Peeking at Arnold's Park

Situated along the shores of West Lake Okoboji you'll find the historic Arnolds Park amusement park, another of the 100 Places to go in Iowa. Linda and I were about an hour early to get to step inside but, roaming around grounds surrounding this park, it was easy to see the care and attention that put it on the map as a focal point for lakeside fun over a century ago. Crews were busily sweeping up, tending flowers, and testing the Legend Roller Coaster.

The Legend has been thrilling visitors to the park since 1927... over eighty years ago! It may seem a bit tame compared to the beasts today but I'll never underestimate the ability of a wooden coaster to take me out of my comfort zone. The American Coaster Enthusiasts have recognized the Legend for its design and longevity.

Arnolds Park is a treasured piece of the Okoboji experience.

Catching a whiff of the Okoboji Experience

One of the Register's 100 Places to go in Iowa, Lake Okoboji is a summer retreat for a lot of people for a number of different reasons; there's no way I caught up with even half of it roaming around with Linda one morning. There are a few things that I did get a little sense of in that time. Shopping: all sorts of summer resort items are readily available. Boating: everywhere you look, there are boats on the water or tied up at docks after having been on the water, getting ready to go back on the water, possibly to go fishing. If those aren't enough, there's even a shoreline amusement park ... but that's the next post! In the short time I was at this Iowa Great Lake, it wasn't hard to sense the attraction.

Shooting the Dickinson County Courthouse

Spirit Lake is the county seat of Dickinson County and this is their courthouse... or soon will be. Clearly, the county has decided a new courthouse was needed; fortunately, I'm getting a shot early in its service to that county. Unfortunately, I completely missed out on shooting the old courthouse. I've seen images of it and it could have been a good shoot. Looking at the new design, that pillar that stands alone in the right foreground echos a design feature of the old courthouse; nice touch!

Shooting the Spirit Lake Carnegie Library

Originally, this structure housed the library funded in part by Andrew Carnegie. The general appearance (and name in stone above the door) are pretty typical of many of the libraries built in Iowa in the early 1900s; the stairs up to the door that often opens onto a landing with one staircase up flanked by two staircases down. Just to the left of the entryway you can see the plague indicating that the structure is listed on the register of historic places assuring that attempts will be made to retain this appearance.

The community library has moved on to a new building. Currently, this building houses business offices.

Shooting the Jackson County Courthouse

Jackson is the county seat of Jackson County, Minnesota, and this is their courthouse. Linda and I stayed in Jackson the evening of the Fourth of July and, when we were passing back through town, this handsome courthouse caught our eye. Having already established that courthouses in other states are fair game for being entered in the blog, we paused and took the shot that you see now. Set up on the hill overlooking the town and river, it's a very stately building.

Shooting the Estherville Carnegie Library

The library in Estherville is a handsome building on a block of its own, surrounded by a nice lawn, located just south of the county courthouse and in the midst of the business district. It's really the setting where you often find the courthouse in most county seats; that's a pretty nice honor. Most often, Linda and I find the courthouse and then look for the library on a side street a block or so away, out of the hustle and bustle, not taking up a prime commercial location. The people of Estherville put their library in the center of their community; an interesting statement of value in my opinion.

Sorry about the angle of the photo. Clearly after sunset, I had to set the camera down to keep it steady while the shutter was open. It made for a nice, warm image but, without a tripod, I didn't do a very good job of levelling the camera when taking the shot.

Shooting the Emmet County Courthouse

Estherville is the county seat of Emmet County, Iowa, and this is their courthouse. Another of the more modern style courthouses, the Emmet county courthouse has an air of businesslike efficiency about it. Located about a block off the main east-west highway, it was easy to find. Unfortunately, arriving well after dark wasn't the best for capturing a flattering image of the structure.

Checking out the World's Largest Bullhead!

Crystal Lake, Iowa, is home to the world's largest bullhead. As you can see from the photo, it's just a little smaller than a compact car. It was pretty apparent that there's a pretty decent fireworks display over the lake on the Fourth as the road along the lake shore was lined with cars and people in lawn chairs. As we drove through town, most blocks near the lake had people headed for the lake.

Marking the Fourth in Clear Lake

Linda and I went back up to Clear Lake for the Fourth of July this year. Unlike last year, there were no current presidential candidates; current Iowa Senator and former presidential hopeful, Tom Harkin was joined by his wife in the parade. The Parkersburg fire department entry in the parade thanked the Clear Lake community for their support following the disasterous tornado that claimed six lives May 25th.

