I had good reasons for my routines. One job paid by the day, so travelling cheap meant I made a little extra money. But, most of the time, if I drove to wherever I had to work, I often was stuck with a car that didn't run well and I hate traffic. But a few years back, I had opportunity to change my ways. I learned to take the lemons of work travel and enjoy a little lemonade. The trip that changed things for me was a trip to Golden, Colorado for some training. I figured out what the airplane ticket would cost then figured in mileage to the airport, parking, and even a rental car in Colorado. Then I figured out what I would charge in mileage if I took a personal vehicle.
Since the mileage would be higher than the other travel expenses, I went to my boss and convinced him to let me ride but charge him the slightly lower amount as if I traveled by air. I planned a route and left at 10pm on a Saturday night. I rode through miserable cold all night, often in the low teens. Then, as soon as the sun came up, the snow began to fall. Snow was my travelling companion from Provo, UT to Denver, CO. Since I had the bike that trip, I was told several times a day, "You have to go there" or "You have to see that." So, each day that week, I rode a new road to a new location. Suddenly, work travel wasn't all bad.
Today I still try to find things to enjoy when I have to travel for work. This time around I was in Muscatine, Iowa. My boss gave me a pretty tight travel schedule. I had just 36 hours from the end of my last shift in Iowa until I needed to be getting up to go to work back in Kingman. For those that are doing the math, yes, that's 1,600 miles. There was a day I would have gone for it. But, I know that my endurance and strength are not what they have been. So, I relented and went with more orthodox travel. I flew from Las Vegas to Minneapolis then to Moline, IL. The nice lady at the Avis counter handed me a fob for a new Ford Fusion Titanium.
I have to say that car made me realize why all the things that I dislike about cars can be enjoyable for a car person. But, since I'm not a car person and this blog is not about driving cars, I will simply say that the Fusion, especially with the higher trim package is quite an enjoyable drive. And drive is exactly what I did. Once I escaped the Airport parking lot, I headed west toward the town of Coralville, IA. I was out tracking down sites for the 2015 Tour of Honor. I found the state fire fighters memorial in Coralville easily enough.
Before I left I took some more pictures.
I enjoyed the best free hotel breakfast I've had in quite some time and headed to work. When I got back out to the parking lot at the end of the day I brought up the Tour of Honor website on my phone and looked at Iowa again. There was really nothing else terribly close. So, I looked at Illinois. Sure enough, Dallas City was just about an hour away. I headed south through what I can only describe as typical Midwest farm country. Most of the little towns boast no more than a couple thousand residents. The towns are often built around the grain elevators and water towers. The banks still have the time and temperature as well as maybe a current interest rate on their signs. Here in farm country, they also show the current price for corn and beans.As I was driving through these small towns, I couldn't help but think that even without the mountains and grand vistas, this had to be in a way, God's country.
Soon enough, the voice that is my ever present travelling companion was telling me it was time to turn left and head East into Illinois. Once across the Mississippi I headed south to Dallas City. That voice told me to make a couple turns and then informed me I had arrived. The only thing I found there was a small mud patch and road heading into a residential neighborhood. Knowing that sometimes we don't get perfect coordinates onto the website I figured the memorial had to be nearby. So I headed up the residential road for a block or two. Nope. Nothing there. I went back out and headed further down the highway. Nothing there either. I went back to the mud patch and waited for a data signal to return so I could tell the GPS to find the address of the memorial instead of the coordinates. According to new dot on the map, I was about a mile off. I bid the mud adieu and went back into the center of Dallas City then made a left turn and drove for only a few blocks before the voice told me once again I had arrived. This time there is only a semi. Ahh, but sure enough, what was behind the semi but a nice veteran's memorial.
I don't think I ever did thank him for the suggestions, but they made for a nice afternoon. I walked around the park taking pictures.