Not a joke. My youngest is visiting next week from Seattle. He likes sight-seeing – scenery, water, geological formations. He’s not a theme park or art museum kind of guy, and he’s seen plenty of zoos
Since he’ll be driving out, I don’t want to put him back on the road for a long time. A day trip would be best. Since I’m in central Iowa, that pretty much means something in the state.
Last time he visited, we went to Dyersville (Field of Dreams), we took a ride on the Boone Valley Scenic Railroad (a real steam engine), and we went to the Ledges State Park. We also went to the River Museum in Dubuque.
I thought about the Loess Hills, but that’s a long drive to see some low hills (unless there’s more to them than what I’ve seen on my drives to South Dakota.) Living History Farms would be a possibility but it’s gonna be godawful hot.
He’s also gonna want to find some good Mexican food. We might have to go to Ames for that. I’ve never eaten Mexican food around here. I suspect it might be good though.
Amana Colonies? (There are actually some interesting historical exhibits about the Amanians hidden among the shops – and you can get a heck of a good strudel) Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum? My father and I have a shared passion for Presidential museums, but if you like somewhat strange history museums, I recall it quite favorably.
It’s August – doesn’t that make it State Fair time? Pig races! Butter sculptures! (or did the woman who did that forever, who died a month ago, appoint a successor). Rides! Funnel cakes!
His oldest brother is a Trekkie. I can see him wanting to do this just to make his brother jealous.
State Fair isn’t until later in August, but there are some others going on now – not so big, but there’d be funnel cakes.
I think Amana Colonies it is then. If I remember right, there’s a casino in the area, and he likes casinos. And maybe the Hoover museum.
I’ll tell him about the truck stop. I think he’ll be passing right by it, since he’ll be on I80. He just called from Butte. He’s doing Yellowstone tomorrow, should be here Wednesday.
The Bridges of Madison Country are near Winterset, not far outside of Des Moines. Also in Winterset is John Wayne’s birthplace, which is now a neat little museum.
Living History Farm in Urbandale is pretty cool also.
I’ve been there! It’s… interesting. Kind of makes “People of Walmart” look tame sometimes.
:eek:
Seriously tho, that Amana Colonies that was mentioned here looks interesting. I’ve had to drive through Iowa several times now and every time I see the signs I kind of want to stop. Boyfriend has family in Nebraska, hence the multiple trips thru Iowa.
I strongly recommend Maquoketa Caves State Park. It’s in eastern Iowa, about 30 miles south of Dubuque. If he likes scenery, water and geological formations it fits the bill quite well.
Shoot, our best Mexican restaurant just closed. But if you make it to Dubuque there’s always the river museum, which is awesome. The downtown area and 4th Street Elevator are nice too.
Most interstate highway rest areas have a historic marker or some such thing, but in many Iowa rest areas they’ve done much more to show off their state. Tell him to have a look around if he stops at one of these.
Supposed to be cooling off some toward the weekend, I think. Living History Farms would be fun - I may be going out there myself for a while Saturday. I think you’ve exhausted most of the geological formations in Iowa already.
Other museums in the central Des Moines area - if he has interest in the military, Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge or Fort Des Moines museums are good (and air-conditioned).
Something outdoors and touristy might be Sunday live outdoor music and “wine” at Summerset Wimery in Indianola (about 20 minutes south of Downtown).
Lots more good ideas! We did the River Museum last time, and looked all around for a spot where we could watch river traffic but couldn’t find anything.
The Palisades look awesome – I can sit and look around and he can hike – and so do the Maquoketa Caves.
I wonder if that museum near Kearney is the one hubby and I stopped at several years ago. I don’t remember the name. We both enjoyed it, and the guide was pleasant. I like Nebraska. I think he’s going to do I-90 though – from the DOT map it looks like there’s still flooding issues on I-80 at the border.
He did some training at Fort Des Moines – I’ll ask if he’s seen the museum. There’s a museum in Fort Dodge too, which is very close by and I’ve never visited.
Thanks, everyone!
Now just wait. This time he’ll want to sleep and play WoW.
http://www.westbendgrotto.com/
The Grotto in West Bend (if you are Christian, or leaning that way) is pretty neat. But it is outdoors and hot is too mild a term for this weather.
Well, everyone knows that I am Iowa’s biggest attraction, but failing that I have a few ideas that I don’t see on the list yet…
Mexican? There are quite a few good places in the Des Moines metro. For your standard American-style Mexican, I like Mi Mexico in Clive, but for a bit more authentic experience, El Patio (on Ingersoll) is great. Also, for a more classy experience, try Dos Rios downtown. Try the jalapeno margarita (seriously). Ames I don’t think has a ton of great Mexican places, they are mostly just pretty much the standard sort of places.
There are a lot of cool events at wineries around here, or you could also consider going to Templeton for a tour of the distillery.
The Science Center downtown is also pretty rad, and Body Worlds is there right now. It’s inside and cool.
You could also rent a paddleboat over at Gray’s Lake for a more laid-back afternoon kinda deal.
