Jonathan Meyer.

July 27 will be one of those days I think none of us will forget. As we watched the day come closer and closer, forecasted temperatures went up and up. At one point I read highs of 101 for that Thursday. Luckily those original forecasts were altered and we ended up with low 90 degree weather instead of a hundred degrees. With all that being the precursor to the event I knew we were all in for a treat.

Being 19, I don’t even remember our last time hosting RAGBRAI. With my role for this newspaper (you’re reading), I was going to dive in head first while documenting my experiences and reporting it for the community to read about.

To start my day I walked. I walked and walked and walked. From my house in Tama, to the elementary and high school, then to downtown Toledo. By noon I had 15,000 steps already recorded, with the day becoming hotter and hotter.

Once I had walked to Toledo I met up with my colleague and friend Mike. Mike had a very important item that I simply did not, a golf cart. After our morning hellos, we set out for our RAGBRAI adventure.

After a loop around town and plenty of hundreds of pictures. We both returned to Toledo and found the man that makes the newspaper possible, our editor Rob. With the dream team assembled, we toured the community by way of golf cart. From pictures and interviews to food and friends all three of us found different things we all enjoyed.

Maybe the highlight of the day was the three of us running into Darvin and Allison Graham in downtown Tama. The number of articles written between the five of us must’ve totaled in the millions. Big thank you to the Grahams for all their kindness and support in our journey as reporters.

Looking back on that day I remember two particular things: How amazing seeing a community coming together really is and the joys of sharing our community with others. Both equally important items, continuing our story here in Tama-Toledo.