If we thought we were going to see Iowa coming in from the west for the first time, we were mistaken. What we did see was through a haze of rain, so intense that the view was completely stripped at times. We did have some respite when the sun broke out between rain bands. We saw some of the big windmills which seemed to be turning in some kind of sync with our windshield wipers. Yuck yuck and more yuck. About 80 miles out of Des Moines it looked like we were out of the worst of it. It was still overcast but much brighter. We saw a sign put up in somebody's field. "Urban Sprawl, it ain't too pretty, save our farms, build in the city". We saw Desoto, John Wayne's birthplace and went by a sign pointing to "Covered Bridge of Madison County". Draw them tourists and their wallets in off the highway. We got into town and went out to dinner with Renee and Gage. We were a little nervous about camping after spending so much time in the rain lately so we got a motel for one night. We went to Lake Aquabi State Park and set up camp the next day and they joined us after a short school day. They fished and we cooked out hotdogs and roasted marshmellows. The next day we broke camp and moved over to the Quality Inn which had an indoor pool. We enjoyed that with Gage and Renee and went to Chuck E Cheese. Celebration for a good job done at school this year! Fun with family! Heading home via Indianapolis to visit an old Air Force buddy of Jeff's.