Category Archives: Iowa

November 3, 2013 · 4:54 pm

Rooting for the Hotel Pattee and the Whiterock Conservancy – Perry/Coon Rapids Iowa

The DM Register has a good profile of the new owner of the Hotel Pattee – a one-of-a-kind gem of a boutique hotel in Perry, Iowa, about 45 minutes west of Des Moines. Here’s hoping he succeeds! In another Register section is a story about the Whiterock Conservancy – a developing tourist attraction about 30 miles west of  Perry in Coon Rapids that will offer trails for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding (more  below – it would be great to visit on a perfect fall day like today in Des Moines where the autumn foliage is spectacular this year!).  Put these two together and maybe there’s a successful weekend travel package (which has been part of the issue with the Hotel Pattee…since there are limited things for tourists to do there).

In 2000, when I wrote a story for the NYTimes travel section Historic Hybrid in Iowa, NYTimes 11/26/2000 about a stay at the historic Garst Farm in Coon Rapids (which now falls under the umbrella of  Whiterock Conservancy and is still a lodging option from what I can glean from the website whiterock conservancy website )  we went on a very memorable 2.5 hours horseback ride with our kids. They were very little (ages 8 and 7) to be riding on such big horses by themselves so I was a bit of a wreck but they survived. I ended the account of our trip with a visit to the Hotel Pattee. It can be done!

Another good activity option near Perry is the High Trestle Trail with it’s awe-inspiring 13-story high bridge, hidden in the middle of nowhere, spanning a  glorious river valley.

WHITEROCK, CROSSING A THRESHOLD

Next summer Whiterock will embark on the construction of our long-planned 35 mile backcountry trail!
The entire new backcountry trail will be open to walkers and hikers as it meanders among the forested slopes above the Middle Raccoon River. Sixteen miles of the trail will be a winding single track designed specifically for mountain bikers. bicycle riderAnother seven miles will be for equestrians.The final twelve miles will be double track shared by all users, including those using low power vehicles to allow those with mobility restrictions the opportunity to enjoy nature. horses and riders Trail users will also be able to access nine miles of other existing trails which connect to downtown Coon Rapids and many more miles of river upstream.

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October 20, 2013 · 3:53 pm

Touring the world without leaving Iowa! Visit Rome, Madrid, Jamaica (Iowa) and more

Location of Madrid, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°52′32″N 93°49′12″W

Kyle Munson has a very entertaining story in today’s DM Register about two Iowans who decided to tour the world without leaving Iowa by visiting all – or most  – of the towns in the state named after famous foreign cities  Around the world in Iowa?.

We’re talking about towns and cities in Iowa named  Madrid, Rome, Paris, Manilla, Turin, Melbourne, Persia, Denmark, Hamburg, Macedonia, Wales, Luxemburg,  and Sidney (not Sydney but close enough).[No word on whether they made it to Brooklyn or Nevada, Iowa…maybe that’s another trip – Iowa cities sharing the same name as more-famous U.S. cities.]  The two Iowans who visited some 22 cities in four days decided to have even more fun by jumping out of their car to take a photo beside the town side, each place they visited – and wearing appropriate clothing (ex: Rasta duds and a joint – fake we’re told – for Jamaica; dyed dish towels to use as a shroud for Turin). They also tried created a passport of sorts, which they  tried to get it stamped in each city – which was a problem since several places were so small they no longer had a post office. And they created little stickers with the name of each place they visited – akin to those old school travel stickers from times past – to slap onto their old school suitcase.

And as any Iowan – native or in my case veteran transplant – knows, the pronunciation of the Iowa version of these places can vary.  Madrid is MAD-rid   not Muh-Drid. (And Nevada, Iowa,  is pronounced here as Ne-VA-duh not Ne-vah-duh.) I’ve gotten so used to this that when I encounter the original or more famous Madrid or Nevada, I have to stop myself from using the Iowa pronunciation. (When I went to the real Peru last year, I was tempted a time or two to use the pronunciation used by  the city of Peru, Illinois, i.e. Pee-Ru.)

Kyle also included some fun information about the unlikely way   some of these towns got their copycat names – and mentioned a book on the topic I’ll need to track down. Here’s a snippet below:

  • Madrid (pronounced MAD-rid), settled by Swedes, happened to be named after the Spanish city as an intended insult to one of the town’s founders.
  • Jamaica allegedly was named when the mayor of what then was known as Van Ness was blindfolded and randomly placed his finger on a world map.
  • Manilla in Crawford County was decided in a tug of war that might have resulted in a dot on the map called Paupville.
  • (Check out “A Dictionary of Iowa Place-Names” by Tom Savage of Muscatine for a full A-to-Z rundown of such name-origin oddities.)
  • Luxemburg, Iowa
    City