After the parade, Linda and I spent a little time at the park enjoying the food and atmosphere. It was a beautiful day to be by the lake.

Hanging out at Principal Park with ... Mr. Potato Head!

Yes, Linda and I were just at an I-Cubs game but there was a Mr. Potato Head give-away at this one! We hustled over to the ball park to be among the first in line to be sure to get our I-Cub Mr. Potato Heads. Funny what free stuff can get a grown-up to do, isn't it? Just inside the gate, there was the real Mr. Potato Head posing for pictures, chatting with the kids, having a pretty good time.

We found our way to our seats, assembled our toys and snapped a couple of photos. I was puzzled by the odd attachment of the bat at the elbow of Mr. Potato Head's right arm but figured it was just that way; the next day at work, the third co-worker to stop by explained that I needed to rotate the arm so the bat was pointed down so Mr. Potato Head could lean on it... aha!

It was another great night at the ballpark. The sunset was beautiful, the pitching was right on, and the Cubs posted another win over Omaha, 10-4.

Swingin' by Principal Park

Sunday afternoon was DMARC Food Panty Day at the old ballpark. Linda and I took a look at my pantry and found the six canned goods that paid our way to see the I-Cubs take on the Albuquerque Isotopes. The day couldn't have been much better... unless I'd dabbed on some sunscreen. I got a little burned, kinda like the Isotopes; when all was said and done, the hometown heroes posted a 7-5 win.

Exploring the 2008 Des Moines Arts Festival

The Des Moines Arts Festival has become one of the major events of summer in Des Moines. Live music, painting, sculpture, street performance, and film are only some of the offerings of this festival. The numbers of artists and festival goers have swelled in response to one another. Linda has enjoyed conversations with the artists over the last few years and they appear to truly enjoy coming to Des Moines. Evidently, the people who go to the festival tend to be well versed in the arts and engage in intelligent discussions of approach and technique with the artists.

Hangin' on at the Iowa Corn 250

As Linda and I approached Newton, I realized we were a little less than an hour from the scheduled start of the 2008 Iowa Corn 250. I suggested we swing by and see if the traffic issues of 2007 had been addressed; we drive right in and found a very good parking place. Nice! As we walked toward the gate to see what tickets were available, one of the two couples walking behind us asked the other if they had tickets. They did. We didn't. I asked what they wanted for the pair; they were asking about what I'd expect for one ticket. The seats were in an excellent location. Nicer! We heard the cars fire up as we found our seats. Perfect! We'd had no traffic, no ticket line, about half price tickets, and the race was ready to start as we sat down. Going to a race doesn't get much easier.

The race was lively and entertaining. Last year's tire issue had been addressed and there was a lot of side by side racing as the drivers took advantage of the grip on the progressive banking of the track. Famous drivers made their moves forward and back through the pack as the laps rapidly clicked away. In the end, Dan Wheldon took a chance on older tires got to the front, and held off the field to take the checkered flag. Aware of the recent tornado and flood problems the state was facing, Wheldon and car owner Chip Ganassi donated the winning proceeds to the relief effort; a generous and helpful contribution back to the state.

I found a nice video review of the race at the UpToSpeed site.

Giving my daughter's hand in Marriage

What a day! My daughter's wedding day! Linda and I headed over to the park she'd chosen for the ceremony allowing time for the unexpected; it showed up in the form of a river out of its banks. Fortunately, we were there in time to contribute to the final preparations, like cutting watermelon, fetching water, etc. It was a beautiful setting and nearly perfect weather. Soon, I was walking my daughter down the aisle. Fortunately, Linda got the shot of the couple as they were exchanging their vows; I was caught up in the moment. The reception was comfortable and fun as people congratulated the happy couple, chatted, danced a little, and just generally had a nice time with one another. The image in the upper right is of an aunt of the bride releasing a dozen little goldfish that had been in the centerpieces on the tables. The bottom frame is us climbing back up the hill from that effort. All in all, it was a beautiful day.

Fishing at Moffitt

Linda and I went fishing at Moffitt Reservoir. We've enjoyed picnics and fishing at Moffitt in the past and the weather was just right for spending a little time by the lake. We found a nice spot and cast our lines. As you can see, I had a little problem. I tried to get a little too close to a fallen tree and wrapped my line around one of the little branches. The tree looked sturdy enough so I made my way out the trunk to get it untangled. Linda recognized the opportunity and took a couple pictures of me. Gratefully, the tree held and I made it back to shore without getting wet. We didn't land a fish but we did have a nice time along the lake.

