Shooting the Waverly Carnegie Library

... at least what's left of it. Waverly built a new library a while back and the only thing left of the Carnegie library is this cornerstone. The building that it's attached to is a large, boxy commercial building; not really what we came to see but it is what we found so I submit it for your consideration.

Shooting the Black Hawk County Courthouse

Waterloo is the county seat of Black Hawk County and this is their courthouse. It's located in an area that took a guide familiar with the city to locate. Being a more modern struture, the standard clock tower found atop older courthouses is not there.

Shooting a Waterloo Carnegie Library

Yes, this a Carnegie library building found in Waterloo, not the Carnegie library building. Waterloo is one of two communities in Iowa that were able to secure funding for a main library and a branch. This one now houses the offices for a few city departments so it's still serving the community. We didn't realize that there were two until a week or so later so we'll have to go back some time to find the other.

Stepping inside the Blackhawk Hotel

Cedar Falls has recently done significant work to revitalizate their downtown. The restoration of the Blackhawk Hotel has been recognized by the community and put the hotel on the list of 100 Places. Linda and I stepped inside the lobby and got a sense of what it may have been like to have stood on that spot fifty years prior. The woodwork was gave a warm feel to the space. Leaded glass in the doors added a simple elegance. From the lobby, you can pass to the neighboring barbershop or martini bar without stepping outdoors. It looks like a comfortable, cozy place right at the hub of the Cedar Falls scene.

Checking out a couple of the sights in Waverly

On the courthouse grounds, Linda and I ran across this patriotic park bench dedicaterd to the memory of Don McKenzie. The distinctive design of this memorial bench really caught my eye. The use of the slats in the back of the bench as stripes of the flag was pretty clever. I was unable to find any further information about Mr. McKenzie.


Across the street from the cornerstone of the former Waverly Public Library, we saw Jimmy's Station Museum; a cleaner than usual version of the classic corner gas station. We didn't go over and poke around but could appreciate the overall look of the place and care that had been taken to keep things clean and orderly. It's a nice feature.

Shooting the Bremer County Courthouse

Waverly is the county seat of Bremer County and this is their courthouse. Located along the main east-west highway through town, this courthouse was easy to find situated on nice grounds. As you may see, there's another Statue of Liberty featured in the foreground at this courthouse.

Visiting Strawberry Point

If you ever see Iowa tourism material, odds are good you've seen either Albert the Bull or the strawberry at Strawberry Point. Being in the area and looking for a gas station, Linda and I tooled on up the road. After topping off the gas, I took the short stroll over to city hall and got this shot of what is generally considered the largest strawberry sculpture on display in these United States. This handsome tribute to the tasty fruit is fifteen feet tall, made of fiberglass, and dedicated some time in the 1960s. Worth a pause to appreciate, I'd say.

Visiting Backbone State Park

Wow! Another of the 100 Places in Iowa, Backbone State Park is an amazingly different piece of Iowa. Our oldest state park, Backbone features a narrow ridge of stone that drops sharply to the river below. As Linda and I were climbing around, I was a little more cautious than usual because of the severity of the drop. The image in the upper left shows Linda ahead of me on the trail; in that image, Linda has just passed a point where the ridge is effectively no wider than the path. In the image on the right, you can see the river and trees below. Reading from the Wikipedia entry, I learned that this area is part of the Driftless Area, unaffected by glaciers in the last Ice Age. It's a very interesting place to visit.

Shooting the Manchester Carnegie Library

Much like their courthouse, the library in Manchester is an attractive building. Linda and I stepped inside and were impressed by how well they'd blended the addition with the original building. The new space probably more than doubled the capacity of the library without changing the welcome feeling; very nicely done. One thing that was a bit disappointing was that the entrance in the picture is apparently no longer used. The staircases up and down from this entrance are beautiful blonde wood now out of side to most of the public. That said, the library was active and clearly serving the community well.

Shooting the Delaware County Courthouse

Manchester is the county seat of Delaware County and this is their courthouse. Looking at the Wikipedia entry for the county, I found the following and have to wonder about the rest of the story.

It was named in honor of Delaware Senator John M. Clayton, who also has another Iowa county, Clayton County, named in his honor.

