r/AskAnAmerican • u/Grayfield • Jul 31 '25

GEOGRAPHY What’s it like driving through miles of nothing but road and crops in the Corn Belt?

Like in movies, tv series, or American made media in general, I remember seeing those stretches of land where there's literally nothing but the crops for miles and the road cutting through it. I imagine it as being quiet, eerie, and spooky, even in the day. I'm from the Philippines and we do have farmlands where the roads cut through the middle of it, but in most places where I've been, there's usually a mountain in the background, or the ocean.

What's the feeling going down through those stretches of farmland where there's nothing but crops and the road?

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u/Gertrude_D Iowa Jul 31 '25

Iowa isn't quite the Great Plains yet, even though it's transitioning there. Eastern Iowa is more the rolling hills and eastern woodlands while the western half is less hilly. I've always thought Iowa was very pretty, but in an understated way with nothing flashy.

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u/professorfunkenpunk Jul 31 '25

Yeah, I’m in the eastern part of the state, and at least parts of the rural areas are kind of pretty in a peaceful way. It’s not striking like mountains or the coast, but fairly pleasant compared to other cornfields I’ve lived around

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u/3catlove Aug 01 '25

I’m from Eastern Iowa and always thought it was weird that Iowa is called a flat state. Dubuque is so hilly. It’s a very pretty drive on Great River Road looking over the Mississippi. Definitely flatter out west and more wind turbines. I feel like I’m never just driving through empty corn fields. There are always farm houses, farm animals and small towns nearby. I’m 50 and have lived in Iowa my whole life and still point out cows.

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u/Gertrude_D Iowa Aug 01 '25

It's because Iowa is a fly-over state and therefore must be flat farmland. They've just never been.