Dealing with the rising water

Des Moines had time to prepare for the rising water and, when it arrived, many precautions were in place. I ran across this sandbagged culvert near the downtown area; beneath all of that was a manhole cover that evidently was expected to flood. The water would be allowed to come up through the manhole into the culvert until it reached the level of the nearby river. Once the water in the culvert was at the same level as the water in the river, the water in the culvert wouldn't rise any more and therefore, wouldn't flood this area... as long as it didn't go over the top of the culvert.

Monitoring the rising waters at Saylorville Lake

As the rains kept rolling through the Des Moines River watershed, the level of Saylorville Lake north of Des Moines kept rising. The land you see on the far shore is actually a pretty tall earthen dam, most of which is under the water. Behind the land to the right is the concrete spillway that will allow the water to go over the top without endangering the dam. When that happens, the water level in the river below the dam is no longer affected by the dam. The prediction was that water would be going over the dam soon so Joel and I headed out to take a look; we weren't the only ones!

Browsing the Des Moines Farmer's Market

One of the great things about summer in Des Moines is the Downtown Farmer's Market saturday mornings on Court Avenue. Each year, it continues to grow in number and variety of offerings. There are the traditional vegetables and potted plants seen in images in the upper left and right. In the upper center, a belly dance group has moved down the street to dance to the music of the band in the lower frame. The singer in the teal (?) skirt had a voice and style that really reminded me of Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane. Linda and I hung out listening to the band play for a while this day.

Geocaching with Linda

Having recently gone with Bill, I invited Linda to join me in tracking down a couple more accessible caches I'd researched. Located in a southside park, these caches would be a nice little sidelight while enjoying a little time outdoors. It took us a while to find the one pictured. As you can see by the relative size of the needles, this was a pretty small cache. The container was connected by a chain to a pine tree that stood about six feet tall. The cache was quite accessible but took some time to find. We put our names on the log inside the container and enjoyed the setting.

Trying the Muskie Burger

Wow! Linda, her son, and I took a trip to Ventura to the Muskie Lounge to try their Muskie Burger. No, there's no muskellunge meat in the sandwich. Instead, it's a burger covered with a delicious combination of sauteed onions and mushrooms. I'm not sure what else was in it but it was the smoothest, almost creamy combination of flavors. It wasn't hard to see how this burger got on the Register's 100 Things You Must Eat. Our table overlooked Clear Lake so the setting was also something special to enjoy.

Looking for Seventy Six Trombones

Each year, Mason City, home of Meredith Willson, hosts the North Iowa Band Festival. Linda and I went up to meet some of her relatives at the parade. Of course, there are an uncommonly high number of bands in the parade but also several area dignitaries. In the upper left, former Iowa State University men's basketball coach, Johnny Orr. I was surprised to see the nationally recognized Kool-Aid Man.

Geocaching with Bill's Family

Years ago, I heard about an emerging activity known as geocaching. Geocaching.com describes it this way:

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

Bill and I and a few co-workers tried it a couple of times last fall and caught the bug. This year, Bill has a GPS device and takes his family into the woods from time to time. We'd talked about me going caching with them; this time, the timing worked out.

Bill and I differ in the caches we prefer to find. Bill likes tromping through the timber while I'd rather stroll a bike trail or parkland. This time, Bill and his family picked a handful of locations a short drive from their home. As you can see, we spent most of the time under the leafy canopy. Recent rains made some areas impassible but we just worked our way around them. The cache in the upper left was particularly well hidden; most are more like the cans in the lower right.

Checking out Snookies, Iowa Icon

One of the local news stations started a series called Iowa Icons. One of the shows featured Snookies, a long time ice cream shop in the Beaverdale neighborhood. I knew where it was but hadn't ever tried their treats; Linda and I quickly corrected that oversight. For my first visit, I kept it simple and ordered an ice cream cone; when it arrived, it had a little animal cracker on top, a nice touch.

One of Snookie's unique offerings is the puppy cone... made for puppies. The story is that the owners brought their dog to work. One day, they give him a cone. Soon, they were offering these little treats to owners of visiting dogs. They've been a big hit ever since.

Sampling CelebrAsian 2008

The Asian Heritage Festival has become one of my favorite summer outtings here in Des Moines. I guess I'm not alone; the festival moved from Blank Park on the south side of the city to the capitol grounds. The additional space made for a very comfortable afternoon and allowed for multiple stages with various performances. There was plenty of room for martial arts demonstrations and competition.