Clayton and Delaware county share a common border but I really haven't seen why this part of the state chose to honor the Senator and Secretary of State from Delaware and his state by taking their name.

Setting aside the county name curiosity for a moment, this is truly a beautiful building.

Shooting the Linn County Courthouse

Cedar Rapids is the county seat of Linn County and this is their courthouse. Located on Mays Island in the middle of the Cedar River, it's not too hard to find but parking is rather limited. There appears to be underground parking between the courthouse and city hall but Linda and I didn't go exploring to that depth.

Capturing a couple of interesting buildings in Cedar Rapids

The Veterans Memorial Building is quite striking, towering above two of the main roads across the Cedar River. Located on Mays Island, this building is also City Hall. The flame at the top reminded me of the torch on the Statue of Liberty. Below the torch, the row of columns also clearly says municipal building.

I believe that I've heard that the window in the arch at street level is quite impressive from inside. Unfortunately, it wasn't open to get to see it for myself to that will have to wait for another day.

Located a couple of blocks from City Hall is the bank formerly known as Peoples Savings Bank. The second of Louis Sullivan's eight jewel box banks stands as a nice reminder of another time. The original structure used fifteen different shades of brick to create a visual texture with "the effect of an antique Oriental rug." The terra cotta details on the exterior are really quite intricate and beautiful. Click here to see images from the restored interior.

Checking out the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

Linda and I have been wanting to see some of the other USHL venues and, being in Cedar Rapids, we stopped in to see them play. When we walked into the arena, the flashing green lights on the police officer's glasses were pretty amusing. The number eight Budweiser car Dale Earnhardt Junior drove at Martinsville in the spring was on display and attracted a decent crowd.

Very early in the first period, the referee took a shot from the puck or stick that drew blood under his left eye. There was a significant stoppage as medical staff worked to get the bleeding stopped so that play could continue. Soon, the game was back on but we checked from time to time.

The game went well and the home RoughRiders got off to a good start against the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets. The RoughRiders won four to three but the game was in doubt as the final minutes were winding down. One of the Cedar Rapids traditions is to rattle their cow bells during the last minute of each period; that's some kinda racket!

It was fun to see a new arena and see a good game to boot!

Trying the Ribs at Al and Irene's

Linda and I pulled up in front of Al and Irene's and trusted the list of 100 Things You Must Eat In Iowa. Located a bit off the beaten path and without much exterior promotion, the place looked a little sketchy. When we walked inside, we still had concerns that we were in the right place. Half of the tables still had upside down chairs on them, apparently from close the night before. There were a dozen or so people in the booths and tables set up for customers but Linda observed none of them had food or drink. Nobody came to seat us so we made our way to a booth on the far wall. Soon a waitress, probably Irene, brought menus and shortly returned to take our order. We each ordered ribs and I got the cole slaw and potato salad sides.

As you can probably make out from the impressionist photo (sorry about the blurry image,) a very nice pile of meaty, tasty ribs was soon set before me. About half way through, Linda and I were both grateful we'd chosen the mild sauce. At first, we'd only been aware of the sweetness; as time went on, a little zing had begun to work it's way into the flavor. Not so much as to be uncomfortable but as much as we were really looking for tonight. I'd certainly go back to Al and Irene's.

Shooting the Buchanan County Courthouse

Independence is the county seat of Buchanan County and this is their courthouse... and miniature Statue of Liberty. As Linda and I drove up to the courthouse to find a good angle to shoot, I realized, with a laugh, I'd already shot this courthouse!

On the way home from Wisconsin a few weeks ago, Linda and I had passed through Independence and I was just getting started shooting the courthouses. As we were preparing for this road trip, I'd not really checked to see if we'd seen this one yet. I hadn't published the photo because it was night and the shot was kind of fuzzy but I've got one. Now, I've got a better one.

Shooting the Vinton Carnegie Library

This attractive building is the Carnegie library in Vinton. The trees in the front do obscure the facade but are surely appreciated in the heat of summer.

