Des Moines
I think the sweetest people you’ll meet in America live in Iowa. Everyone we met went over and beyond in the helpful department. My Airbnb host was one of the best. These ladies we met on a trail offered maps and gave their best picks for must-sees in the area. Even the Secretary of State saw my dad and I (In our awesome Kentucky tee shirts) and took time out of his day to give us a personal tour of the capitol building! The neighbors in the hoity-toity neighborhood where we stayed were just as welcoming and friendly as you could imagine. I think they’d give the shirt off their back if they felt you could use it. Every. Single. One. A solitary stick-in-the-mud could not be found.
Which is completely counter to my introduction to Iowa which was in the form of my high school musical, The Music Man. If you recall previous posts where I mention my Idaho Beau…well, when he too was in the Music Man back in the day so when we were gallivanting around Europe we’d both break out into song and choreography from our respective productions. Needless to say, this musical runs deep within the both of us. Iowa Stubborn is the first song showcasing the entire cast. The defining part of the song states:
“We can be as cold as our falling
thermometers in December
If you ask about our weather in July.
And we’re gosh darn stubborn
We could stand touchin’ noses
For a week at a time
And never see eye-to-eye.
But what the heck, you’re welcome,
Join us at the picnic.
You can eat your fill
Of all the food you bring yourself.
You really ought to give Iowa a try.
Provided you are contrary.”
thermometers in December
If you ask about our weather in July.
And we’re gosh darn stubborn
We could stand touchin’ noses
For a week at a time
And never see eye-to-eye.
But what the heck, you’re welcome,
Join us at the picnic.
You can eat your fill
Of all the food you bring yourself.
You really ought to give Iowa a try.
Provided you are contrary.”
That is literally the only context I had of the state prior to visiting. My flight got in first thing in the morning. I got to my host’s house and took a nap while I waited for my dad to drive in from Kentucky. Dad shows up, dressed just like me in his Kentucky blue. I didn’t even know my dad had already been to Des Moines before so the typical tourist stops (botanical garden, etc, etc) was a low priority for him. So, the first order of business was off to the state capitol. I did some pinteresting and the law library looked like a place of wonder. We had to get it in before it closed that day Friday since it closes down during the weekend. We were on our self-guided tour when we visited the Secretary of State’s office. First, an intern started talking about the room but then the ever charming SoS, Paul Pate, greeted us and took over giving the history of the ceremonial office and the tour of the archives. We talked Kentucky basketball and barbeque before headed out of his office to see the Senate.
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| I like this picture because we look the same size. Dad is standing two steps below. |
Dad and I were surprised at how everyone welcomed us in to their offices and what appeared to be minimal security. As Secretary Pate explained, It’s the people’s capitol so they can’t make it so secure it is hard to access. I enjoyed learning the history of the building, it’s fire, it’s upgrades through moderation. Although I know plenty exist throughout the country, this was the first state building I’d ever been to without a confederate monument. In fact, they had a statue of fellow Kentuckian, Abraham Lincoln and his son, Tad who died as a pre-schooler.
The law Library was the grand final of the State Capitol visit. I don’t know why I didn’t take to the choreography that is still ingrained in my memory from my high school musical. I’m already a bibliophile and library connoisseur, but being in the gorgeous space took me back to twirling about on stage in the pink gingham dress my grandma made for me to a classmate singing, “I love you madly, madly Madam Librarian, Marina!”
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| I love you madly, madly Madam Librarian! |
Just know, the entire sound track of the Music Man was on continuous reply in my mind as I explored the city. In fact, seeing the Wells Fargo Arena made me want to bust out into cheesy, elbows swinging, choreography “It could be curtains or dishes or a double boiler or it could be…”And the chores responds “Yes your right it really could be..something special! just for me!”
Riverside
It’s not so easy to convince your friends to go to Iowa. “It’s fly over territory” one said. But my proposing the idea to my dad, who retired just two weeks earlier wasn’t a hard sell. Especially knowing he’s a trekie and Riverside, Iowa is the future birthplace of Captain James Kirk.
We got on the road and headed to Riverside to see the future birthplace of Captain Kirk. I went from riverside, California which is on all sorts of America’s best places to live lists, to Riverside, Iowa…which has a population of 1000 and no stop lights. I’m pretty sure they started boasting their tie to Star Trek in order to get some business because I just don’t see any other reason anyone would be drawn to the town.
As soon as you get to riverside, you are welcomed with a Star Trek theme. The city welcome sign has a space craft designed on it. as you enter the town there’s a replica of the Voyager and a museum. Pictures of star Trek crew members are displayed on street signs.
Finding this site was a challenge. I put the address in on my GPS. It took us right to a hair salon. We turned around and stopped at a gas station to ask directions. Not a soul in the gas station knew what we were talking about and pointed us to a monument of non-fictional U.S. Military warriors across the street instead of the Captain James Kirk sign. If this is your town’s theme and tourist draw, I’m going to need the gas station attendants to know where, on this one street town, the “monument” is located. What we learned from google is the “monument’ was actually behind the hair salon.
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| Dad came prepared with his space uniform. |
And that was it. We turned around and made the two-hour journey back to Des Moines. Des Moines boasts a great mix of diversity and a great place for politics. Because of the Iowa caucus, there’s no telling who you’ll run in to because everyone goes through Iowa. And it was nice to be in a place where it actually felt and looked like football season instead of sweltering in SoCal. We just so happened to be there the weekend Everyone was geared up for the Cy-Hawk state rivalry. We left the state and made our way to Nebraska.
Bridges Of Madison County
The interstate goes from one end of Iowa to the other. Driving it, on the way to Omaha, we passed by signs pointing to the John Wayne Museum. I’d seen this Museum on Pintrest but didn’t know where the town was in relation to Des Moines. In fact, all I knew was a list of Iowa towns from the musical, but not where they were on the map. So, dad and I decided a detour was in order. Dad likes to get up extra early so we got to the museum way before it opened and we just had too much to accomplish to wait around for it to open. We did explore what we could of the Duke’s hometown.
On the way out of town we took the trail pointing to a covered bridge. At the bridge we met two traveling friends from Dubuque (like in the song). They jabbered about as if we were long-time friends. They were enamored with all the sights they’d seen and passed along their tourist maps. It was only then that we became aware that we were Madison County of movie fame. There was a trail of covered bridges to see, plus a stone tower, and one room school house. So, why not!
