Day 19 September 16, 2025 Olney Illinois to Burlington Iowa 270 miles
Another hot day with some big white puffy clouds.
The terrain most of the day was flat with fields of corn and soy beans. They are harvesting in some fields. Some really large farm equipment. Some of the harvesting kicks up a lot of dust. Unfortunately the woodie does not have power windows.
We didn’t go on quite so many narrow roads today. Some of them are a bit rough however. Rob had to work to keep the car on the road a few times. We actually got some distances of 40 miles before changing roads.
One of our gas fill ups had such old pumps they couldn’t process a credit card. Then as we left a customer came out of the shop. He asked about the car and then said a prayer for our safe travels.
We crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa. Burlington sits right on the river.
After arriving in Burlington we went in search of Snake Alley. It is supposedly the crookedest street in the world. Constructed in 1894 from brick and limestone, it features a series of seven curves—five half-curves and two quarter-curves—that drop 58 feet over 275 feet, offering a unique test for drivers. A young lady was having her senior pictures taken on the road. Glad we didn’t hit her. The drive down in the woodie was interesting. Brakes are a requirement. Cars are only allowed down in warm weather. To us the curves seemed closer together than on Lombard Street in San Francisco.
We also filled the car with gas and went to the grocery store. It was a really nice store. It even had a small cafe. All we bought was a salad kit for dinner.
Our hotel has a guest laundry so after eating we went to do laundry only to find out the washer was broken. Lucky for us a 24 hour laundromat was nearby. Still only one headlight so we were very careful. Connie offered to help with her cell phone light.
Spoffords Travel 