Linda and I stepped inside to see if this design differed significantly from others we'd encountered. It was very nicely maintained and ordered inside. A few people were in the various quadrants of the library, reading or working with computers. The magazine and periodical section, empty at the moment, looked very comfortable and inviting.

Having been in a few of these libraries now, I've built sense of the design idea that has been consistent throughout. They're not spaces with strict order and regimen and rows and rows of shelves you slip between; rather a place to quietly experience books, with walls lined with shelves open to all, with comfortable chairs and open, lit spaces. Very nice.

Shooting the Benton County Courthouse

Vinton is the county seat of Benton County and this is their courthouse. This handsome courthouse is located near the center of a very well maintained historic business district bustling with activity as we passed through. I'd never been to Vincent and was very impressed with how well maintained things appeared and how much of the old mainstreet look and feel had been preserved while interiors were clearly updated with varied and active businesses.

Pausing at the Preston Station

Driving east out of Tama, Linda asked if I'd ever been to Belle Plaine. When I said I hadn't, she said she had something to show me. We followed the signs and were soon cruising into town. As we swept around the long arc of the highway, she pointed and said "There it is!"

It's the kind of place my Mom probably wondered if Dad, left to his own choices, might have made. Once a gas station, the Preston Station is now a landmark and museum along the Lincoln Highway. As you can see, the exterior has been pretty well covered with various signs from the times. The interior is every bit as plastered with great memorabilia of years gone by. Ron Preston, son of George, came out to show us his father's station and some some of the particulary nice pieces he'd accumulated. One of the prized items was a photo from George visiting with Johnny Carson, March 21, 1990, on the Tonight Show.

Next door to the station in the photo is another building, every bit as covered in signs, that houses several other items too large to fit in the station itself. Ron opened the doors to show us a few of them. It was quite a treat to get the tour and hear a few of the tales.

Stumbling onto "The Main Street Across America"

Following our noses south out of Toledo, Linda and I found ourselves in the twin community of Tama looking for their Carnegie library. The address I had turned out to be their current library so that was a bust but ...

Out front of the new library was the concrete post you can see in the image in the lower left. The medallion embedded in the concrete is captured in the center image; the inscription reads "This highway dedicated to Abraham Lincoln." Curiouser and curiouser. As we left the library, I saw an oddly painted telephone pole (wonder how much longer we'll be calling them that!) It had the same red, white, and blue striping as on the side of the concrete post and the same blue 'L' on the white. Having run into a similar use of poles with the White Pole Road, we had a clue.

We stayed on the street with the pole and soon came across the very unique concrete bridge shown in the upper and lower images. The side rails were formed to spell out "Lincoln Highway." Nearby was a plaque with the following inscription:

The Historic "Lincoln Highway" Bridge

This bridge, constructed in 1915, was an early advertisement for the Lincoln Highway, which was the first successful effort to mark, promote, and build an automobile highway spanning the United States. Initiated in 1913 as a memorial to the martyred president, the Lincoln Highway linked Iowa to both coasts and crossed the state by way of Tama. Motorists today can travel the original route through the city by following signs that begin at the bridge and continue west on 5th Street. Guard rails spelling out the name on both sides make this a unique bridge on the Lincoln Highway. On March 30, 1978, the briedge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and community donations paid for its restoration in 1987. It stands as a dramatic reminder of a time when few roads were paved and the campaign to "Get out of the mud" had just begun.

We'd stumbled across the Lincoln Highway! Another nice find!

Shooting the Tama County Courthouse

Toledo is the county seat of Tama County and this is their courthouse. Located in the square at the center of the business district, it's atop a hill a couple blocks off the main highway north through town. The grounds are well tended and an interesting bandstand type stage is prominent on the east side. I'm guessing that certain ceremonial functions may be performed atop that structure.

Trying Cecil's Cafe

Before leaving Marshalltown, Linda and I thought we should try a place mentioned on the RoadFood web site, Cecil's Cafe. A number of items mentioned on the site had been on the list of 100 Foods; RoadFood recommended the tenderloin and omlette so we figured we'd give them a shot. It's not really the kind of place I felt comfortable taking a photo of the food so you'll have to take my word.

