Iowa is too young to have the United States history you see back east, though our Native American history is very old. Stowe was founded in 1794 and we found a Revolutionary War gravesite from a New Hampshire Regiment soldier in the town cemetery. The gravestones here are very thin and most are rectangular or are shaped like the quintessential rounded tombstone.

The Stowe Recreational Trail is a paved path through the town that sees lots of foot and bicycle traffic. We walked four miles, two out and two back, from behind the Stowe Community Church. The trail crosses over the west branch of Little River several times, and the creek is crystal clear and cold.

Our Harvest Host spot for tonight is Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville. The roof has lots of solar panels for their “solar-powered beer” slogan on one sign. Janelle and Mark were able to join us for supper. They picked up pizza at Pizza on Main, which has some interesting types of pizza. We all enjoyed the Queen Bee with honey, pistachios, mozzarella, caramelized onions and goat cheese. Tony and I had beer flights; my favorite was Blackberry Banger Gose and I discovered I don’t appreciate ginger beer. Flights are great for finding your favorites and ruling out some, too. We enjoyed an evening of great conversation! Janelle and Mark are enjoying their new state and survived the floods just fine after going without drinkable tap water and watching the creeks rise all around them.