Today we drove from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Along the way, there were several cool stopping places, so we took advantage of them.

The first, the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, was in Waterloo, Iowa, (and yes, ABBA’s Waterloo song hits me every time I read a Waterloo sign). We arrived just after the museum opened, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The museum is free and is full of restored tractors, interactive displays, history, and nicely arranged exhibits. It’s worth a stop if you are in the area.

John Deere also offers free tours of the nearby Engine Works and Drive Train Operations (see the bottom of this page for more info). Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for that.

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I tried to tell her that it wasn’t a ‘pole’, but that didn’t stop her ….

Yesterday we slowed down a little so that we could check into our hotel early and get Ann some rest. To kill some time, we did a little sightseeing.

First, we stopped in Peoria. The city took us by surprise. Peoria sits on a river bank overlooking the Illinois River. Knowing nothing about the city, I had assumed it would be a small city with an industry feel. So, we were surprised to see a fairly modern looking city with a park along the river that lined much of downtown. Our reason for stopping there was to take a photo with a huge American Gothic statute, one that has spent the last decade traveling around to different museums.

That stop got us looking around the city a little bit. There’s a really cool looking Caterpillar Visitors center downtown (see this site for some pics), but it didn’t open until 10am. We couldn’t wait that long, so we took off, but we’d like to visit again to check out that, the “The Art of the Brick” display, and some of the other spots.

PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.rbauction.com.mx/blog/make-tracks-for-the-caterpillar-visitors-center-this-summer- … Caterpillar’s visitors center

Here’s Ann at a nearby monument in downtown Peoria.

Downtown Peoria. That’s Lincoln on the building looking at a War Memorial.

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