Loess Hills Day 3: Spacious Skies, Fruited Plains and Amber Waves of Grain

 Last day of our visit to western Iowa and the Loess Hills. Sunday, November 8, 2020. The plan was to navigate north to the Loess Hills Scenic Byway and make stops at our last remaining points of interest this morning before returning home. After leaving our cabin at Arrowhead Park, our first (unplanned) stop of the day provided this panoramic capture at 7:55 am CST along Magnolia Road, about 1.75 miles east of Highway L34 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Farm landscapes here featured beautifully terraced fields as far as the eye could see...and beyond.

8:59 am. Hay bales and rustic barns are seen above from Golden Place (road) just off Highway 183 in Harrison County. Cumulus clouds dotted the blue skies. Winds were brisk but temperatures again rose to the upper 70s F.

9:08 am. Panoramic view of hay bales and some of the Loess Hills, northbound on Highway 183 about a quarter-mile south of Geneva Place (road) in Harrison County. 

9:32 am. Ascending Brent's Trail on Murray Hill Scenic Overlook (41°50'20.60"N,  96° 0'0.61"W) along County Road F20, just east of Harrison County Road L14 (Loess Hills Scenic Byway). Image looks southwest.

Panoramic view hiking up Murray Hill.

Southwest view from one of the several overlook stops to the summit. At lower left is County Road F20, at middle right is Harrison County Highway L14.

Brent's Trail looking back toward the north during the ascent.

It was extremely windy on this day (gusts reaching over 40 mph). One literally had to hold on to one's hat! This view looks north from the summit of Murray Hill. Land to the right of the barbed-wire fence is private property.

South view from the summit. Brent's Trail continues down along the fence line and beyond--an eight mile hiking trail connecting Murray Hill with the Gleason-Hubel Wildlife Area. It was here that we turned around and headed back down the hill to our car to allow time for our final destination.

An overlook area on the way back down. Image looks west over flat plains toward the Missouri River and Nebraska.

Looking south near the bottom of Murray Hill. In the foreground is County Road F20. Now on to our final destination in the Loess Hills--the Walter Ordway Jr. Loess Hills Scenic Forest Overlook--a large wooden overlook structure situated on a hillside ( 41°54'19.04"N,  95°56'44.23"W) along Oak Avenue in Monona County. The overlook features a trail leading off to its south.

10:09 am. Panoramic view from the Loess Hills Scenic Overlook. South is at left, west toward the right.

Another view of the trail.

Closeup of the trail, leading off toward the south.

West view of hills, vegetation and sky from the trail.

A look back toward the overlook structure from the trail.

Similar view from farther along the trail.

Last look. View from the overlook area toward the trail we had just returned from. From here we set our sights toward US Highway 30 and back home. The Loess Hills were spectacular--a very pleasant surprise, and a great destination decision! Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.