After our Lincoln and Omaha adventures, we started heading home, but not real fast. We crossed the Missouri River into Iowa a drove across about half the state. From what we could see from I-80, the state lives up to its reputation as a corn-growing state, but we were surprised to find quite a few hills.
We took a small side trip to Elk Horn. This is a farming community settled by Danes. They brought some of their building ideas with them.
On this trip we've seen some "wind farms," but not as many as when we were more west. But Iowa does have a fair number of wind mills (of the generating electricity kind, not the Danish kind). We even saw some piece parts being hauled by trucks. And a blade was installed at a rest stop. These things are huge!
Our faithful traveling companion, Chuie. He's very patient about staying in the RV (with the AC on) while we go out sight seeing.
The Iowa capitol building is in Des Moines. It's very unusual, with not one but five domes!
Looking up, under the rotunda. Very impressive.
On the second floor there is a glass floor. X marks the spot where there is a perfect echo.
Supreme court chamber.
There is a model of the battleship Iowa (currently a museum in Los Angeles), with the actual ship's bell.
An Iowan who became President, Herbert Hoover.
The governor's office.
The building is very ornate.
The ceiling/walls of the rotunda.
House of Representatives chamber.
More from inside the rotunda.
The five story law library.
Bill was able to go about half way up the rotunda. This is looking down at Beth and Matthew on a couch.
For lunch we followed our tour guide's suggestion and went to a burger place with a Zombie theme. Go figure. It was very popular. I had the Elvis burger - bananas, peanut butter, bacon, cheese, and fried egg. Awesome!
Here are some images of down town Des Moines. We wonder if there are so many connecting walkways because of harsh winters. Seems like a good idea.
They seem to have hospitals for (almost) every denomination!
In the evening we went to a rodeo at the Iowa state fairgrounds. Bill was able to revise his role as a farmer in The Music Man this past February. It was a big part, but not as big as these two!
The rodeo was for junior high school students. They did most of the things the adults do. This was a national championship rodeo and there were boys and girls from many states and Canada. There was even a rider from Hawaii!
This guy's in trouble. The idea is to twist the steer's head so he flops on his side, not on top of you!
It was difficult to photograph the bull riding because they were moving so fast.
Here's a video.
Headed east from Des Moines - Hoover home and presidential library
The state house guide told us about the Hoover home and presidential library in West Branch, just east of Des Moines. We stopped in. It's a national historic site and Matthew was able to get another Junior Ranger.
Hoover's birth home, a very small cottage.
Hoover's father was a blacksmith and farm implement dealer.
One room school house.
Hoover was a Quaker and raised in a Quaker community. This is the meeting house (men's side). Hoover was orphaned by the time he was 12 and he was raised by a relative in Oregon. But he loved his early years in Iowa.
The presidential library gave lots of information on Hoover's life; his early years, his schooling at Stanford, his employment as a geologist looking for gold and coal miles in Australia and China, and his humanitarian work after World War I.
Of course, he's best known for being the president during the stock market crash and the start of the depression. His policies were unable to turn the economy around.
In later life he became something of an elder statesman, working tirelessly for the Boys Club and helping to restore Europe after World War II.
The library was not on our itinerary when we started the trip but we were happy we stopped in to get a better appreciation for Hoover.
Matthew's Notes: When in Rome, do as the Romans
Zombie Burger is creepy.
The rodeo is pretty epic.
The tall grass prairie is a really relaxing place to be.
We didn't know much about Omaha in advance, other than the world-famous Omaha steaks. But we did a little investigation and found some cool things to do.
The Omaha Zoo (Henry Doorly Zoo) is known to be really outstanding. Beth and I reminisced about the old "Wild Kingdom" TV show, sponsored by Mutual of Omaha. The zoo is known for its desert dome, underground exhibits, and night time exhibits (you walk through an area that's all dark - it's night for the critters).
This is the desert dome, outside and in.
And more...
A roadrunner. We were interested in this guy because we saw one (but only one) on our southwest trip.
An example of the night time exhibits.
They have a wonderful jungle building with lots of primates and other animals.
We also visited their aquarium.
And here is a video. Dory, looking for Nemo. (He was there, but hiding...)
After we left the zoo, we drove across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Missouri. We took the Bob Kerrey (former senator from Nebraska) pedestrian bridge from Iowa to Nebraska.
Matthew in two places at the same time.
After this we visited the Union Pacific train museum in Council Bluffs. When the transcontinental railroad was built, the Union Pacific company worked from east to west, headquartered in Council Bluffs, while the Central Pacific company worked from west to east.
We then returned to Omaha and drove a little around the river waterfront. There is a huge corporate campus for ConAgra company.
There is also an area of old warehouses and cobblestone streets. Once again we found a great place to eat!
It turned out the the college world series was taking place the same time we were there! They use a stadium on the water front.
Some Loose Ends
Here is Matthew updating our US Map with the two new states we've visited.
Some local color. Check out the Conestoga wagon on their state route signs.
We saw a lot of these strange trucks. The second part is about 30 feet behind the first part. Apparently they do this to meet the weight limit for bridges.
They LOVE coffee here. In fact, they drink so much they make it in water towers!
Some colorful grain towers on they west side of Omaha.
