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#1
August 11th, 2003, 02:53 PM
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What's That Smell?
Over the weekend, Amy and I traveled to Sioux Center, IA, for the wedding of our friends, Josh and Tina Folkerts. Josh is a Sigma Beta alum from Taylor, so like many other guys from 2nd Bergwall, we headed out west. Josh and Tina are going to live near Chicago, just over the border in Hoosierville, but since Tina's family is based in corn country, the festivities were held there. The whole trip covered over 1,170 miles.
 The town where the wedding took place is located just a short distance from South Dakota (in the northwest corner of IA). Frankly, Iowa seemed like it was going to be a little boring to drive through, so we carpooled with Tim and Jen Walston, who we hooked up with at Tim's parents' house in Rochester, MN.  Besides attending the wedding and seeing some friends, this trip was also a big moment because it would be the first adventure where we took my '96 VW Jetta. Normally we take Amy's '95 Honda Civic. The reason? It has an automatic transmission, whereas the Jetta is manual. But since Amy's car has so many miles on it already due to her job, it was time to balance the load with my VW. Thus for the past week Amy was getting a crash course on driving with a stick shift. This trip was the big test!  Having left in the early afternoon on Friday, August 8, we started our extremely long journey on I-90. After 5 hours or so, we ended up in Rochester, where we hooked up with the Walston clan. They were nice enough to give us a place to sleep for the night and fed us as well (including some simply amazing pies -- thanks Mrs. Walston!).  Getting an early start on Saturday, we all piled into the Walston's Toyota Camry Wagon for a delightful drive of catching up, watching the horizon go flat, and seeing lots of corn. It wasn't long after leaving Rochester that I was brought back to a roadside image from my youth... signs for Wall Drug. The Wall Drug Store got its start during the Depression in 1931 by offering "Free Ice Water" to thirsty travelers. The owners of this store in the middle of nowhere South Dakota (technically the town of Wall) marketed their business on the concept that many a hot, dusty traveler heading to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone would welcome a drink of ice water from the Wall Drug well. (I later tried this concept in college using "Free Mints" but for some reason, women didn't flock to my room!).  To advertise this interesting idea, the owners started putting signs on major roads within the state, and eventually a couple of states away (such as in Minnesota). It became quite the phenomenon and suddenly the sleepy prairie town became the stopping place for travelers across South Dakota. The Ice Water Store was born. We didn't get to see Wall Drug this time around, but it sure was great to see those signs.   As we continued on our trip, Tim and I noticed some crop dusting planes making several passes over local fields. It was pretty fun to watch as they made their approaches and then ZOOOOOM! Actually, the scene reminded me off that old Atari 2600 game, Barnstorming. I used to take on that cartridge quite often as a kid when our neighbors across the street would invite my sister and I over to play.  I guess all this farm-related aviation is where Kurt Warner's AFL alumnus, the now-defunct Iowa Barnstormers, got their name as well. Oh, what they won't do for fun in Iowa!  Deciding to take a seemingly shorter route to our small town destination, we hopped on State Road 60 and transitioned over the border from Minnesota to Iowa. Near the state line, just 5 miles northeast of the town of Sibley, is the Highest Point in Iowa.  While we drove by the sign that mentioned the high point, all we saw was a farm, so we kept driving. It turns out that IS the highpoint. Measuring a whopping 1,670 feet above sea level, the actual location of the highest point is a cattle feeding trough. If you ask the owners nicely, they'll let you come onto their farm and take photos. Following the pattern of other states in naming the high points, in 1998 Iowa officially changed the summit name at this farm to "Hawkeye Point" – the last state to finally give its peak a name. It was shortly after this point that Tim mentioned that we really had hit the boring Iowa landscape with a vengeance.  As we got close to our final destination, we stopped off in nearby Orange City, IA, to grab a quick bite. Known for its Dutch ancestry, the town is also the home of Northwestern College, which Jen's sister attended. Lunch consisted of the pizza buffet at a very uniquely-shaped Pizza Hut/Taco Bell (complete with a chandelier!). That was an experience in itself. But they were nice enough to let us use their washrooms to change for the wedding.  Finally we arrived in at Ireton Christian Reformed Church in Ireton, IA. There we hooked up with Sigma Beta alumni... Kelli and Eric Childs (who was Josh's best man), Rebecca and Rylan Kahly (who was an usher), and Danny and Jamie Eggleston (who had taken I-80 to the wedding because they must really like corn). We also got to see Josh before he said the big "I do."  The wedding itself was nice. Very classy. I especially dug the recessional, which included a tune called "Prelude in Classic Style" that just was really catchy for some reason. Nice choice. During the receiving line at the end, Josh's mom commented "Oh, so YOU'RE Steve Tanner...". Ha!  . The reception was held at the local community center. To get there, Josh and Tina rode in style on a flatbed trailer towed by a large tractor. The trailer was outfitted with a couch and chairs... very unique. I liked it! The reception saw all 9 of us cramming around one round table. It was great to catch up with Rylan and Rebecca, whom we had not seen since their wedding around this same time last year. (Incidentally, it was at this event where Josh had introduced us for the first time to Tina). You could definitely tell there was a pro-Iowa vibe at the reception. A guy from the table behind us asked if we were from the "big city" and so forth. There also were quite a few jabs at those from Illinois. But it was all in good fun, as the tables turned and eventually everyone was laughing at themselves and the unique culture that can be found in Iowa farm country.  Nothing summed up this element better than Josh playing a comedy song by a guy named Heywood Banks. The 0:40 second song summarizes a trip from east to west on I-80 across Iowa, highlighting what there is to see and smell along the way. I've included the lyrics as well as an MP3 download of the song below so you can join in on the fun! Quote:
