I have crossed Iowa quite a few times in a car on I-80 and I can tell you that it is not fun – pretty boring. In the GMC, we always like to stay off of the interstate highways because they are boring and can be stressful with the high speeds and the trucks. We like to travel slowly and ‘smell the roses’ . I can tell you that crossing it on US-20, a pre-interstate highway that runs along the northern border of the state, is not boring. I have gone through areas of California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and many others that are boring but this road is not. It is mostly straight but there are lots of ups and downs, lots of trees, lots of corn but it is growing on hills that are sometimes even terraced. I would recommend it.

Riverboat casino at Sioux City, Iowa from South Sioux City, Nebraska
We made it 3/4 of the way across the state and stopped on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River at South Sioux City, Nebraska. We are staying in a city park that is right on the river. The motto of the city on the front of our camp material says “Quality of Life… A Cardinal Rule” and it is under the figure of a cardinal bird. The park is mostly tree’d but they lost lots of trees in the flooding last year. Our spot is right on the river, has electricity and water, cable TV (we don’t use it though), and free wifi that actually works. All of this is costing us $20 per night – quite a bargain. We like this so much we have decided to just stay here tomorrow. In the photos you can see a riverboat that is actually a casino – it is on the Iowa side of the river.
Our camp site is in South Sioux City, Nebraska right on the Missouri River - $20 per night with electricity, water and free wifi

Here are some other photos we took during our second day – we needed a rest – in the South Sioux City, Nebraska city park.

This is GMC content but should interest anyone who cares what gasoline and food costs. Alcohol is being added to gasoline these days in the name of the environment and because it increases the octane rating of the gas but it is actually for the farmers and others who profit when corn and grain prices rise. It would seem to be a good environmental policy to use corn to make alcohol to be added to gasoline but it is not really. Not only does it seem to cost as much oil as it is saving but it results is lower mileage. 10% added ethanol reduces fuel mileage by about 10% so where is the savings? Also, the alcohol in the gas is bad for the vehicle. Metal and rubber are affected by alcohol and the water it encourages to form in your tank.

So, with that background I can tell you that gas stations and chains will elect to add alcohol to some types of gasoline and not to other types.  Because of what alcohol-laced gas does to all vehicles and especially to those with carburetors like the standard GMC I prefer gas without alcohol.

Now for the point… Casey’s General Store is a chain of gas stations that is all over Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. They sell gas with and without alcohol. The gas without alcohol is called ‘regular unleaded’, is 87 octane and costs 10 cents more per gallon than ‘super-unleaded’ which is 89 octane and does contain alcohol. I have used that for the last two tanks and the coach is running great and seems to have a lot more power. I never stopped at a station in Indiana or Illinois so I don’t know if this is true there or not but it was true all across Iowa and at the first Casey’s we saw in Nebraska. I hope it stays that way across the whole state.