When The Idea Hit Me
Seriously, I’ve been dreaming of driving across the heartland for ages. Like, staring out the window at the cornfields, wondering what’s down those backroads kind of dreaming. Flicking through Instagram one night, I saw this amazing shot of fields in crazy vibrant stripes – like a freaking rainbow painted on the land. That was it. That spark. I NEEDED to see that myself, up close, from my car window.
Starting Simple & Getting Overwhelmed
Alright, fired up the laptop the next morning, coffee already gone cold. Typed “rainbow fields heartland” – bad idea. Google just vomited a billion results. Farms near this town, tours near that one, blog posts contradicting each other. Total mess. Felt like hunting for a needle in a haystack, except the haystack was on fire.
Realized I had to be smarter. Changed my search to “state ag tourism + flower fields” for each state I thought might have the goods. That helped narrow it down a bit, but man, keeping track of where might have blooms when was nuts.
- Jotted down promising spots: Saw a sunflower farm in Iowa, heard about tulip fields in Michigan way earlier in the year, caught wind of lavender places up in Wisconsin, that super famous tulip spot in Holland, MI kept popping up.
- Checked dates – big time screw up first attempt: I almost planned a route seeing tulips in July. Yeah, no. Those bloom, like, May dude. Felt stupid. Went back, searched specifically for peak bloom times for each plant and each location. Made a messy month-by-month list on a scrap paper because the screen wasn’t helping me see it all.
- Considered driving time – reality check: Plotting those dots on the map… Milwaukee to Des Moines? Fine. Des Moines straight to Holland? Woah, way longer than I thought. Had to seriously rethink the order.
Mapping The Damn Thing Out
Okay, paper was covered in scribbles. Time for digital help. Opened up one of those free route planners online. Started plugging in my top picks based on my messy notes.
Key moves I made:
- Clustered stops: Grouped Michigan stops together (Holland lavender, tulip fields nearby), kept the big sunflower place in Iowa alone ’cause it was worth the trek, then aimed for Wisconsin’s flower farms on the way back east-ish. Minimized backtracking.
- Set time limits per stop: Learned my lesson from past trips! Forced myself to type realistic times – “2 hrs Holland Gardens, MAX” – into the planner. Prevents that whole “oops, spent all day there, now it’s dark” nonsense.
- Added buffer, like actual buffer: That little “add extra time” feature? I hammered it. 30% extra driving time. Because flat tire, wrong turn, irresistible farm stand with pie? All gonna happen.
Filling In The Blanks & Making it Real
Got the skeleton route – sweet! But a skeleton needs meat. Hit the road with my list.
Detailed each leg:
- Found specific farms: Went beyond “Wisconsin flowers” to actual names like “Johnson’s Berry Farm U-Pick” and “Sunny Meadows Lavender”. Saved their websites, double-checked open hours/days.
- Booked sleep spots EARLY: Small town near big attraction = booked fast. Found decent motels or Airbnbs within 30 mins drive of each major stop, hit reserve. Felt good knowing I wasn’t sleeping in the car.
- Found fuel/food options: The planner helps, but I zoomed in on the route looking for gas stations near the stops, and towns big enough for a diner or grocery store. Noted ’em on my paper backup.
- Made a back-pocket list: Things nearish the route if we were way ahead (lol, unlikely) or needed a detour. A cool waterfall hike, a historic grist mill, random local museum. Just options.
Ready to Roll (Almost)
Printed the final route sheet from the planner. Printed the list of stops with addresses and phone numbers. Booked the time off work. Car’s getting an oil change tomorrow. The physical map is stuffed in the glovebox. Phone has offline maps downloaded ’cause you know cell service out there can be trash. Feels real now.
The key honestly was starting messy (paper!), fixing my timing blunder fast, leaning on the route tool to handle the distances smartly, and then grinding out the specifics. It’s gonna be long drives some days, flat land a lot of the time, but those bursts of color… totally worth the planning headache. Hope this helps if you’re crazy enough to chase a Midwestern rainbow!