Chicago IL to DeMoines Iowa

June 6, 2025

I am writing this, as my laundry is going around the washer. I am at the West DeMoines KOA. They really know how to do it here. They escort you to your site as well as have pizza and ice cream. Firewood and whatever else you may need can be delivered to your site. My site is not near the bathroom. I set up my tent to let it and the fly dry as they were wet from the rain. The laundry is up at the main store, so I am sitting in a rocking chair while I wait.

I started the day with a continental breakfast at the hotel and then set the GPS, with the help of the phone, to go to Le Claire Iowa. Le Claire is the home of Antique Archeology the American Picker's store. The GPS took me right by it. I didn't see it , so I stopped up town and looked at my phone. After going around the block I found it . It was so cool to be there. I made a plan and then followed it. Yay! I went in to both buildings. It is neat to see all the special things that they have collected. I can just imagine Mike and his poals being so excited to find them. I got a new hat , as I lost mine when I forgot to put on my H2O backpack. I didn't notice until I was too far away to go back for it. I also got some stickers and a guitar pick for Brooke.

After visiting AA. I walked down to a cute bakery. The walls were painted pink with pictures of cakes all over them. The staff was nice and I ordered a coffee and a piece of quiche. For dessert, I had a yummy brownie. While I was enjoying my lunch, they had netflix on the tv and where playing a movie about a resturant. ( I would later watch the rest of the movie on my rest day in SD) As I leave the resturant, I hear music playing. I realize that the little trees that line the street have small speakers in them. A I get back to my bike, I hear a train . Across the street I look to see the train pass by. The river is just on the other side of the train tracks. Le Claire is a quaint little town.

I decide to get going and to get gas at my next stop. I didn't realize that it would be the OHIO 80 The World's Largest Truck Stop. What a place. I almost didn't stop as it was very crowded. You could shop for hours here. After gassing up , I set my sights on West DeMoine Iowa. I drove for a bit and them took a break at a lovely rest area with AC. A wet neckie and some gatorade helped me cool off. I made my reservation at the West DeMoine KOA and then got back on I-80.

I was feeling it, when I got off the highway. I was having trouble with the GPS not finding the KOA, so I looked for a place to stop. A new Dominoes pizza was right up the street. I ordered a small pizza and ate it as I fiqured out my route to the campground. I made it the last 12 minutes and arrived at the KOA De Moines. My site is a the end of the campground. They had just put in new gravel around the sites, so I parked on the edge of my site. I set up the tent to dry, and went to do laundry. I had a nice call with Rob. Now to fold my laundry and get ready for bed.