There was also a dance after the reception that everyone was invited to attend. The bride and groom just seemed to have tons of energy because they just kept dancin'. Frankly, there was this one dance where everyone rolled around on the floor that I really didn't understand, but that just be me. I mean, after all, I'm from the "big city." The evening wasn't getting any younger, so we said good-bye to Rylan and Rebecca, who were going to drive all night long back to their home in northern Michigan. A lot of people drove a long way for this wedding, including Eric and Kelli, who were able to claim that they passed through 7 states on their way here.  We all headed to our hotel, which was in nearby Sioux Center. For an Econo Lodge in a small town, it wasn't too bad. They even provided you with little blue ducks to float in your bathtub. Now that's service! Acting like a junior-higher, I proceeded to call our friends in the hotel using the internal phone system. What else was I supposed to do... this was Iowa after all! If you want to join in on the fun, the number for the hotel is 712.722.4000. Amy and I stayed in room 206, the Childs' in 221, Eggleston's in 104, and the Walston's in 121. You could call these rooms right now, but I can't promise we'll be there to answer the phone.   Just like open house days back at Taylor, we invited everyone over to our room for the rest of the night and we just talked. It was a good time chatting and reflecting on the day. Eric and Kelli also shared their bag of defective Jelly Belly beans (called Belly Flops)... nothing like eating a jelly bean that should taste like popcorn but actually tastes like gum! Before you knew it, the time got late and we all hit the sack.  The final day of our trip, Sunday, was nothing but driving back. Before we all hit the road, a little continental breakfast action was in order. The selection was rather tasty. Plus we got to watch local PBS television, which included some guy talking about how you should build a treehouse and then take a "treehouse oath" or something like that. I guess that tops the article I was reading in the Sioux City Journal about candles made from soybeans by local Iowa folks.  Amy and I were on the road from 8:30 a.m. till about 7:30 p.m. when we eventually pulled in front of our apartment in Chicago. Tim did all the driving from Sioux Center, IA back to his parents' place in Rochester, MN. For some reason, I kept singing that "corn, corn, corn" song from the wedding. But it's the truth... that's all we saw. I thought Indiana was bad with nothingness. Iowa is much, much worse. There are no hills, lots of corn, and some really unwelcome smells. Don't get me wrong, we love Josh and Tina a bunch... but I just don't see myself taking another vacation to Iowa anytime soon. (Maybe the marketing folks from Indiana Beach can launch a sister park in Iowa so they can proclaim "there's more than corn in Iowa!"). On the way back, we saw many bikers returning from the Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD, which took place August 4-10. It's amazing how far some people drive to get to this thing, but it's a big deal. I remember as a kid traveling to South Dakota and seeing nothing but bikers on the roads everywhere you looked.  I convinced Tim to stop off in Blue Earth, MN to visit a roadside attraction I had seen as a kid. Located at exit 119 on I-90, this small Minnesota town displays a 55-foot fiberglass statue of the Jolly Green Giant, the mascot for Green Giant frozen foods (a division of Pillsbury). In 1978, the town of Blue Earth (Population 3,745) spent $43,000 to erect it (dedicated in 1979). The base of the statue reads: "Welcome to the Valley, Blue Earth, Minnesota." Peas have been packed in the town of Blue Earth since 1907. Green Giant has been here since 1925. Bus loads of foreign visitors on world tours routinely stop to take photos of the statue.  Blue Earth is also the birthplace of the ice cream sandwich, but there is no statue to celebrate that... just a Dairy Queen (where Tim tried the new Bubble Gum Tape version of the Blizzard). Somehow the idea of a ice cream treat containing Pop Rocks is freaky.  We left Tim and Jen in Rochester so they could head back to Madison. Amy took the wheel again as we continued homeward. As we drove, we caught another radio drama serialization of the cult television show, The Avengers. This time we listened to a 6-episode installment of "Dial a Deadly Number".  Traffic was pretty bad from before the Wisconsin Dells area all the way back home. It appeared that people just didn't know how to drive, as a lot of folks were pulled over on the side of the road with car problems or fender benders. We pulled off in the Dells to grab a bite to eat and switch drivers. At first we tried getting a salad from a Wendy's, but they were so incompetent there that we ended up elsewhere. The Dells area is scenic, but way too junked up with tourist traps.  As we got on the final leg of our trip from Rockford to Chicago, we got to see firsthand the new Oasis rebuilding project that the Illinois Tollway is undertaking. Basically all the over-the-road Oasis buildings are being gutted and rebuilt at a cost of $94 million, paid for by ExxonMobil and their real estate partners. I'm fine with getting these things up to date (however, it's a bummer to lose some of the classic architecture), but I think it's a dumb idea to shut them all down at the same time. I mean, what are travelers supposed to do? Nevertheless, we arrived home at around 7:30 p.m. It was a long trip, but fun to see friends and a little more bit of Americana. Congrats Josh and Tina! 
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#2
August 11th, 2003, 03:42 PM
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Nice summary Tannerman! We drove home on I-80 and it was actually a more eventful drive than I-90. You go through more cities in Iowa than in Minnesota. However, between the multiple construction sites in Illinois and the traffic in Chicago, our trip extended 13 hours from 9:15am (Eastern Daylight Savings of course) to 10:15 pm.
__________________
Childs
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#3
August 11th, 2003, 04:02 PM
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Wow! That is a long time to be on the road.
Fortunately for us, where Tannerman started experiencing heavy traffic in the Dells, we ducked off and took Hwy 12 the rest of the way in to Madison. It usually adds 10-15 minutes onto the drive, but when the Interstate is bumper-to-bumper, it is usually much faster and much easier driving.
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