Fly away to Ioway

We trudged across Arkansas….. stopping one night at the Ozark National Forest to camp and sample the nearby ATV area. A very challenging trail really gave Raider a workout!

Raider came through unscathed…. but one of the 4-wheeler tires was damaged and would have to be replaced down the road. (One fact that is reinforced time and again on these trips is that the more cool stuff you have, the more repairs and maintenance are necessary. Thank goodness that Henry is a master fixer!)

Missouri was almost a blur. Chillicothe is a nifty little town that boasts a number of murals by local artists. It is also the birthplace of…… drum roll…….. sliced bread!

They are justifiably proud – since sliced bread is the baseline standard for all things that are great!

The other connection with this town is that my mom went to Chillicothe Business School in the late 1930s, early 1940s to learn secretarial skills.

The sad story is that her most fervent wish had been to go to a 4-year college. Alas, her family’s resources and the limitations of the Great Depression meant that only the male sibling in her family got that opportunity. Fortunately, she married well and managed to do a lot of fantastic things, without the burden of too much formal education!

We raced from there to the small town of Allison, Iowa, which became our home for the next four days. Why Allison? Well, they have a lovely little grass airstrip, smack dab in the middle of corn fields that stretch away in all directions.

We pulled up the trailer near the few tiny and largely unused hangers on the field.

Here is the view from the door of the trailer…..

Speaking of the trailer, I know that some of you may not be familiar with the sanitary arrangements…… Small as the space is, we do have a shower stall and a composting toilet.

(Obviously, the toilet is moved out when showers are taken.)

It’s also possible to help fertilize the nearby field by digging a hole in the soil for direct deposit of waste material (in a peaceful setting among graceful green corn stalks.)

We had perfect conditions one day to fly over the town and surrounding area for a couple of hours, then Henry practiced take-offs and landings. Here’s Allison from the air:

The town of Allison has about 900 residents, some of whom dropped by to visit with us. One of them, a retiree who raises and trains bird dogs, uses the field and his handy John Deere buggy to exercise his charges.

We spent a day going to nearby Waterloo to get new tires for the 4-wheeler, and also to visit the home and museum of John Deere tractors. (Two classic Deere “Poppin’ Johnnies” are in Henry’s garage at home.)

Never thought about tractors being sexy, but apparently they have their appeal, witness this ad from the 50s….

We reluctantly bid farewell to Allison to head further north through Wisconsin to Duluth, Minnesota, the western-most point of Lake Superior! From there, we will head east along the north shore……