Adventures in wayfinding:

Going straight

Text by Michele Regenold, Photos by Alison Weidemann

Your mother mutters something under her breath about your sanity, but she keeps going straight on 13th Street. Two lights farther down you get a glimpse of some buildings in the distance.

“See,” you say, “I bet those are dorms.”

“Could be,” she says. As you pass them, you look for a sign, a name, anything that will tell you you’ve actually reached some part of campus.

If there is one, you don’t see it. You slump in your seat. “We better turn around,” you say.

Your mom nods and does a U-turn at the next light to head back to the interstate. She spots a sign for the business district.

“I wonder if there’s a decent coffee shop downtown,” she says.

“I don’t want to be late,” you say.

“Just a quick peek.” She turns right on Grand Avenue.

A few blocks down, you spot a big green sign in the distance that says “Iowa State University.”

“Boy, was that lucky,” your mother says. “I guess the coffee can wait.” She turns right onto Lincoln Way. Soon you both spot more buildings that look like dorms and a big coliseum.

You’ve reached the edge of your campus map. On to the Memorial Union.