The Iowa Central men’s and women’s swim coach has embarked on a trip to visit all of the ‘Freedom Rocks’ across all 99 counties in Iowa.

The Freedom Rocks were created by artist Ray Sorensen and designed to honor veterans and provide a unique piece of art to each of Iowa’s 99 counties.

“It kind of started when we were working at home (because of COVID-19) and didn’t have a lot going on,” Plane said. “We had some hours, so we ran through (the swim team) campus and through the baseball field and run up to the Freedom Rock in Fort Dodge (on the westside of town).

“Then I was driving through the westside of the state by the one in Correctionville. I did a little search because I didn’t really know about them. I saw that there were more and wanted to get out there. I learned more on the process of making them, and just loved visiting them and hitting the open road.”

Plane, a motorcycle enthusiast, has traveled the 7,000 miles on his motorcycles. He put over 2,000 miles on his Kawaski Vulcan 750, and just recently purchased a Vulcan 1500, adding 5,000 miles to it.

All of his trips have been exciting and taken him to different places. He started with journeys around the Fort Dodge area, visiting rocks in Humboldt (Livermore), Kossuth (Whittemore), Pocahontas (Rolfe) and Webster Counties. He also saw area rocks in Hamilton (Stratford), Greene (Jefferson), Calhoun (Rockwell City) and Sac (Sac City) County.

Plane has rocks left to visit in Clinton and Muscatine. Sorensen has plans to finish four additional rocks in Linn, Jones, Henry and Jefferson County this summer.

“One thing that I did learn traveling through Iowa: the views are remarkable,” Plane said. “You always hear people say how flat and boring Iowa is, but that’s not the case.

“It’s such a beautiful state with so much topography. This has been truly a great way to see it.”

The biggest trip for Plane came on a two-day adventure.

“I did one overnight trip,” Plane said. “I saw 13 rocks over the course of two days. Eight on the first across 480 miles, and five on the second day.”

The adventure through the state also had a deeper meaning for Plane, who has had a number of family members in the military.

“My dad was in the Marines for nine years and my grandfather lost his legs in World War II,” Plane said. “He was born in Wheaton, Ill. and sent to Percy Jones hospital in Battle Creek, Mich. to get help. That’s where he meet my grandmother. If not for that, I wouldn’t be here.

“It was always in the back of my mind to join the military, because I had so much respect for what they did. After I learned more about what he was doing (Sorensen) and with my family history, it made it more personable. It’s a great process to honor the people in our military and travel the entire state.”