Day 2 featured a trip from South Bend, Indiana to Des Moines, Iowa…via Fairfield, Iowa and Vedic City, Iowa (yes, a real place). Just 600 miles or so today. About 1300 total miles so far.
In other news….we cross the Mississippi today!
We sped right through Illinois, and I was pleasantly surprised with Iowa. It was really bright green, with lots of lush trees and rolling hills. I was expecting parched barren land, outside of the irrigated cornfields, but this was not at all the case. South Central Iowa was particularly pristine and lush, like a much less populated version of Pennsylvania, with smaller hills.
We made a detour in Iowa, to visit Fairfiel, Iowa, home of Mararishi Mahesh Yogi’s “Maharishi School of Management.” I was intrigues with the fact of such a school (there are high school and elementary schools run by the same organize) that teaches yoga and meditation as an important part of the curriculum.
The campus was pretty empty, since school wasn’t yet in session. There were two massive gold domes on the campus, where 2,000 students gather twice a day for meditation. Unforunately, they do not let people who are not practitioners of Maharishi’s “TM” technique (Transcendental Meditation) into the domes.
We headed north to the Vedic City, which is supposed to be an ideal model city and home to many TM practioners and a large Ayurvedic clinic.
Due to the Univeristy and the nearby Vedic City, Fairfield is home to several vegetarian and healthy food stores and restaurants. It was a pleasant surprise to see such vegan choices available in a small midwestern town!
After having our fill of Fairfield, we drove a very scenic rode for a few hours to Des Moines. Tomorrow, we head to Rapid City and Badlands National Park. Depending on time, we will either see Mt. Rushmore tomorrow or Wednesday on our way to Cody, Wyoming.
—-Some Pics —–
Indiana Soybeans (I think).
Crossing the Mississippi.
World’s largest truckstop. Off I-80 in Iowa.
One of the dozen or so vegetarian friendly restaurants in Fairfield, Iowa.
The main square in Fairfield.
Who says you can’t find good vegan food in the midwest?
One of the golden domes, where thousands of Siddhas come to meditate every day.
Some houses in the Vedic City.
The Observatory at Vedic City. This is one of the dozen different instruments.
Capital of the Global Country of World Peace (aka Vedic City).
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