Linda said the tenderloin was good but not better than most we've had. The ham and cheese omlette, on the other hand, was noteworthy. The ham wasn't the little cubes you commonly find amongst the folded egg; this ham was nickel sized, thick sliced, and coated with that carmelized layer that forms when it's slowly fried in a pan. It was GREAT! We'll be back.

Checking out Lillie Mae's

Linda and I took a little walk around the Marshalltown square and ran across Lillie Mae Chocolates, a great little chocolate shop. Just walking through the door was a flavorful experience. We wandered around a bit, looking at all the various offerings. Of course, they had a nice selection of fudge and we got to sample a flavor or two. I ended up getting about an inch cube of their caramel apple pie flavored fudge; I think it even had bits of apple mixed throughout.

One of the fun finds was the woman in the red top you can just see behind the glass case at the far end of the room. She was hand dipping the truffles! To her left was a small collection of what appeared to be nougat fillings. She picked up one with her left hand and tossed it into a pool of molten chocolate in front of her. With her chocolate covered right hand, she rolled and tossed the candy until it was covered. She then moved it to an area to her right where she traced the well practiced pattern the put the identifying swirl on top so people knew it was cherry.

Their signature Tor-Tush is their spin on the turtle. It's a tasty variation on the classic treat.

Shooting the Marshalltown Carnegie Library

The Carnegie funded library is still getting good use in Marshalltown. Located about a block north of the town square, it's a nice part of the neighborhood. Linda and I stepped inside to see the interior and it's clearly a well used and nicely maintained structure. It's neat to see one of these libraries still serving the community.

Shooting the Marshall County Courthouse

Marshalltown is the county seat of Marshall County and this is their courthouse. Located on a hill in the center of the business district of the community, it was easy to find. This shot is actually of the east side of the building but the main entrance appears to be on the north. The position of the sun made this shot my preferred.

Shooting the Story County Courthouse

Nevada is the county seat of Story County and this is their courthouse. Located on the edge of the main business district, this courthouse was easy to find.

I'd never been to Nevada but did know the proper pronunciation. For those not familiar, it's not like the state with the same spelling. The 'a' between the 'v' and 'd' is a long 'a' as in 'way.'

Reporting the Phoenix Results

#2 Overdue 206 vs 354 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 403 vs 470 #1 Bear Down Racing
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 447 vs 290 #4 halffastracing

I'm in a three way tie heading into the last race of the season!

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 22-13
#5 Blue Bayou 20-15
#1 Bear Down Racing 18-17
#2 Overdue 18-17
#4 halffastracing 18-17
#3 Desert Denny 9-26

Trying a Sifers Valomilk Candy

Somewhere, Linda ran across a list of regional candies. Sifers Valomilk is one of these candies. She also ran across a display of the uncommon candies at a local grocery and picked one up so we could have the experience. The wrapper looks like it could have been left unchanged over the life of the treat.

Reading from their website, I found:

The "creamy flowing marshmallow center is made from fresh corn syrup, pure cane sugar, distilled water, pan dried (hand made) egg whites, pure Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar and a touch of salt. Nothing artificial. No additives. No preservatives."

It's my understanding that while these may make the candy more attractive, it also makes for a short shelf life, contributing to a pretty limited production and availability. Fortunately, we got to try one. They're a bit messy but pretty good.

Sending off the Drake Football Seniors

Saturday, Linda and I enjoyed a crisp fall day at Drake Stadium watching the last game the seniors were going to be playing as Bulldogs. The season that had started with Drake as a contender ended with them playing the role of spoiler. The Dayton Flyers came to town in a three way tie at the top of the Pioneer conference. When all the pushing and shoving was done, the Flyers locked it up winning 34-27. Along the way, senior standout Scott Phaydavong closed the book on his career with 5,830 yards in 925 carries. Very nice! Many of the senior names had become familiar and will be missed next year.

Heading Home

I attended as much of the last session that I could before catching my shuttle to catch my plane. From that point on, it was hurry up and wait.

Sunrise was pretty. The light on the palm trees made for an interesting contrast against the brightening sky.

