Shooting the Page County Courthouse

Clarinda is the county seat of Page County and this is their courthouse. Located a little south of the Carnegie library, it wasn't too hard to find. I like the look of this courthouse but don't know the name of the style. It's substantial and stately but also seems somewhat welcoming with the little details. The top portion reminds me of the Davis County courthouse in Bloomfield.

Shooting the Clarinda Carnegie Library

This is the Carnegie library building in Clarinda. The library has moved on but the building remains in service housing a nice collection of small businesses. An unusual feature of this building is the stained glass along both sides of the entry door. We've seen a little stained glass along the tops of windows but I don't recall large windows like these before Clarinda. We did get to step inside this building. A couple of ghost hunters were inside chatting with the salesperson about the history of the building, whether there was any history of unusual events, and then about their plans to spend the night at the somewhat famous haunted house up the road in Villisca; we didn't linger.

Returning to the Sidney Rodeo

Last year, Linda and I took the long drive down to the southwest corner of Iowa to see one of the 100 Places in Iowa, the Sidney Rodeo. We had such a good time that we decided to return for this year's celebration. Like last year, it was an excellent show; unlike last year, we went to an evening show making for cooler temperatures but more challenging to get good photos. This session was titled Tough Enough to Wear Pink and, between two competitions, people passed through the crowd taking up a collection for breast cancer awareness. Once again, I'd have to recommend this event to anyone with an interest in a high quality outdoor rodeo experience.

Shooting the Red Oak Carnegie Library

The library in Red Oak has a very different look than those we've seen around the state. One of the very distinctive aspects is the surface of the brick exterior. In the small image in the lower right corner, you can see that there are chunks of brick fused to the "normal" bricks that make up the wall; these chunks are scattered all over the wall. You can see something of the effect in the image in the upper right. Even the smooth faced bricks often have unusual colors and minor irregularities making for a very interesting appearance.

Shooting the Montgomery County Courthouse

Red Oak is the county seat of Montgomery County and this is their courthouse. The courthouse is between the main north-south highway and the main business district and a block from either one. That reads confusing to me but I'm not sure how else to say it. How about Highway - block - Courthouse - block - Square? Anyway, I think it's an attractive building well maintained by the community.

Shooting the Cass County Courthouse

Atlantic is the county seat for Cass County and this is their courthouse. Built in the 1930 after a fire destroyed their prior courthouse, this building looks massive. Located a few blocks south of what I'd call the main business district, it took a while for Linda and me to find this one.

Shooting the Atlantic Carnegie Library

This is the Atlantic Public Library. Originally built with the aid of Andrew Carnegie, the library is still a vibrant participant in the community. Linda and I had a little trouble finding this one; we didn't have an address and we didn't know where the courthouse was yet so it took a little looking. Once we saw it, we were pretty sure what we were looking at; the carving above the door confirmed it.

Shooting the Greenfield Carnegie Library

This was the Greenfield library. Sponsored in part by a grant from Andrew Carnegie, this building was built to provide the public a free library. This structure is no longer serving as the community library; rather, it's the home of a local business. Fortunate for me, they value the structure and continue to perform needed maintenance to keep it in service for years to come.

Shooting the Adair County Courthouse

Greenfield is the county seat of Adair County and this is their courthouse. If you've never been to Greenfield but think the courthouse looks familiar, it's possible. Greenfield was the actual location used in the 1971 comedy, Cold Turkey. My first thought was that certain elements reminded me of the Monona County courthouse that I posted last November. In any event, the building is an impressive structure located in the center of a handsome, historic business district.

Shooting the Winterset Carnegie Library

Linda and I both thought the general look and location of this building made it a possible Carnegie library but, when we read the "City Hall" carved above the door, we had our doubts. Fortunately, one of the plaques beside the door identified it as having been a carnegie library. It clearly continues to serve the community and remains a good looking building.

Shooting the Madison County Courthouse

Winterset is the county seat of Madison County and this is their courthouse. Located on the square in the middle of town, this good looking building is an attractive feature. Tours of the building are part of the very popular Madison County Covered Bridge Festival each October.

