Vermillion, South Dakota, July 12 — The first day of my July vacation included visiting my 1300th county — again. First, though, I had some points in western Iowa to visit.
Route: I-80, US 59, F32, M47, F24, IA 37, M16, F32, US 30 with LH loops, NE 91, US 77, US 20, US 81 (with NE 12 to NE 121), SD 50
The beginning of the trip hit some towns in Shelby County I had not been to, and some brats at the Hy-Vee in Harlan. From there, I went west to Woodbine and followed the loops of the Lincoln Highway that I skipped while traveling the main route a few weeks ago. This includes the Harrison County stairsteps. It’s the first time in a long time the Iowa DOT has put signs on a dirt road, in this case the section that runs west of the US 30/IA 44 intersection. The “loop” in Missouri Valley follows US 30 to Blair, and ends at the state line.
From Blair, I drove west to clinch US 275 for the third time, thanks to the Sidney bypass and now the full expressway and interchange at US 77. Then I went north on 77.
The former north end of US 73 has been reconstructed into an infernal roundabout.
Construction in Sioux City causes long backups on the Veterans Memorial Bridge at rush hour. I gave up on construction pictures there and headed west on US 20 instead.
On the east side of Laurel is a monument to the B-17 crash that killed a man from Goldfield. I continued west on US 20 to US 81, extending my traveled span on that route from Iowa.
Wayne County NE, reached via gravel roads, became my new 1300th county after Bedford, Virginia, ceased to be an independent city.
I was going to stop in Yankton for the night, but the city was full up. Instead, I had to go east to Vermillion. This would actually prove to be a good thing.
The former US 81 bridge across the Missouri River has been retained as a pedestrian bridge. A new bridge opened in fall 2008.
New counties so far: 5 (4 NE, 1 SD)