This ride begins in the city of Glenwood, Iowa! Originally established by Mormons in 1848, Glenwood prospered during the California Gold Rush in large part thanks to the grain mill located on Keg Creek. In 1852, after the Mormon population from Glenwood had largely left, many of them going to Utah, the town was renamed for the Presbyterian minister Glenn Wood.

In 1876, the states orphanage, which evangelist and baseball player Billy Sunday lived in for a time as a child, was converted into the Iowa Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children. This would grow quickly, and was at a point home to nearly 2,000 patients. It took until the late 1950's for people to discover that the asylum was housing someone for 59 years who had above average intelligence. The ensuing backlash sparked a transformation from traditional wards to a group housing project which provides community and resource for those with complex health needs.

After World War II, Glenwood became a center for meat-packing, housing one of America's largest kosher packing houses during the 1950's. It closed in the 1980's, as meat-packing moved to sites further west, closer to ranching areas. The slaughterhouse is now occupied by the hot-tub manufacturer Trajet.

In addition, Glenwood has at one time or another been home to several notable people. Among them are Curt Kaufman, pitcher for teams such as the California Angels and New York Yankees, famed evangelist Billy Sunday, and Don Hall, filmmaker who won an Oscar in 2015 for his work on the Disney movie Big Hero 6 (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com, image courtesy of Iowaryan / Public domain).