brownwho63

Okay, just returned from the Springfield, IL Route 66 Festival, another outstanding roadie event. Getting back to my recently-completed LH tour across IA, here's a shot taken in downtown Jefferson, our first passport stop on Sunday....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=421

Amen, Pat. This is my favorite mag. Great job, everyone.....Bliss

Thanks for the confirmation. Here's a shot of downtown State Center where the tour had a lunch stop at the local firehouse.....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=418

This is the famous LH Bridge in Tama, IA. It's the only one of its kind along the entire length of the route. Built in 1915, the bridge was in disrepair but a group worked to restore it in 1987 and it's a landmark along the road. As a sidebar, the saloon in the background is Leno's with "danceing" Friday and Saturday. I dropped in to check it out and discovered that the bartender and I were the only English-speaking folks in the bar. She also spoke fluent Spanish and ordered my three tacos from the kitchen. The tacos are homemade daily and are made from chopped and grilled sirloin. They were served with onion and the house hot sauce. Delicious and authentic - best I ever had!....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=417

Glad you like Big Blue. Here's another shot from her in what I believe to be Chelsea. Could be some other little burg on E66, the old alignment from Belle Plaine, however. The bridge is obviously an update from whatever was there before. http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=416

Speaking of George Preston's station, here's a shot of it. According to my driving guide, George collected a multitude of auto and gasoline memorabillia and even appeared on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson. The shed next to the vintage station is loaded with "stuff" and like the station's interior, is real time travel. There's even a Model-T stored inside that's covered with junk and doesn't run so you know right away that it's a Ford. Sorry, sorry - it's just that I'm a Chevy guy. It's difficult to describe the lure of Belle Plaine for me but it reminds me of older IL burgs I saw when I was a kid in the forties. I strolled both sides of the street in the photo and just soaked up the allure of the aged structures. I'll upload a couple of pics to my album you can see when you view the photo below. Magic!......Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=412

This is old downtown Belle Plaine and it was one of my favorite stops on the motor tour. Lots of great buildings to see in this small area and I took several photos........Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=410

We're interested, Denny. Early to mid October is probably best for us at this point. And you what - if the fall cruise doesn't happen it can always be arranged for next spring. Would be cool to have several cruisers, wouldn't it?......Bliss

The Youngville Cafe is approximately 30 minutes west of Cedar Rapids and is the only building in that area. Here's a shot from the rear of the building that will give you a little better idea of how much by itself it is. The mailing address is 2409 73rd Street - Watkins, IA....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=411

And thanks for the kind words, guys. After Friday's overnight in Cedar Rapids we hit the road early and headed west again. The first passport stop was at Youngville Cafe where, again, coffee and pastries were served. The cafe is a restored LH roadhouse that is listed on the national register of historic places. There were formerly three tourist cabins behind the structure but they were destroyed in a fire set by vandals. I viewed the cafe as sort of an oasis because there's nothing there except the LH and corn fields....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=409

I was very impressed with the different but awesome look of the LH in IA. After all, an old road is an old road is an old road and I love that kind of stuff. Here's a shot of what I believe to be Stanwood that was taken after our lunch stop in Clarence. This is so typical of the LH look in IA....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=408