    Location of Luxemburg, Iowa
    Coordinates: 42°36′17″N 91°4′36″WCoordinates: 42°36′17″N 91°4′36″W
    Country  United States
    State  Iowa
    County Dubuque

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October 14, 2013 · 1:59 pm

There is a detour to get around the closed section of the Neal Smith trail in DSM

We weren’t exactly sure where the closed section of the Neal Smith Trail was, so when we arrived on the trail yesterday – a gorgeous fall day for a bike ride – at the Sycamore Access Trailhead just north of Interstate 80 on NW66th in Johnston and found a big barrier and closed for construction sign, we were bummed. But a man with a strong German accent peddled up and told us how to get around the closed segment, giving us classic Iowa instructions: continue east to the Casey’s (a gas station), turn right, ride for awhile til you get to a short bridge over the Interstate, then take the first right, go past two white farmhouses and you’ll see a black pickup parked next to the trail entrance.

Sure nuf’!

We peddled east on NW 66th, turned right on what my map suggests is NW26th, through a strange no man’s flatland of fields and sandpits and the occasional old house, across a short bridge with battered pavement over I-80 and took the first right at the old white farmhouse (on a street that is NOT on my map) and voila – the trail. OPEN!

Funny that we got this information from a visitor to Des Moines. He spent his first 30 years in Munich but now lives in Wisconsin and was rendezvousing in Des Moines for a bike trip with his brother, who lives in Omaha – and also has an equally strong German accident….He peddled up soon after we started talking. Good to see out-of-staters enjoying Iowa’s trails – they had rode the day before on the High Trestle Trail, the one with the stupendous bridge.)

Just fyi: This from the DNR: A portion of the Neal Smith Biking and Hiking Trail will be closed for repair beginning Aug. 21. The trail will be closed from the Sycamore access to Morningstar Drive in Polk County, a distance of about three miles. Trail repair is expected to be completed in late October, depending on weather conditions.

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September 29, 2013 · 4:03 pm

The “Southwest effect” in Des Moines – fares down but I still haven’t flown Southwest

A young man dancing, swiveling his hips. He has dark hair, short and slicked up a bit. He wears an unbuttoned band-collared jacket over a shirt with bold black-and-white horizontal stripes. Behind him, on either side, are a pair of barred frames, like prison doors.

So according to the DM Register there has indeed been a “Southwest effect” in Des Moines – i.e. fares have dropped about 6 percent since Southwest FINALLY decided to grace us with its presence. Southwest-effect-slashes-Des-Moines-prices. And that’s great! Oddly I’ve yet to fly Southwest. Up until yesterday Southwest only flew to Chicago from DSM  (twice daily). But  today it will begin flying to Las Vegas which should open up western routes to places like Tucson/Phoenix and L.A. where I need to fly. An Elvis impersonator and Vegas showgirls will be on board to kick off the new Vegas flight!

On the few occasions when someone from my family has opted to fly to Chicago (vs. drive or take the Megabus) they’ve opted for other airlines that have dropped their prices as a result of Southwest’s arrival – and as I recall they’re lower or more convenient times than Southwest. Still I would like to thank Southwest by flying the airline sometime – should it prove cost-efficient and convenient.

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September 23, 2013 · 7:23 pm

Good times/little sleep at Lake Red Rock’s Wallashuck Campground in Iowa

Wallashuck campgrounds, Lake Red Rock, Iowa. Pitching our tent.

Wallashuck campgrounds, Lake Red Rock, Iowa. Pitching our tent.

Friends talked us into camping with them last Saturday at Lake Red Rock, outside the pretty Dutch Iowa town of Pella, and we’re glad they did. It was gorgeous there and perfect weather. My only issue was sleeping in a tent – which I haven’t done in several years, for good reason I learned. Even though we brought padding, my bum back couldn’t get acclimated to the still-hard ground beneath my sleeping bag. I finally gave up at about 4 a.m. and sat in a lawn chair outside our tent, wrapped in my sleeping bag, reading a magazine with a flashlight under a full moon and waiting for dawn which, when it arrived, was very welcome. I walked down to the late through a clearing in the woods and found the lake  lovely – still, very pale blue with mist rising, only me and the geese paddling and crying out.

Eating half - yes, just half - of a Goldie's Pork Tenderloin sandwich

Eating half – yes, just half – of a Goldie’s Pork Tenderloin sandwich

We stayed at Wallashuck campground which was smaller than some of the others and nice and quiet and shaded, with easy access to a bike trail riding the lake which we rode in both directions, including to the city of Pella where we just missed getting the city’s famed fresh bologna at one of two markets in town (both closed at 4) – the only other place I look forward to bologna is in the western Kansas town of Lucas. But we  did get some good sweets at one of Pella’s Dutch bakeries! (coconut and date macaroons at Jaarsma Bakery. We’re not Dutch Letter fans, an S-shaped flakey pastry filled with almond pastry, which is their real claim to fame). En route to Pella, we passed a cute b&b, The Cheesemakers Inn which I gather is run by the same folks that make gouda cheese sold at the Des Moines Farmers market (Frisian Farm.)

