Solonoscopy

August 26: Claudia and I parted early in the morning after a breakfast of cereal and fresh-baked bread. Leaving so soon has never gotten any easier, but its preferable to over-staying your welcome and being chased out with a broom.
Naturally, I took the Herbert Hoover Nature Trail out of West Branch. I was in Oasis in just a few miles. This town may be on maps, but don't be fooled by the mirage. A couple of grain silos does not add up to a community.
I had misread the garbled ADT directions to say that the HHNT continued here, however, I saw nothing. I used my lifeline to call Mom, who found me a route through a number of dusty roads to Morse, which has about one more building than Oasis.
More dry and dirty work following the occasional smoky plume of a passing car led me to an actual town. Solon, named after the famed Athenian law-giver, also happens to rhyme with colon, so you can finally finish your poem.
I headed over to D and D pizza (dungeons and dragons?) and had a reuben. Joensy's next door was unable to tempt me with promises of the largest pork tenderloin in Iowa. I am done with those massive meat monstrosities.
Everyone in Solon seemed to be either playing golf or watching the high school football game, so finding a place to stay proved to be difficult. In fact, resolution of this issue involved an invasive procedure I am unwilling to discuss at this time. The suffering is just too fresh.

16 miles/1405 total miles