It would be overwhelming to attempt to comprehensively capture my first impressions of Iowa City, so instead I'm going to do a series of posts featuring a color. Since I arrived in that summer sweet spot right after the worst of the mosquitoes and before fall chills, I'm starting with green.
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I've never known a busier set of primarily freight-bearing tracks. I hear the haunting blasts, way more intense than a playtime "choo-choo," all day long. At first I was excited. Trains: a rare treat. I counted cars: 107. Over a hundred cars! Unfathomable gallons of petroleum, bushels of grain, and head of livestock moved miles upon miles. However, I have come to learn that the train is not at all rare. And it CHOOOOOOO CHOOOOOO's a lot.
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I feel more than a little silly for being surprised that there are apple orchards in Iowa. Everyone put so much emphasis on the corn. The quantity of corn astonishing, as is the abundance of soy beans, sometimes referred to as just "beans." A bike ride away, Wilson's Orchard grows dozens of varieties of apples also sold in the form of refreshing cider slushes and delicious turnovers, paired with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream at your request. When honey crisps come into season, watch out! I've heard people go nuts.
Bunnies are everywhere! And they're unnervingly tame, too.
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Hiking encounters:
- Prairie flora like wild bergamot (above)
- Thumb-sized cicadas, producers of a weed-whacker-like mating call
- 3D archery range ,"CAUTION: Keep Out"
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