On Sunday, we drove to the nearby Neal Smith Prairie Life Center, looking for trails to bike and roaming buffaloes. Didn’t find either. We stopped in Prairie City at Goldie’s and tried one of its famous enormous pork tenderloins, most recently featured in the New York Times (I think we sat next to the same people when we were there!)  NYTimes eats in Iowa  It’s not my thing but I gave it a go – opting for the pork tenders (slightly less caloric because there’s no bun.) Cute place in former brick gas station on the edge of a quintessential small rural town in Iowa.goldiesphoto

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September 17, 2013 · 7:16 pm

Prospective buyers for the Hotel Pattee in Perry Iowa!

You heard it here first (maybe) but the DM Register is now confirming what I heard from a Perry shopkeeper a few weeks ago during a bike ride from Waukee to Perry – there are prospective Buyers for Hotel Pattee in Perry, a true gem of a historic hotel. Here’s hoping it happens!
Motto: Make yourself at home!

Location of Perry, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°50′24″N 94°6′0″W

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September 12, 2013 · 3:47 am

hair frisk on 9/11 at Des Moines airport.

flying on 9/11 was a little eery but for the most part just fine. I had absolutely no wait at airport security in Des Moines. oddly empty but I was told that’s not unusual for a 10 am midweek flight. But oddly, After I did the scanner thing, the guard asked the squeeze my ponytail. A hair frisk of sorts.

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September 8, 2013 · 10:11 pm

The Hub Spot – new stop along Des Moines Riverwalk

Walk & Bike Tour Cover

We stopped at The (new) Hub Spot for a light lunch while riding along the Principal Riverwalk in downtown Des Moines on a hot Sunday afternoon and had a perfect light meal – a very good ham and swiss on a perfectly concocted baguette – and a great view of the river and downtown, including the Latino Fest going on atop a nearby bridge. What a great addition to the ever-improving downtown scene. As further proof of that expansion, we picked up a little free Des Moines Walk & Bike Guide (more excellent work from the Des Moines Bicycle Collective) to downtown at cafe – with walking tours of the city’s public art (including sculpture by Joel Shapiro, Claes Oldenburg, Jun Kaneko)  East Village shops, downtown architecture, Capitol area,  and four biking tours of downtown breweries, historic (and hilly) neighborhoods and “Chuck’s 18-miler” which follows almost exactly our favorite loop from home to downtown and back.

What a great idea!! But the highlight for us came towards the end of our ride along the Neal Smith Trail when we spotted a giant billboard featuring our neighbor and friend Sam! See below…samphoto

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September 5, 2013 · 1:57 am

“Bad” (Malo) restaurant opening in Des Moines

Chef George Formaro is opening new reaturant Malo

Pleased to read that restauranteur extraordinaire George Formaro (Zombie Burger, Centro, Django, Gateway et. al) is opening yet another restaurant in Des Moines, this one serving nuevo Latina” fare and called Malo, the Spanish word for “Bad” (but more bad-cool then bad-bad). “It’s going to be at the greatl old former firehouse downtown that’s becoming the new home base for the Des Moines Social Club.
He’ll be offering two things I used to think I’d find in Des Moines – a Pisco Sour (which we grew fond of last November during a trip to, where else, Peru) and “a late night menu.” (When I first moved here in 1990, it used to depress the heck out of me that I couldn’t find a decent place to eat on a Saturday night at 9 p.m. after a movie – I’ll be forever indebted to Chat Noir, now closed alas, for changing that!) The menu will reportedly include nachos mac and cheese (which doesn’t appeal to me) but also carnitas (which I happened to serve tonight to my family, using a fantastic NYTimes recipe I found years ago).
The pork carnitas torta is a sandwich of carnitas, cheese, refried beans and onions in a red chile sauce, served on South Union torta bread.
The fried shrimp tacos are served with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, avocado and lime.

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September 3, 2013 · 10:51 pm

High Marks for the Des Moines Farmers Market

  • sweetcorn web
  • egg homepage
  • market homepage
  • sweetcorn web
  • egg homepage

I’ve never heard of the Daily Meal website, but others have and so, I gather, it’s a fairly big deal that it named the Des Moines Farmers Market as No. 2 in the nation – out of 101 of the best markets. First place was Pike Place Farmers Market in Seattle (Des Moines sure can’t match the fresh fish available there – but we’ve got mighty good bacon!).  After Des Moines, the bests were  Chicago’s Green City Market, the Phoenix Public market, the St. Paul Farmers market and Omaha’s market.

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