Kip’s Comments - July 10, 2026

A Reminiscing Road Trip

For 25-years or so my uncle from California (Mom’s older brother) has come back for a few days that included taking Mom on a surprise road trip around the state. Since he was home for Mom’s funeral and doesn’t fly back yet, he and I reminisced on the road. This time the process was flipped - instead of my uncle knowing all details, today I had the plan, I drove, and my uncle enjoyed a good ride filled with surprises.

Just west of West Union I spotted an upland sandpiper on a fencepost. My uncle then learned what happens when I see interesting things - we stopped, turned around, and turned around again for better views.

Upland Sandpiper - Image 1120383v

While in West Union I pointed out the “Extreme Makeover” home. Then we traveled to the Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie Du Chien. I did not realize the emphasis of the museum had changed from medical history to the history of the city. Still, we had a good time studying the interesting displays. A nice lunch was had before we headed north along the Mississippi River to cross back to Iowa. From my uncle’s familiarity it did not look like we were going to get back across the river. But, I had a plan - a short ride on the car ferry at Lansing. After returning to Iowa we studied the replacement bridge efforts from Mt. Hosmer in Lansing.

Lansing Bridge - Aerial - Image 1120336

Lansing Bridge - Aerial - Image 1120341

From Mt. Hosmer we made our way back home via scenic routes enjoying the Mississippi River.

While the drive was fun, the conversation was the highlight of the day. We had so much to talk about. Thanks for joining me!