Looking back at my pictures, I see that it was an uncommon day for me: I saw two monorails in use. Both Orlando and Detroit use monorails at their airports. I rode on the pale yellow Orlando monorail train in the lower right image. The bright red train in the center image on the right wasn't really going where I was so I only got to watch it glide by overhead. Pretty cool!

The light show in the lower right image is found in the tunnel between concourses in Detroit. It's a pretty pleasing display.

Strolling around Orlando

Our last evening in town, two co-workers and I decided to get out to do a little roaming and shopping at one of the Disney themed areas. It was pretty amazing. As you can see, there were some pretty impressive Lego sculptures around, several places to eat, be entertained or both, and to pick up mass quantities of things to bring home. We wandered the area, got a bite to eat at Wolfgang Puck's, and picked up a few bits of memorabilia.

Spending Halloween at SeaWorld

Having looked around my hotel enough, I spent the evening at SeaWorld. It was my first time there so I didn't really know what to expect. It was a very memorable treat.

One of the things I'd long heard was a great show was the killer whales. One was scheduled for about thirty minutes after I passed through the gates so I made my way there. The show was titled Believe and was an impressive display of training, trust, and treats. I'd seen video of parts of these shows before but it was really touching to see how the performers all interact so well.

Of course, what's Halloween without costumes and candies? Sea World did an excellent job of positioning people in water related costumes around the grounds, many with cleverly disguised barrels of candies for the kids... and were there kids?! You were never really far from someone under the age of ten but it never really felt crowded to me. It was a very nice promotion.

I didn't put my hand in the water to touch the stingrays. People do ... Steve Irwin did... but not at Sea World.

The underwater viewing of the dolphins was pretty cool but very dark for photography. I was able to pull the lower left image out of the darkness to share a little of the playful nature on display.

The penguins are always good for a photo or two.

The hotel concierge had recommended the Shamu Rocks show as one of the favorite attractions. It was scheduled for the last half hour of the park day and seemed like it could be a nice way to wrap up the evening. I headed over and a block away could hear the crowd and feel the anticipation. This show was after dark and set to some pretty fun classic rock and roll music. Some of the same tricks were performed as in the earlier show but, in the dark, they had a new excitement. Unfortunately, the low light made photography more challenging but I think you get the idea of the presentation.

Looking around the hotel ... again

I know... I've already had a "Looking around the Hotel" entry for this hotel. There's just not much more going on... other than the sessions during the day and those aren't really blog material.

The weather was affected by the tropical storm a few hundred miles away. It was generally windy and overcast. The photo in the top left is probably the best I have for showing the effects of the wind.

The image in the upper right is part of the collection of towels on hand for people using the pool. Both images in the lower half are from near the pool as well. As you can see in the lower right, it did clear off from time to time.

Looking around the hotel

As I was getting ready my first morning in Florida, I watched out the window and was treated to a wonderful sunrise. I didn't know that it was going to be the only morning that would produce anything to write about.

During the noon break, I went back up to the room and shot the overhead view of the palm trees and ground cover. They did a good job of keeping the grounds nice.

After the business of the day was completed, I took a walk around the grounds and ran across the squirrel who really wanted to get to the ground but not where he could see me. After I got a decent photo, I moved along and let him get down.

Even though it was late in the year in Iowa, there were still blooming flowers to be found in Florida.

Reporting the Texas Results

#1 Bear Down Racing 510 vs. 345 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy
#4 halffastracing 317 vs. 439 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 396 vs. 322 #2 Overdue

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 21-12; lost; 21-13
#5 Blue Bayou was 19-14; won; now 20-14
#2 Overdue was 18-15; lost; now 18-16
#4 halffastracing was 18-15; lost; now 18-16
#1 Bear Down Racing was 16-17; won; now 17-17
#3 Desert Denny was 7-26; won; now 8-26

Finding my room

I caught my shuttle from the airport and checked into my room. It was way nice! The room was spacious and with nice features. The bathroom was big and bright. There was a balcony and it was huge; you could have had a dozen people out there and been comfortable. This was a pretty nice place for the company to be picking up the tab. I felt a little guilty but took it all in stride.

