Elevators, Bridges and Fields of Dreams

 So I decided to take CaDiva to see eastern Iowa back in 2007. Why? Well, we drove in from the west when she moved to Iowa from California. But also, I just think it is one of the prettiest parts of the country anyone can see. Oh, and there is the Field of Dreams. It is one of her all time favorite movies. And it was right there, on the way back from back from the Mississippi. So we had to stop there.

On the way, we had great, small town breakfast and saw some neat architecture. Don't you just love country churches?

 We drove up from Davenport to Dubuque. There is nothing flat about Iowa here. At one point, we looked out from the bluffs and saw three states.

The river and sky are only the second and third most beautiful sites in this shot.

 Then someone said, oh you have to go to the Fourth Ave Elevator. Elevator, like in a building or for farm produce we ask. Oh no, not that kind of elevator. This is the the shortest, steepest scenic railway in the world. Well, that sounds like fun. We got our tickets and walked into a small room with steps to nowhere. Except, they weren't steps, they were the seats.

CaDiva didn't really look out the windows but there wasn't much to hold onto and as short as this was it was really a long ride when you are trying not to look out the windows that surround you while holding yourself to a wooden seat with your butt cheeks.

We needed to get up here from down there.

As I understand the story, there was a business man who wanted to go home for lunch and still have time for a nice lay-down before he had to return to work. So he hired this guy to stand at the top of the bluff and pull him up rather than walk all the way around the bluff to get from downtown to his home.  Pretty soon, other businessmen were offering to pay to get the ride too. One thing led to another and you pretty soon have actual train tracks running up and down this steep hill taking people to and from downtown. Pretty cool, huh?

This, I cannot explain.

We were amazed that the entire outside set for Field of Dreams was still there. The farm house, the field, and at that time of year, the stand of corn higher than an elephant's eye.

Truth be told, she didn't stop grinning the entire time we were there.

But then, it had that effect on most everyone there.

Ok, maybe I have a few more pictures

79 Degrees in Iowa in July, maybe it is Heaven.

Or just plenty of fans.

Doesn't matter how much rain on Monday or Friday, Wednesday the gravel dust will rise.

A church spire, blue sky, green trees and fluffy clouds. Can it get any more Iowan?

Even off the highway you can see the incongruity. Aging barns, heavy machinery, and green feilds.

I can't tell you why, but I adore buildings as they age.

Old but still useful.

SEE? It's not all corn and none of it's flat.

No, we didn't know either but a cloud dissipating among clouds just looked cool.

So did this shelf reflecting back the sun it won't let through.

I watched this for about five miles before I took a picture. You can't see it from here, but it was AWESOME.

Simply put, Iowa is a great state to drive through, no matter the season. But summer is about as showy as we get. I have taken road trips to the NE and NW. California via 80 and Route 66. I have driven to Florida via Atlanta (won't do that again.) I have seen the Rockies and the Sierras. I marveled at the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and the great redwoods. They are ostentatious. We are more subtle but just as elegant.

Planned Parenthood Book Sale weekend

It has been two weekends since HRH joined CaDiva, The Mom and I on a weekend. First HRH had a head cold and then she had to work. So the last time we got to play was a cold and rainy weekend at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Above, you can just barely make out the wind turbine against the gray damp sky.

We started that weekend with the little hrh at Home Plate Diner.

The food was very tasty and welcoming on such a dreary day. I regretted ordering the patty sausages with my omelette. They tasted wonderful but my old GI Buddy was back in town. Upper GI that is. Regardless of my temporary amnesia regarding my digestive system I enjoyed the meal and would go back there any time.

They have a seriously family friendly attitude. Little hrh was in a fine mood until just before we entered the diner. But she had started a tiny tantrum as we approached the table. We weren't even seated before the server showed up with a Barbie doll and a My Little Pony to distract the little terror...excuse me, I meant the little hrh.

We all enjoyed the joking and teasing between the servers and customers but we laughed out loud when we realized it was a customer who was offering us a coffee refill. I'm going to guess the rule is, if you want coffee you can get it yourself but you have to offer it to everyone else too.

We went across the street after brunch and dropped the Mom, HRH, and the little hrh off at the book sale while CaDiva and I found parking. I have been going to the book sale since it was in the Ag Bldg (aka the old 4 H building if you are old enough to remember) and the parking is much improved over the years. But we are wienies and didn't want to park in the back forty  And why should we when CaDiva can parallel park like she invented the concept. It is really quite sexy to watch, I should film it and load a video here.  I could probably charge people to watch it.

We got out of the book sale on Saturday only $50 light. And we only dropped another 40 or 50 bucks on Sunday but that was a half-price day. And you really can't count the $30 we spent on Monday because that was 75% off day and we delivered over 35 books at the Mom's house that day. She is pretty much set until the spring sale.


We tried out the children's consignment sale but I wasn't really impressed. I did find a cutie pair of boots for the little hrh. They light up and looked adorable on her. And we did find a Christmas or Birthday present for her too. I'll explain later how grotesquely unfair it is to give anyone a birthday so close to Christmas.

Well, like always I started this too late and I need to get off to bed. I will give you an Dunkin' Donuts update tomorrow if I get home from work at a decent hour.

Leaf Peeping in the Midwest

And I looked it up, it is so too a phrase. Although I'll admit it is a silly one. I have been leaf peeping for two weeks now and am just amazed at the Autumn we are sharing this year. Maybe it was the drought or the late cold snap in the spring, but the colors this year are more of an earthy, warm, welcome than a cacophonous inferno.

The autumn colors are coming slowly, leaving many trees a half and half event.

I took The Mother home from the hospital on Sunday traveling the long way around so that she could see some of the changes she missed while she was confined this last week. I tried to talk CaDiva into coming with me on Monday but she was busy baking the thank-you cookies and such. This is when I discovered leaf peeping is definitely not a solitary activity.

I tooled around in the old Bonneville from Windsor Heights to River Bend and saw some magnificent sights but pulling over in traffic at a high enough elevation to snag the pictures I wanted was not easy. Texting and Driving is bad, Drinking and Driving is worst, but Peeping and Driving is definitely difficult.

After delivering the aforementioned thank-you baked goods, CaDiva suggested we make our semi-annual ice cream run to the south. The air was sweet and warm. the sun was shining and even though the kitten hadn't been fed we took off.


Now before you go all PETA-nuts on me, there was food in the house and it was in her dish. But this particular feline does not consider food in her dish to mean she has been fed. She believes, and doesn't know why we can't understand, food in her dish has previously been rejected and is beneath her consideration. But she is also species-confused, given that she will beg like a Labrador for salmon and brie shortly after flopping on her back and demanding a tummy rub. So I tend to disregard many of her more persnickety traits. OK  yes, I see the irony in the comparison to a canine when she never begs for anything that costs less than $12.00 a pound.  But I digress.



Even the reds are more of a burgundy this year. In every meaning of the word, they are warming and rich without being overly sweet.


This particular shot was from the "lake" at Lakeside Casino. You should know in Iowa we can have casinos on land owned by the Native American's or bodies of water. No one said how long the body of water had to be there before you can put a Casino on top of it.










In case you didn't read the blogs about Ragbrai and still thought Iowa was flat I wanted to share this gently rolling hill for your consideration.



Autumn in Iowa is also not just trees changing colors.

And just one or two parting pictures that made my vacation worth the time and energy.

The Raccoon River - yes the same one that was party to the flood of '93. So when we say we are having a drought...we ain't just whistling 76 Trombones.


OK, yes, sometimes we are showy even in Iowa.