Nebraska! Leaving Sidney we drove straight east and the day started with a very strong wind blowing out of the south. For the first hour or so we were buffeted all over the road by this wind from Mexico or where ever it was coming from. Slowly the wind lessened and my nerves began to settle and the day became another great day on the road with good conversation and enjoyable scenery, even if it was all pretty much the same, it is fun to watch the farms and small towns roll by. A travel day like today is broken up only with rest stops and fuel stops.
The miles ticked by, and by days end we crossed over the Missouri River at Omaha and into Iowa. I was surprised to see that the Missouri River was still out of its banks and the bottom land was still flooded in places. The floods of this spring are still with us - and the evidence is all along the rivers. We had made plans to stay at another Harvest Hosts site, a goat and sheep farm in Honey Creek, IA.
The farm is called Does and Divas - the goats are the Does and the sheep are the Divas. Janna, the owner greeted us as we arrived and showed us where to set up. The farm specializes in sheep milk cheese and other sheep and goat milk based products. It is a neat little farm about four miles down a dusty gravel road, but an absolutely great spot to spend an evening.
After we got all the Doodle set up, Carol bought some soap and lotions. Janna showed us around the dairy. We saw the entire process from goat to fridge, and learned about sheep and goat milk and how cheese is made. We even helped turn out some cheese. I don’t think we were really much of a help, but token help. Carol looked like Lucy in the chocolate factory as she turned the cheese!
I'm glad I didn't have my picture taken. . . What a process! Janna set out a wide array of cheeses for us to sample, and we all sat around the patio tasting cheese, sipping our drinks and little Harper made friends with some really big dogs. We must have chatted for almost two hours or more - what a wonderful way to spend the end of a long travel day.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast and watched the milking of the goats before heading back on the road. Iowa! Route 80, still a long straight road heading East - now toward Davenport and possibly a casino for the evening. We stopped occasionally for fuel and coffee and then Carol spotted a sign and pulled out her phone for more information - and soon we were back onto the side roads heading for the Amana Communities - a collection of small German towns with promise of schnitzel and beer.
However, what we actually ended up with was hot mustard and ice cream..it was quaint but very commercial and made for the tourist trade. We had fun but came away a bit disappointed. Soon we were back on the road listening to our audio book, chatting and we even talked with Ben a bit. Ben seems to be having a great summer since he returned from Portland. By late afternoon we pulled into a casino, checked it out and moved on to the next casino.
We had a great buffet and went into the gambling area and promptly lost four dollars. We called it a day. It is now later that same evening as I type this and hopefully I can get it posted this evening. I hope you all are enjoying following along, I sure like having a good record of our travels and I find that by recapping the day it more firmly embeds it in my memory. Enjoy!
