Gribblenation

  Madison County, Iowa is known for their covered bridges, romanticized by print publications and even movies. But did you know that Madison County is home to Iowa's only highway tunnel? Located at the Pammel State Park just to the southwest of Winterset is the Harmon Tunnel. But what's the deal with the tunnel, you may be asking yourself. Built in 1858, the Harmon Tunnel was originally dug by William Harmon and his sons as a small chute in order to carry water that was diverted from a nearby bend in the Middle River to power a saw mill which was later converted into use as a grist mill. While the mill was closed and abandoned in 1904, the tunnel was expanded to allow vehicular traffic in 1925, just in time for Pammel State Park to open in 1928. The Harmon Tunnel has since been expanded and reinforced to accommodate modern vehicles. The Harmon Tunnel was originally designed to pass through the narrowest part of the horseshoe bend of bedrock and a limestone ridge that natural...

Wyoming and South Dakota were amazing - but now it's time to head back to North Carolina with two long days of driving ahead. Day 7 Route: I-180, I-80, I-74, local roads to Champagne, IL. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 7 Day 8 Route: I-74, I-465, I-65, I-64, I-75, I-40, US 25/70, I-240, I-40, NC 16, I-485, Home. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 8 Friday, Day 7, was a true go as far as you can in as little time as you can.  The plan was to take two days to get back to Charlotte plus time for Joe to drive the three and a half hours to Wilmington on Saturday evening.   We left at around 5:30 am and finally traveled the infamous Interstate 180 to I-80 to start going west.  Since it was dark, no photos, which I know to some in the roadgeeking hobby is probably a good thing.   We did, however, catch a pretty nice sunrise in Western Nebraska. Snow flurries in Omaha - Somewhere in the Middle of America Interstate 80, as we discussed earlier, ...

In September, when my wife told me that I could use my extra week of vacation to go on a road trip, I at first was surprised.  But then, I started trying to figure out where to go and what to see.  It was too late to plan something for October, and I really wanted to go west.  I decided on Wyoming - specifically Cheyenne.  From Cheyenne, I would visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore, and also Devils Tower.  I invited my friend Joe to go along with me. Day 1: Charlotte, NC to Mt. Juliet, Tennessee: Route: I-485, NC 16, I-40 Photo Set on Flickr - Wyoming Road Trip Day 1 We traveled just over six hours on this day - this allowed us to break up the trip out over three days but also to see more on the way out.  While Day One was not big on sightseeing - there was some great fall scenery in Eastern Tennessee and the North Carolina mountains. The color was great!  And it was an easy drive to the hotel for the night jus...

  Located along Van Buren County Route J40 and part of the Villages of Van Buren , the small southeastern Iowa village of Bentonsport on the Des Moines River was once an important port for Des Moines River steamers. Tree covered hills encompass the little valley in which Bentonsport lies, and across the river in Vernon, only the spires of the two white churches and a few houses along the shore are visible. At one time, the town of Bentonsport had a population of over 500 residents. Bentonsport was thriving when the State of Iowa was born and the village still retains the atmosphere of years gone by. Mormon craftsmen that were heading west helped construct some of its buildings. Today, you can explore a quieter Bentonsport, between the historic buildings, the ruins of old mills along the Des Moines River, stroll across an iron truss bridge that is more than a century old which once served motor vehicle traffic, or just sit on the riverbank and imagine the sight of a steamboat coming...