Spending an evening at Modern Woodmen Park

One of the 100 Places in Iowa to visit, John O'Donnell Stadium (now Modern Woodmen Park) is a great place to see a baseball game. Located along the river and next to the striking Centennial Bridge over the Mississippi River, the view is ever changing. The stadium is very easy to get into and out of, the amenities are great, and the baseball entertaining. In my book, that's a hard combination to beat. There's even an historic dimension:

Modern Woodmen Park was built in 1931, and was originally known as Municipal Stadium. It is one of the oldest ballparks still in use in all of the minor leagues (Centennial Field, home of the Vermont Lake Monsters originally opened in 1906), although it underwent a major renovation before the 2004 season that brought the ballpark up to modern professional baseball standards and a seating capacity of 4,024. The only major league ballparks older than it still in use are Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. - Wikipedia

The one drawback for a fan of the Chicago Cubs is that the home team River Bandits are affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Linda and I explored the stadium over the course of the game. Down the right field line, the seats give way to a family picnic area complete with inflatable play areas for the little ones. Around the outfield, there are hillsides where blankets are spread for a leisurely evening in souvenir city. Down the left field line, there are traditional bleachers. All of the many, varied vendors line the back of the seating area and allow you to keep an eye on the game while getting a treat. It's an excellent design for the fans.

This evening, we watched a good game between the River Bandits and the Kane County Cougars of Geneva, Illinois. The home team lost 1-4 but the game was in doubt to the end. An added bonus was a very entertaining fireworks display.

Trying the Hot Fudge Sundae at Lagomarcinos

In the Village of East Davenport, there's a great ice cream parlor that made the list of 100 Things You Must Eat. Of course, being in Davenport, Linda and I found our way to Lagomarcinos, pulled up a stool at the counter, and enjoyed one! The hot fudge comes in a little pitcher on the side so you get to pour it on as you like. Linda and I agreed that it was a yummy late afternoon treat.

Looking around at the River Music Experience

Another Davenport entry on the Des Moines Register's list of 100 Places is the River Music Experience. Located just up the street from the Figge, this handsome, historic red brick building is alive with music. It appears to be about equal parts museum, practice studios, and live music venue. We only got to spend a little time in the place but we saw several displays of artists who'd played in the Quad Cities on the second floor. A small band setting up in a cafe on the first floor as people were coming and going. The place had a nice, active feel about it.

Enjoying the Figge Art Museum

Another of the 100 Places is the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. This glass clad building is itself an interesting sight.

Linda and I stepped inside and were soon admiring the collection of prints by John James Audubon. These beautiful, life-size prints are fascinating to see. In a corner of the hall showing the prints was a video screen telling Audobon's story and showing how the prints were made. On another floor, we saw a display of glass and pottery. Paintings, fibers, and educational displays filled another floor. Drawings and paintings from the local schools were shown in one hall. It was a pleasure to see the community reflected in the displays.

I'd be very happy to return to see what's on display another day.

Shooting the Scott County Courthouse

Davenport is the county seat of Scott County and this is their courthouse. It's a handsome, modern building located off the highway along the river, it's not the easiest to find ... or to flood. Unfortunately, Davenport does have more than enough experience with high water and flooding. Even while we were there, there were places we couldn't visit due to water over the road.

Having a taste at the Wilton Candy Kitchen

Wilton is one of those small towns dotting the Iowa landscape that has a couple of genuine treasures. George Nopoulos and his Candy Kitchen are both uncommon treats.

The Des Moines Register listed the chocolate malt as One of the 100 Things You Must Eat and, as is often the case, the location is as memorable as the food. Stepping through the front door felt like a step back in time, living history. We had the pleasure of visiting with our remarkably clever and witty host, George. Linda ordered the malt and I ordered the root beer float. George set about preparing our orders keeping us entertained and on our toes as he shared stories and observations. One of the surprising tales was about a stop by Gregory Peck.

Linda's malt was soon ready and we each got an official taste of the item from the list. George got started on the float. It's the first float (or root beer) I remember having seen made from the syrup and carbonated water. It was a little different to see it done right before my eyes... and yes, it was yummy. We sat and chatted, enjoying our treats and the company. As we were leaving, a college age couple came in, the young woman clearly showing her beau one of the special places of her life.

Check out the review at RoadFood.com.