Road Trip Goodies and Covered Bridges of Madison County

I love a good road trip.  Really.   There's nothing like zoning out, listening to a good book and watching the country fly right by you.  Having grown up making the drive between Denver and Iowa many, many, many times, I'm a little partial to the rolling cornfields and barns of America's heartland.  The big sky, gentle hills and wind blowing through the fields makes me feel like maybe there is tranquility and peace amidst the craziness of daily life.  And since my 4th of July road trip took me right across I-80 and within 30 miles of the bridges of Madison County, it was a no-brainer to make a bit of a detour.  

First things first.  Driving across I-80 requires some goodies.  Not this many really, but I have a thing about going overboard when it comes to planning and preparedness.  Heaven forbid all the gas stations are closed and there are no snacks to be found.  I don't have a plan for how to get gas in that scenario, but I have food.  Yes I do. 

Road trips are just a huge temptation for me and my love affair with any salty fried foods (read french fries and potato chips).  Being prepared with some healthy alternatives that you really, really love, helps.  The key words there are really, really love.  Pack up a healthy snack that you are just "eh" about and how do you resist the siren song of the french fry?  (I didn't really but with only one order each way, I call it a success)  If I'd packed apples, I'd probably have eaten 3 orders of fries each way...tru nuf.

Instead, we have a caprese salad.  Throw some tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and dressing on a toothpick and you have car friendly salad that can be eaten while driving, shifting, changing lanes and changing songs.  Fantastic.

Next up are some turkey, hummus and cuke stacks.  I seriously love these little guys and am perfectly happy snacking on their yumminess.  Make these the day of or the cukes get all watery and ick. 

Other goodies to throw in the bag or cooler: more turkey, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit.  I went through an obsessive cantaloupe dehydrating and homemade fruit leather phase so was well prepared.  Purchased fruit leather is also pretty fantastic. 

Jerky and trail mix are kind of road trip staples aren't they? You can buy premade trail mix of course but I find that the premade ones fail to understand the most important aspect of trail mix: perfect sweet and salty balance. The key to me is using dry roasted salted peanuts and dark chocolate M&Ms.  Buying a bag of M&Ms, a box of raisins and a jar of dry roasted nuts is as easy as buying the premade mix and you have complete control over ratios.  

After my traumatic experience with no Starbucks and only gas station coffee on one road trip(visible shudder here), I always carry VIA with me just in case(Worst case scenario, you can buy some hot water that is used for tea.  Some gas stations will give it for free).

And what car trip is complete without Lara Bars, food of the heavens?  I actually keep some in the car but a few extra bars never hurt.  My favs are the PB&J and the PB and chocolate chip--YUM.  I didn't get it in the photo, but right before the trip I threw in some of those small Natural JIF To Go PB packs too...just in case there's a PB shortage somewhere. Other ideas for goodies: granola bars, cheese cubes and crackers(Carr's Whole Wheat crackers are crazy yummy even plain), and fruit.  Berries are the most perfectly sized portable fruit IMO.

And Izze.  Don't forget those little guys...only slightly better than a Coke Zero but they do stave off the cravings when all you want is something bubbly, which for me is waaaaay too often.

Don't forget the four-legged piglets in your car.  I give Zukes a good portion of my paycheck each month--I like that they are not total junk like the mainstream brands and that they are made in Colorado.    Brooklyn loves each and every variety of their snacks and supplements so it was a given to pack some in the front with us.  And cheese.  Yes, pups LOVE string cheese and we buy it bulk for spoiled rotten puppies.

With all these snacks packed perfectly into a tote with a couple of books on CD...12 hours pass more quickly than you can imagine and you feel a lot better arriving at your destination than if you'd stopped for fast food, candy bars and chips along the way.  

PS--I love Land's End monogrammable totes.  Yes I do.  That's another post altogether. 

This sweet little bridge is Hogback Bridge in Winterset, IA.  When I read the book The Bridges of Madison County, I envisioned the bridges to be north of I-80, or northern IA country.  The bridges are south of I-80.   Geographical changes like these (to what's in my mind) really throw me.  It took me awhile to get over the fact that the bridges were in southern IA and not northern IA like I'd imagined.  When I visited Mt. Rushmore years ago, I fixated for a week on the fact that the presidents' faces look east when my entire life I'd envisioned them peering due south.  Yes, total dork alert.

This is Roseman Bridge.  It's a lovely little jaunt down gravel farm roads (love those).  I wish we'd been able to visit some other time than high noon but alas, it was bright and super sunny.  Sun flare was inevitable.

The bridges were covered to protect against weather and keep horses from looking over and being spooked.  I eavesdropped on an actual tour. :)

Puppies are more fixated on the cooling rivers under the bridges than the bridges themselves.