Witnessing Perfection

Wow! The 2008 Johnston High School Dragons baseball team won the Iowa State High School Baseball Tournament and became the first undefeated class 4A champions. Forty wins, no losses. That's better than the Cubs! See the pitcher in the image? I know his dad!

The game started pretty rocky but the Dragons didn't allow a run until they'd taken a commanding lead. In the end, Johnston won 6-2 and had their perfect season.

It's amazing that a team could string together forty straight wins. I'd have thought that somewhere along the way, they'd have had a game where everyone did everything wrong while their opponents did everything right... but it didn't happen. Congrats Johnston!

Signing up for another 48 Hours

Linda's film maker friend Scott asked if she / we would be available to help him out again this year. Being one of the things we've enjoyed in recent years, she said yes. The 48 Hour Film Project gives a group of film makers forty-eight hours to make a film with a specified character, line, and prop; all of the films must have those same elements. The film makers draw their personal genre out of a hat to make it a little more interesting. None of the film makers know their elements until the just before the end of the meeting. Because Scott lives a couple of hours away, he asks Linda to do the drawing and call him with the information; that saves him a lot of time... when time is precious. This year, Linda drew romance. Scott was pretty happy with that draw. If you'd like to see some of the videos out of Des Moines over the years, go here and pick one. To see the international contributions, go to http://www.48hourfilm.com/.

Shooting the Iowa Falls Carnegie Library,,, again

Last time we were here, it was too dark to get a decent shot of the building. As you can see, this time, it was a nice sunny day without a cloud in the sky. (Linda and I actually prefer a few white, fluffy clouds but you don't always get that.)

Shooting the Franklin County Courthouse... again

Last time we were here, it was so foggy that the top of the courthouse wasn't very clear. Since we were in the area, I talked Linda into stopping by to get a better shot. It really is an attractive courthouse and, while it did capture the day, that early photo didn't do justice to the top of the building.

Stretching my legs at Beed's Lake

This spillway is a striking feature of Beed's Lake State Park. Linda and I stopped by on the way home from her neice's wedding. Linda remembered having spent time at the park when she was younger and knew I'd like this view. The stones that make up this dam are set like a stairway; as the water spills over, the water splashes from step to step making for quite an attractive (and noisy) display. Can you see the person below the spillway? I have to look at the larger image to see them fishing, ankle deep in the water.

Visiting Music Man Square... again!

Back in December, I posted having seen Music Man Square. Unfortunately, at the time we were there, it wasn't open for us to fully experience. This time, we did get to go inside and take a look around.

They've done a nice job of reconstructing a street scene reminiscent of The Music Man. In my earlier post, I mentioned that the hall was popular for receptions; we saw it set up for a reception that evening. It looked like fun!

Enjoying the party!

One of Linda's nieces was getting married so Linda and I did what you do on such a day: hang out with family, shuttle people and things around, and generally get ready for the festivities. One of our contributions to the event was getting the flowers to the reception and set up on the tables. While we were there, I took this quick shot. The wedding and reception went off beautifully.

Rehearsing by association

One of Linda's nieces was getting married and asked son and daughter to take part in a her wedding ceremony. Linda's niece very thoughtfully invited Linda and me to the rehearsal dinner the night before. It was a very nice evening at a great little clubhouse along the water. Linda hit it off very well with the mother and aunt of the groom and I got to spend some more time getting to know Linda's extended family. Though we'd been a little concerned about the weather, it turned out to be a beautiful evening.

This water tower was just behind the building and this is a shot that I've seen so often that I had to try.

Admiring the view from I-35

Linda and I set out for points north and, along the way, saw some very striking views as the clouds rolled across the Iowa landscape. When we go out, Linda often comments about the how the sky would look in a picture. Usually, we're thinking about how it would look as background; this time, even I could see that the sky would be the shot. That said, I'm not sure I got or even posted the shot but it was quite a nice view along the drive.