The drive to Grinnell is a startling pretty one - I am always surprised by how much I enjoy it. Driving south down I-35 is a straight shot through farm country; but along the way I pass prarie resotrations, wetland restorations, and funny stands of trees left over from when they tried to forest the prarie. (Remember in that Laura Ingalls Wilder book? Pa plants a tree for each daughter.)

And right next to the corn fields and the soy fields are wind farms that stretch as far as I can see. This is southern Minnesota and north-central Iowa. And pooh on all those who say this is a boring drive - they're clearly just not looking hard enough.