Some pics from Laurens, Iowa, home of Alvin Straight:
039. “Welcome to Laurens, Iowa.”
040. “Downtown Laurens.”
041. “The home of Alvin Straight.”
042. “Hometown hero.”
043. “Helpful librarians.”

Got up at the crack of 11am and took the hounds over to a nice fenced-in dog park for some fun and frolick. They made a friend in little Toby, a dapple dachshund of grey and black spots. They chased some balls, sniffed some butts and did some general hanging out. Not much else to report. Afterwards, we hit the Ideal Diner for a quick french toast breakfast.

044. “Ryno and Maybelle.”
045. “Gary, Toby and Maybelle burning up the dog park.”
046. “ryno deomonstrating milking techniques on Maybelle.”

Went back to Ryno’s, took a nap, checked up on some emails and hit the road east into Northern Wisconisn. Took that Veteran’s highway all the way across the state, making pretty good time. Thought about Jeremy Oswald and the Crucifux album, “Wisconsin.†Got all the way over to Green Bay and headed north up along the Lake Michigan coast up to Menominee, on up to Escanaba. It was pretty lake so we made great time in that wilderness. This is the kind of country where you can stop the car, jump out and piss, then jump back in and keep going. No need to find a rest stop. Kinda desolate, except for the random summer home or clearing.

047. “Gary is my co-pilot.”

One of my favorite turnoffs in the world is this little road that takes you up to a little town called, “Germfask.†Great name. Kinda peculiar. Add that to my list of, “Great places to die in.â€

Drove well into the wee hours, up to about 45 miles before the bridge and pulled off to crash out. That same little rest stop that has saved me so many times before. I can handle seeing double, but, triple means, “turn off and rest, damnit.†So I did.

Gary served as a great watchdog. He posted up and kept me safe from all prison strays and any Michilmackinac ghosts that may have been trolling the shorelines for trouble.