Iowa Trip

Here are some pictures I took during a May, 2001 visit to where I grew up. Some scenes are prosaic, others sentimental, and a few are of plowed fields chosen for their abstract element. It rained a lot and the weather was cool, but there were occasions for some bike rides and walks.

"Yes, an interesting cloud formation," as a Midwesterner might flatly say. (Translations: 1) Californese = "Like, wow." 2) New Yawker = "Clouds? Whad'ya mean? A new restaurant?"

Looks like Byron, Illinois, along a bend in the Rock River. This was taken from about 25K' on a flight from ORD to CID.

This section of NW Illinois gets hilly and woodsie. We once went skiing there years ago. My maternal grandmother's parents farmed in the region. Hiram Ulysses Grant, down on his luck, also helped out in his brother's dry goods store there until 1861.

In late May, the plowing furrows were still fresh and the tiniy corn and beans were just beginning to sprout out of the ground.

Each day the little plant shoots got taller. By the time I left, some had reached 5" in height.

We flew right over the downtown area while circling to land. Click to see enlargements.

Wildflowers on the old railroad right-of-way, along which passes the bicycle trail. NE Cedar Rapids, near Cold Stream.

Near Cedar Lake. From here we rode down through the old industrial zones. We then followed the trail down the Cedar River. I'm working on some pictures of the area.

Click to see enlargement.

It rained most of Thursday. Sunshine broke across the horizon in late afternoon. Not one but two rainbows appeared, spanning the sky in great arcs. Of course, no lense is wide angle enough to capture this.

Maw 'n Paw. Click to see enlargement.

Kitchen door. Morning at breakfast time.

Click to enlarge.

Thunderheads in the distance. Seen on flight back East.

Click here to see scenes of a nephew's graduation I attended while in Iowa.

JMKOCH, 6-Jun-01

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