It was a little late and I just wanted to settle in for the night. I did something I don't remember having ever done before: ordered room service. The price was actually pretty reasonable and I didn't really know where I'd go if I were to begin searching for food at that hour. The tiny bottles of ketchup and mustard had to make it into the blog somehow. It was a good start to my trip.

Leavin' on a jet plane...

But unlike the song, I had a pretty good idea when I'd be back again. I headed south for a conference in Florida for the better part of the week. As fast as commercial aircraft are, it still took a long time so I broke out my camera to see what images I could capture. These are a few of my favorites. While they show a slide, we didn't really get to play on it like those in the drawing. Both flights were smooth and the layover was short; by end of day, I was in Florida.

Exploring Perry

Perry is an attractive community that celebrates its history. The new public library sits about a block away from the beautifully restored Carnegie library in the upper left image. Linda had been there before and made sure I got to see the interior. If the library looked that good when it opened, it must have been a tremendous addition to the community.

On the corner across the street from the library is the former First National Bank of Perry. The clock really caught my eye.

Directly across from the library is a wonderful pedestrian space with a stunning arch at each end. Made of pieces of the steel machines that built Perry, these arches are quite attractive and set the space apart.

Along one wall of the space are terra cotta portraits of people of note from the community. One that surprised me was V. T. Hamlin, creator of the comic strip Alley Oop. It was really a nice tribute to those who went before and built the town that is now Perry, Iowa.

Peering in the front door of the Hotel Pattee

In 1913, the Pattee brothers built the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. It had all the modern amenities; a phone in each guest room and an on-site bowling alley. In 1997, the hotel underwent a restoration and rennovation that put it back on map of great stops in the state. Unfortunately, it's currently closed for an unspecified period of time. Hopefully, whatever is keeping the doors closed will be resolved and people will be able to enjoy it once more.

Checking out an authentic German Hausbarn

Linda and I stopped by at another of the 100 Places, the hausbarn in Manning. Unfortunately, when we arrived, it was closed for the day so we didn't get to see the interior up close. We did get to see through some windows and can say that the house half is in the right half of the picture... the windows kind of give that away too, if you think about it. The barn half then is on the left, or north end of the building. Some of the thinking has to do with accessing the body heat from the animals to help heat the home. If the barn is toward the winter prevailing wind, you also have a substantial windbreak. I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh having the animals that close but some folks clearly thought so.

There's a pretty decent looking article about how they got the thing here. Click here to read it.

Trying the Burritos Jimador

El Jimador in Denison is an attractive place to have a meal. Midafternoon, they were doing good business. Fortunately, when we arrived, we knew we were having the burritos jimador, their item on the list of 100 Foods.

The photo is a bit dark and doesn't really to justice to the guacamole. It was a good thing Linda and I only ordered one and split it between us; it's a meal.

Shooting the Crawford County Courthouse

Denison is the county seat of Crawford County and this is their courthouse. Located atop a hill in the center of town, a block off the main business district, this courthouse is part of the community and easy to find. One of the interesting things about the grounds was a group of three halloween manequins wearing jailhouse garb, complete with bowling ball-and-chain shackles.

Denison has claims to fame through a couple of their former residents.

Award-winning actress Donna Reed was born near Denison in 1921. During her career she starred opposite James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life and with Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, a role that earned Reed the 1953 "Best Supporting Actress" Academy Award. She also starred on television's The Donna Reed Show.

Clarence Chamberlin, an aviation pioneer, was also born and raised in Denison. He was among other things, the second man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean after Charles Lindbergh.

Driving through the Loess Hills

While the drive between Turin and Moorhead was quite attractive and photogenic, I didn't take one photo. I can't explain it. I was just driving along, enjoying the drive as we curved through the hills. Linda and I both recognized the "catstep" ledges common in these hills. We'd read about them at the nature center near Sioux City but hadn't really remembered having seen them on the hills. For those unfamiliar, there are ledges that ring many of the hills at fairly consistent intervals. I've now read a few explanations that they're caused by the constant slumping and vertical sheering of the loess soil, especially when it gets wet. To see nice photos of this area, click here.

