IOWA CITY , on I-80 55 miles west of the Mississippi, is refreshingly young at heart. The restored gold-domed Old Capitol is a reminder of its days as state capital, before government was transferred to the more central Des Moines. Residents were placated by getting the University of Iowa instead. The arty shops and sidewalk cafés of the compact downtown touch the east end of campus, but its red and gray buildings, closeted by tall dark trees, remain aloof from the rest of the town. About 12 miles east of Iowa City, the tiny Quaker town of West Branch attracts a steady stream of traffic from I-80 for its Herbert Hoover Library & Museum (daily 9am-5pm; $2). Informative exhibits and a documentary film cover Hoover's youthful adventures in China, his presidential victory and subsequent disgrace when the nation blamed him for the Great Depression, and his comeback after WWII as the leader of the European humanitarian relief effort. A walking tour includes Hoover's birthplace, a replica of his father's blacksmith shop and the Friends Meetinghouse where he attended Sunday services.

Greyhound stops at 404 E College St, just off downtown. The CVB is at 408 First Ave in Coralville, a mile northeast of downtown (tel 319/337-6592 or 1-800/283-6592, ). The Iowa City Public Library, 123 S Linn St. has internet access.

Iowa House is a comfortable central hotel in the Union building, beside the river on Madison Street (tel 319/335-3513; $50-75). To the west, inexpensive motels in Coralville include a very clean and good-value Super 8 , 611 First Ave (tel 319/337-8388; $50-75). The Coralville Park, three miles north of I-80 at exit 244 (tel 319/338-3543), is a good place to cast a fishing line, has a Devonian-era fossil bed and offers grassy tent sites for $8. Bargain food is easy to find, be it soup in a sourbread bowl at Quinton's , 215 E Washington St (tel 319/354-7074); the pastries and espressos served on long comfortable sofas at Java House , nearby at 211 E Washington St; or the burgers at Micky's , 11 S Dubuque St (tel 319/338-6860), a friendly, dimly lit Irish bar.