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| If you take I-80 to I-35 and I-35 to US20 you will pass my farm, its west fence is I-35 at Ames. That's probably the fastest. Then west on US20 to the first exit west of Webster City, IA 17 north through Fairview to Eagle Grove.
For scenery from I-80 to Ames, I prefer to get off I-80 at Iowa City and get on US-6. US 6 past Amanas to Marengo. In Marengo jog north to IA-212 and take that NW along the Iowa River to IA-21. Take IA-21 north to Belle Plaine and then take the county road E66 on the north side of the Iowa River Valley to Chelsea and then to US-30. That is one of the official Iowa scenic byways. And from Belle Plaine NW is part of the original Lincoln Highway. A few miles west of the Chelsea road getting to US-30, US-30 turns to 4 lone divided well past Ames. The original Lincoln Highway route is a mile north of the modern US-30 route from Marshalltown to western Iowa, they cross just east of Grand Junction. From there on quite a ways the original route is south of the modern US-30.
An alternative to going south into Coralville to get on US-6 is to take a county road from I-80 to Tiffin or Oxford. Or go west to Williamsburg and go north a few miles to US-6 west of the Amanas. There are several possibilities.
The Farm and Home store in Marengo is always worth a visit when its open. Its on the north south street between US-6 and IA212. I'm not sure that transition is marked, but I've been driving it for about 50 years so I don't need road signs much.
The scenic route is slower but because there is a lot of diagonal it saves miles and is a lot more interesting driving than I-80 and I-35.
US-20 in Iowa is four lane except for a stretch from Early to Galva and that stretch was closed last week for continuing reconstruction. It might be four lane by next year.
US-20 in Illinois is mostly 2 lane in the western part of the state. Its also two lane all the way across Nebraska.
Gerald J. | |
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Eagle Grove Iowa area farmers
