I am in Minneapolis this week to speak at an Internet of Things conference on Thursday morning. Today was a rehearsal day with my intent being to focus on internalizing my presentation content and being ready to present first thing tomorrow.

Given that, I went for a little drive from MSP to the corner of Iowa, where the highest point in the state (Hawkeye Point) resides. With a round trip of almost 7 hours, I had plenty of time to rehearse and get ready for the presentation.

The drive is mostly flat and green with some occasional wind farms and lots of normal farms. I caught a beautiful sunny day with 70-degree temperature, so I enjoyed the drive even though it was not the most legendary scenery.

It has been a while since I had a chance to visit a state high point, but I have not given up on the journey. There should be several more to come later this summer, including Boundary Peak, Nevada… Mt. Hood Oregon… and perhaps some others.

Back to Hawkeye…

The coolest feature was the signs with “miles to” and “elevations of” each of the other state high points.

The closest one was about 395 miles away which I believe was Mt. Charles, Indiana. I could validate that with some google searches, but we’ll just assume it’s true for this post.

Interestingly, Mt. Marcy (right under Brasstown) was the 31st high point I did (last summer).

While not very high (1,670 feet), not a “peak” but rather a field, and not requiring any hiking at all (just some strolling through the grass), I did explore the many little treasures the sight has to offer. For a mostly flat field in the middle of nowhere of middle America, I found it to be pretty entertaining and enjoyed my 20-30 minutes there.

I signed the traveler log as per the custom…. since I saw “Go Cyclones” and nothing else other than mountain biking was on my mind, I figured a “Go Dawgs” was appropriate for this page.

Iowa seemed to represent all the other states (and their high points) pretty well. I thought that was a cool touch for sure.

Georgia and Louisiana — the only two states I’ve lived in — were right next to each other.

 

There was a cool barn with lots of farming-related relics and old signs for Hawkeye Point.

It was pretty windy and I was the only one around. Photo evidence here.

On the way back I stopped as a gas station and saw this wooden American flag that I thought was pretty cool.

That does it for Iowa. I’m back to presentation prep but stay tuned for more adventures soon. This summer will include trips to Spain, Oregon, Vegas, and Vancouver for hiking, mountain biking, and other general adventuring. I may also make a video from my trip, and will update the post later if so.