ROUTE I-80, Iowa – I never thought I would find myself here, but lo and behold, I am now between Davenport (definitely not the college) and Iowa City, heading west on I-80. It’s cold here in Iowa… and flat—and empty.

Moments ago, I gave up my driver’s seat to Ryan Galisewski ’09, my co-editor. He is now steering the car toward Centerville—a small town southeast of Des Moines—to meet up with Matt Lucas ’10, the third in our trio of caucus coverage for the News.

We began our journey earlier today. Ryan and I left from Chicago in mid-afternoon. The roads are icy, and travel has been slow going. We crossed the Mississippi River and simultaneously crossed from Illinois into Iowa. We took the first exit off the interstate, following signs to the state’s welcome center, hoping to get a feel for what we would see over the coming days. We found it alright…well off the interstate and closed. Snow piled high in its parking lot. Welcome to Iowa?

After an I-80 u-turn, I passed a digital thermostat on a bank sign: One degree Fahrenheit, forgetting wind chill. Again: Welcome to Iowa.

But nothing will stop us from carrying out; history’s about to be made.

Get ready for the ride.

– Chris Young