We made it to Grinnell, but missed out on JB’s gravesite, as the cemetery was closed. But we did find the memorial plaque near his old home. 🏷️26.05A

A commemorative plaque on a stone is dedicated to Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, the founder of the city, placed in 1916 by the D.A.R.

Merchants National Bank 🏷️26.05A

We found Radar from MASH in Ottumwa. 🏷️26.05A

American Gothic 🏷️26.05A

A quaint, small house with a steep Gothic-style gable roof and surrounding green lawn is set amidst trees and a cloudy sky. This is the inspiration for the background of the American Gothic painting.Two people pose humorously with statue replicas of the iconic American Gothic painting in front of the American Gothic House Center.

The easiest, most instantly useful improvement nearly any hotel can make is to add a simple elevator sign to hallways. There’s no reason to make every guest scan both ways trying to descern if there’s an extra gap somewhere between the doors or remember which way they approached their rooms from.

We paid homage to Aldo Leopold today, visiting his gravesite and birthplace/boyhood homes. 🏷️26.05A

A stone grave marker is engraved with the name Aldo Leopold and the years 1887 - 1948, accompanied by a small stone and a dried flower on top.

Dave has gone missing.

We were a bit disappointed at the rock art we found at Thousand Hills State Park in Missouri, which were rather minor petroglyphs fully enclosed in a structure. I guess we’re just too spoiled by the Southwest… 🏷️26.05A

Stopped by the birthplace of labor legend John L Lewis, though missed touring the museum, which was already closed for the day. 🏷️26.05A

Independence,Missouri is home to three National Historic Trails. We followed a chunk of the Santa Fe Trail today. 🏷️26.05A

The most important stop of the day was the Harry S Truman National Historic Site, the primary target of the entire trip. It’s been an orphaned National Park unit for Jen for years, so it was good to finally get it done. We also stopped at his nearby boyhood home. 🏷️26.05A

Made a quick stop at Fort Osage, one of the first U.S. outposts in the Louisiana Purchase territory. 🏷️26.05A

We e-signed the paperwork for our new Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid tonight! Can’t wait to pick it up in a few days.

Taking aim at the courts 🏷️26.05A

This building served as the home office of the famed Pony Express. 🏷️26.05A

We visited the Gen John J Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site. The home is closed for renovations, the schoolhouse had closed for the day too, but we did get to tour the museum, which was better than expected. 🏷️26.05A

The best thing… 🏷️26.05A

Iowa is still learning what a food truck is. 🏷️26.05A

We stopped by the site of the Icarian Colony, the longest running non-religious utopian project in America. 🏷️26.05A

Marked off another on Jen’s MLB Ballpark quest.