Shooting the Monona County courthouse

Onawa is the county seat of Monona County and this is their courthouse. Located along the main highway and set prominently in it's block, it was an easy find. It's a handsome structure and set nicely in an attractive community. I really liked the dark metalwork trim high on the building.

Besides claiming the title of widest mainstreet in the United States (about 75 feet,) Onawa can also lay claim to a more tasty contribution.

The Eskimo Pie was created in Onawa in 1920 by Chris Nelson, an ice cream shop owner. A young customer could not decide between an ice cream sandwich and a chocolate bar, so Nelson created a chocolate covered ice cream bar. The original product was called the "I-Scream-Bar". The creation was put on a stick in 1934. In 1921 Nelson entered into an agreement with Russell Stover to market and produce the product. The handwritten agreement is part of a display at the Monona County Historical Museum in Onawa. - Wikipedia

Visiting the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center

A few miles Northwest of Sioux City, in the Loess Hills, is another item from the list of 100 Places. The Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center is run by the Woodbury County Conservation Board and is a real gem. Located within the Stone State Park, this nature center is a hub for several hiking trails under a mile in length.

The fall color was very nice but many of the leaves had fallen. When you moved, they made some sort of sound. If you stepped on them, they'd crunch. If you shuffled through them, they'd rustle. It was a nice time and place to get to experience, even if it was only briefly.

Visiting Sioux City's Grandview Park

Another entry on the list of 100 Places is Sioux City's Grandview Park. Located on the top of a hill on the north side of the city, this hilly park has two particularly nice features: the rose garden pictured and a band shell (the white circular thing in the background) with a surprising history.

Built during the summer of 1934 as Civil Works Administration Project Number 217, it was designated as one of "100 representative and distinguished (structures) erected in the United States since 1918." Sunday afternoon concerts by the municipal band are still held and apparently well attended.

The Saturday In The Park event each Fourth of July weekend can draw thirty thousand people to the band shell for great entertainment, free of charge. Winner of Iowa’s Award for "Best Outdoor Event" in 1998, it sounds like quite the attraction.

Checking out the Bucs at the Tyson Events Center

Linda and I wanted to stop in at another USHL facility this year and the Tyson Events Center got the nod. The Bucs would be playing there before the snow started flying and a the trip wouldn't be too long.

The Tyson Events Center is a very modern looking facility built conjoined with the city's historic municipal auditorium. The auditorium has been converted to a family recreational center making for a pretty active hub of community activity.

The ice arena was set up and really looked quite nice. With 10,000 seats, it's more than double the size of KGGO Arena but the crowd would have fit in Des Moines.

The Bucs played a good game but fell behind early 1-3. With less than ten minutes to play, they scored two goals within a minute of one another and the intensity was up a notch. I heard a man behind me compliment the Bucs on their skill at passing the puck around, looking for the open shot. A penalty late set up the power play that lead to a Musketeer goal. Trailing 3-4 in the final minutes, the Bucs pulled their goalie and mounted a ferocious attack. When Sioux City cleared the puck out of their end and went on the attack, the Bucs put up a staunch defense, often sacrificing their bodies to block shots. Neither team scored as time ran out. As we were leaving, we heard another Musketeer fan say that they were suprised to have been able to hold on under the closing attacks. The Bucs have shown improvement but still have some work to do.

Shooting the Woodbury County Courthouse

Sioux City is the county seat of Woodbury County and this is their courthouse. It was a easy to get to this courthouse as there are signs through out the the downtown area pointing out various featured buildings.

The Woodbury County Courthouse is a building that fills an entire quarter block in Sioux City, Iowa. It is regarded as "one of the finest Prairie School buildings in the United States" and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. It is used for legal proceedings in the county. - Wikipedia

It really is quite an attractive building.

Checking out the Orpheum in Sioux City

Sioux City's Orpheum Theatre made the list of 100 Places and it's not hard to see why. Built in 1927, a good deal of the community for several generations have now made memories of events here. A good deal of care has gone into the restoration of the building and it still plays a vital part in the community. When we stepped inside, there was a private party with dueling pianos going on in the lobby. We slipped through the bar and into the auditorium to get the feel of the place and it was impressive. I'm sure I'd enjoy seeing a production there.