2009 - The Day The Music Died, Clear Lake, IA

While not being a huge rock and roll history buff, I've heard Don McClean's song American Pie, knew of its significance, and even knew the dreadful plane crash had happened somewhere in Iowa.  The first leg of my Great River Road tour brought us south on I-35 near Clear Lake, Iowa, which is precisely where Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their finale venue at the Surf Ballroom before flying out on that fateful night.  You can read more about the tragedy at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died or http://www.fiftiesweb.com/crash.htm.

There are a pair of virtual geocaches in the Clear Lake area so as everyone knows, if there's a geocache, I'll stop anywhere.  Holly Shrine (GC6780) is located at the actual crash site and The Day The Music Died (GC8519) is located at the Surf Ballroom in downtown Clear Lake.

Enjoy the photographs..

The trail head to ground zero is located at 315th St and Gull Ave N 43° 13.222 W 093° 22.470	Molly & her Grandma Norvina walking the field to the site	The shrine is located literally in the middle of private property N 43° 13.222 W 093° 22.885
Bart, Molly & Grandma Norvina at the crash site	The Surf Ballroom located in Clear Lake, IA	The original box office at the Surf Ballroom