I've been driving these country roads since I was a kid...

Not me.  That came from John.

After breakfast this morning, he said, "There is a park just outside of town that I have never seen.  Would you like to go check it out?"

"Sure."

Just outside of town meant: just past the next town over.  It seems we turned off the main highway a mile or so too soon.  It was clear to some of us in the car that we were getting further away from the park.  Ever the outstanding navigator, Joan pulled up Maps on her phone... "We should probably turn around on this road and go back to the main highway."

John was pretty sure there were some connecting back roads.  A few more miles on the side road, and we came across a gravel road going west.  Joan said, "We could take that one, but I don't know what the road will be like.  Or, we could go back to the main road."

We turned onto the gravel road.  Going west.  Then, south.  And, looking less-traveled.  Then, the sign...

I looked it up - Level B Service means: this road was last used by the buffalo in the 1860s.  There was a little bit of gravel that soon gave way to just dirt...

This would not be a road I would take my CR-V on.  John drives a nice shiny Cadillac... after the gravel and the dirt, it was no longer shiny.  I had less concern about the car, and more concern about someone coming across our bones bleaching in the sun when the road turned to this...

Yes, even though the car was going uphill, this road was going downhill.  Quickly.  I looked back at the navigator...

Only three more connecting roads, and we should be on a paved road (the one we didn't quite make it to from the main highway) leading to the park.

Yes, we made it.

Run by the same Conservation Board as the park we are in - this is a nice little (out of the way) county park.  A couple campgrounds, a small lake...

A beach on the small lake...

Pretty tree-lined roads...

Then, time to head back.  Iowa is quite pretty this time of year, with all the green fields...

Along the way, John told us the history of some of the homes and farms we passed.  We all enjoyed the outing.

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On edit:  supper this evening with John and his nephew Grant.  Good conversation, good pizza... and I think we may have solved some of the world's problems.