Day Trip to Iowa City

We had a quiet Saturday, so we decided to head to the Iowa City area.

We drove a bit north of Iowa City to see the rebuilt Sutliff Bridge (Sutliff, IA).

In 2008, the "500 Year" flood overtook the old bridge (built in 1897) and the East Span was washed down river. In 2012, the span was rebuilt and the bridge was opened for public use.

It was a beautiful day to take a stroll across the bridge!

Matt, Becki & Kaitee - enjoying the view!

A few artistic shots from Maddie's eye...

Next stop - North Liberty. We drove around Coralville Lake and then stopped to read about this satellite and see it in person. A few of the kids were excited when they realized that they had learned about this particular satellite in school. It is known as the National Radio Astromony Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array and it is literally hiding out in North Liberty! One of only 10 (of these types) satellites in North America, it was amazing to see it in person! With help from the other 9 satellite units, they form the most powerful telescope in the world!

We love visiting the Coralville Lake Spillway whenever we are in town. The whole area is a fun place to visit if you have an afternoon to spend! Definitely visit the Lake area, the spillway and the Fossil Gorge. Today, we just had a bit of time before heading to dinner and home. We decided to spend it at the spillway, mesmerized by the roaring water!

We enjoyed Cheddar's for dinner (Cookie Monster for dessert!!), looked for treasures at Goodwill and then started heading home. We stopped on our way out of Iowa City to enjoy the sunset - it was amazing! Matt & Kaitee took pictures while Maddie, Will & Alex played volleyball in the open parking lot!