^A trailblazer seen by northbound travelers on Iowa 5 in Albia, October 2021.

Iowa Route 5 runs southeast and south of the Des Moines area, ending as a transition to Missouri Route 5 at the Missouri border.  The shape of the route resembles that of the northeast quarter of a circle.  The northwestern extent of Iowa Route 5 is an east-west freeway that flanks the southern side of the Des Moines area.  The western end is at Interstate 35.  Eastward past the freeway, Iowa Route 5 bends southeasterly until the town of Knoxville as a four-lane rural highway.  After Knoxville, Iowa Route 5 continues southeast to Albia, then south to the Missouri border, all as a two-lane rural road. The southern end, the aforementioned crossing into Missouri, occurs south of Centerville, Iowa.

My photo of Iowa Route 5 shows a southbound reassurance marker pointing toward the junction of Iowa Route 5 with Iowa Route 137 in Albia.  I faced south when taking this photo. If I turned 135 degrees to the left, I would be pointing northeast, looking down the southwestern start of Iowa Route 137.  I took this photo as part of the southwestern Iowa trip of October 2021.

Here are a few more photos from Iowa Route 5:

Looking northwest as Iowa 5 approaches Iowa 316 near Pleasantville.

Iowa 5 meets a fork with Iowa 137 on the north side of Albia. This sign serves northbound travelers.

Looking south at the 4-way intersection where Iowa 5 crosses US Route 34, on the south side of Albia.

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