Craig’s Friday Countdown - Leaving I-80

Back and forth to Des Moines is not the best part of the gig, but after doing it more than a hundred times, there’s some wisdom to pass on.  Not counting rest stops, the 32 opportunities to exit I-80 from Des Moines to Davenport are:

32) Exit 142 (Altoona) – If you exit at the first opportunity, this is going to be a long trip.

31) Exit 149 (Mitchellville) – See above, and congratulate yourself for seven miles of endurance.

30) Exit 220 (Williamsburg) – Stopped at the McDonalds once and was asked if I wanted my free, senior citizen coffee.  Traveling back from Des Moines.  Offered a steaming cup of bitterness.  Called old.   Have avoided the place since.   

29) Exit 249 (West Branch) – Nothing happening here, and the payoff West Branch exit is five minutes away.

28 - 25) Exits 179, 211, 237 & 280 – Nothing visible, whatsoever.  Good for emptying bodies out of trunks, I suppose.

24) Exit 159 (Baxter) – Corn. Corn. Corn. Corn.  Corn.  Corn.  Rhymes with corn.  Corn.  Corn.  Corn …

23 - 19) Exits 191, 197, 259, 265 & 267 – Gas available.

18 - 17) Exit 201 & 246 – Gas and lodging.  

16) Exit 271 – Head to Wilton or Muscatine

15) Exit 239 – Head to Cedar Rapids or Keokuk

14) Exit 205 (Victor) – Storage available.  Not especially convenient, since it’s 90 miles away.

13) Exit 230 – Camping available.  Who camps within earshot of the Interstate?.

12) Exit 284 (Walcott) – World’s Largest Truckstop offers most everything short of elective surgery, but there’s only 10 more miles to go to Davenport.  A better stop while heading to Des Moines.    

11) Exit 225 (Amana Colonies) – Stopped once.  The slice of pie was not better, in any discernible way, than a slice of pie in Davenport. 

10) Exit 216 (Marengo) – Farm implements, stacked !  Much more exciting than all the unstacked farm implements you see lying around the state.   

9) Exit 173 (Kellogg) – Home of the Kellogg Museum.  Never been there.  Wondering how stupendous the biggest corn flake is. 

8) Exit 155 (Colfax) – Never stopped, but the giant combine junkyard looks like fun (not that I have much need for combine parts). 

7) Exit 240 (Coralville) – Scheels, for gear, if you need some.

6) Exit 242 (Coralville) – Scratch cupcakes, whether you need them or not.

5) Exit 244 (Iowa City) - Prairie Lights bookstore, if you have a spare hour. 

4) Exit 254 (West Branch) – Either the McDonalds or gas station is a convenient rest stop, Old Cars on the Hill is a low-key, eclectic meander through time, and the Dodge / Jeep dealer usually has a couple cool cars on display.  Lived in Iowa a long time before I understood the Herbert Hoover museum was not this McDonalds.      

2 & 3) Exit 164 and 168  (Newton) – A Culvers at 164 and a Loves / McDonalds at 168.  A practical distance from Des Moines if you’re going to do two quick stops.  Prefer the Culvers exit if fast food is all I have time for and the Loves exit for gas.  They ask for your name when you order at the McDonalds.  Give em’ a trucker name and watch the merriment ensue.    

1) Exit 182 (Grinnell) – A Louis Sullivan bank and a Walter Burley Griffin house three miles off the Interstate.  Either is worth a five-minute detour and that they are both in one small Iowa town is remarkable.  Add a quaint downtown with a café and bakery for grub, and it’s the perfect single stop.