Nessie went into the leveling hospital this morning at 7. The repairs were completed by 9 and we were back in our parking spot by 10, which left us with most of the day to do as we pleased. A trip to Costco in Iowa City was soon organized, and it was an experience. We're all familiar with the huge warehouse atmosphere of Costco and the big crowds. We started our shopping trip in the huge covered parking structure that is part of the store.
The interior was typical Costco with the exception of the crowds. Now I realize it's a Tuesday morning, but there probably weren't more that 50 shoppers in the store. Our checkout was prompt and courteous. What a difference from our local store where a wait in line to checkout is always expected! One of the interesting items we saw for sale were lemons from the area where Donna and I grew up. Shipped to the midwest, the fruit was enticing and reasonably priced.
We talked to an employee of Costco for a few moments and learned that last nights storm had caused major damage to corn crops and significant flooding. A cruise around the Iowa City area and along I80 east showed some of the damage.
The high straight line winds had caused havoc with the young corn plants. These photos don't do justice to the situation, but consider that a combination of tender plants with shallow roots and saturated soil, and high winds pretty much flattened large fields of corn. I'm sure the farmers are praying that the rain is over. We understand from talking to local people that 4 or 5 days of dry weather will save the crop, but the long range forecast is for some rain every day.
Along the freeway, we had an opportunity to get up close to the Iowa River. It has receded 2+ feet since cresting early this morning, but still shows that a huge amount of water is moving inexorably downstream. One of the "neighbors" here in the parking lot came in late last night after being stopped by a stream of water crossing I80 just east of Iowa city. The state troopers were escorting vehicles through one at a time, but two big rig trucks didn't make it and slid off the road into the mud. We saw one of the trucks this morning with all the wheels on one side buried in the mud, and all the wheels on the road side off the ground. Scary! Here's the Iowa River:
Some road construction in downtown Iowa City led us into some "not so glamourous" parts of town. Unfortunately, nature called during the excursion (probably having something to do with the red chili at Village Inn for lunch), and a quick stop yielded a reminder to Iowa citizens:
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Amazing to travel all the way to Iowa and find lemon from here (Fillmore/Piru)!
ReplyDeleteThought the bathroom sign was amusing...you would think that would go WITHOUT saying...but I guess not!