Now that our families are only 5+ hours away in central Missouri, we’ve made several trips south since moving to Iowa. It’s still a long drive, but we get to go through some really beautiful country.
In the area around south of Des Moines, there are lots of corn fields and well-maintained family farms. Some of the farms and old houses have become familiar and we notice little changes as we pass.
This gorgeous house near Pella is one of my favorites.
One of our favorite parts of the Iowa portion of the drive is to go through the Amish settlement near Bloomfield. As we get near, the boys go on buggy watch and get excited every time we see a buggy driving on the shoulder. We also see signs of Amish life in the houses and businesses along the road as we see buggies parked in driveways, dark horses grazing in the pastures, and identical laundry neatly hung along porches to dry.
We all watch for buggies as we drive through Southern Iowa.
I love the beauty of Southern Iowa and am just as excited as the kids when a buggy appears. Finding these familiar sites along our route makes the trip feel comfortable and our curiosity about the Amish helps add to our excitement as we head “home” to Missouri.
I notice this structure every time we drive through, but I have no idea what it’s for.
Do you have a regular road trip? What are your favorite sites along the way?
That house near Pella is a beauty!