Iowa!

(Fields of Opportunities, you know, as in “Field of Dreams.“)

I drove to Troy without much thought as to what I would do afterwards. Well, Mom was driving on up to Iowa to visit a Danish Immigrant Museum in the small town of Elk Horn. Her father was Danish, which makes me 1/4 so. Since I lean too much on my German heritage, I thought it was about time I hung out with the brooding Danes.

So, off we went. To Iowa. I’d only been in Iowa one other time, and pretty much the same route – up I-29, but it was a change of scenery from Kansas.

Or was it?

Iowa looks pretty much like Northeast Kansas, don’t ya think?

One of the coolest things about Iowa, was that the Interstate rest areas (at least the ones I saw on I-29 and I-80) had wireless internet service! I didn’t have a computer with me, but still, that’s cool. Wake up, Kansas, Iowa is leaving us in the dust.

These are the bluffs. As in Council Bluffs.

The road to Elk Horn reminded me of the terrain along US75 between Beto Jct. and Topeka.

In Elk Horn, we ate at Jacqueline’s, I think it was. They serve Danish food for breakfast, (one side of the breakfast menu looked unpronounceable) but no Danish food for lunch. So, I had a BLT and creamy Kale soup. Some of the best soup ever. And I’ve had good soup in my life.

After lunch we visited the Danish Immigrant Museum. I figured it would be a hole-in-the-wall dark and dusty museum like museums in small towns tend to be. But no, it was this….

Just outside of Elk Horn, IA, was this enormous structure. No second-hand buildings for the Danes! This place opened in 1994.

Inside the museum.

The man at the information booth said that Shelby County – where we were – is 50% Danish, and many of the other residents are Norwegian and German. The next county over is 90% Danish.

On the grounds is this cute little chapel. That’s the Elk Horn water tower in the distance. There’s also a tiny immigrant home on the property.

Victor Borge’s first piano. Borge had to leave Denmark in a hurry as he was on Hitler’s Hit List. I loved the tenderly written story of his first piano, so I’m including his letter below.

That’s what’s going on in Iowa. Thought you’d like to know.