of interest. First stop was breakfast at the oldest bar in Iowa…Breitbachs Country Dining in Sherrill, IA. See my “OLDEST BAR” category for more on Breitbachs. After that, we ventured to Dyersville, IA, where we visited the set of the “Field of Dreams” movie. Again, it was April…there was snow on the ground…and there was certainly no corn in the outfield. It was already built…and they did not come. Not the best timing, but I was close and it was an inexpensive attraction. We walked the field and checked out the house. You can see the pictures below. It was a nice stop, but it would have been much better in the summer growing season.

After we left the Field of Dreams, our main intention was to traverse the northern edge of the state to get to our next stop in Sioux Falls, SD. But, along the way, something magical happened. I saw a sign for the World’s Largest Popcorn ball (see Statues and Oddities) and had to stop. Nothing like unplanned oddities to brighten my day. In closing, between Dubuque, the Q Casino, Breitbachs, Field of Dreams, and the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball, I think my wife and I did a decent job of giving justice to our pass-through of Iowa. PT

STATE #44 – NEBRASKA I am sneaking this entry into this page because my Nebraska stop did not warrant an entry. My apologies to the great state of Nebraska and all its residents. I have no doubts that there are many great things to see, but I merely stopped by for a drink. After traversing Iowa for most of the afternoon, we got to Sioux City, IA. We crossed the bridge into South Sioux City…which is actually in Nebraska. There we enjoyed a drink at a bar overlooking the river. After that, we headed off to Sioux Falls. Please feel free to leave comments on all the great things that I could have done if I ventured more than 1,000 feet into the state.