July 9-12 Charles City, Iowa

Welcome to Iowa.

We have seen miles and miles of corn and soy bean fields. We haven't seen any of the flood damaged areas yet.

Iowa Visitors' Center. The sculpture depicts the products and industries of the state.

Historical marker for the Mormon Handcart Trail.

Pond on the grounds of the RV park where we are staying. We are in Charles City.

Our spot. There is a stream to the left of this shot.

One of the main attractions of Charles City is the Historic Swinging Bridge. This is what is left after the flooding. We can see where the water level had risen by looking at some of the houses along the road by this bridge. However, the clean up that has been achieved is amazing.

The Cedar River. There is a lot of damage here next to the bridge. The main road through the town is closed to the north of town due to flood damage. We have also seen areas of damage in some of the corn fields between here and the state border.

The stream running through the camp ground.
Most of our time here is spent relaxing and getting the oil changed in the van. We learn from the RV park owner the the town library has an art collection of original works of lithographs, etchings, wood block prints, and other art print mediums. This collection was given to the library by Mr. Mooney. There are works by Rembrandt, Chagall, Manet, Dali, Currier & Ives, and several other renowned artist. Most of these are works I have never seen prints of in books. It is very exciting, but the lighting system has malfunctioned so not all of the pieces are properly illuminated. Even with poor lighting the pieces are viewable. There are also works by local artists in this library available for check out.