Category Archives: RECREATION

March 14, 2013 · 11:14 pm

Brews along the bike trails in Des Moines

ebc-beerhall-4
 Farmer John's

Looks like there will be ample opportunity to try some fresh brewed beer along various Des Moines bike trails this year – although I’m not a big fan of that sort of thing. Brew pubs are bursting out all over the city including:

  • Exile Brewing Company, in a cool rehabbed building/”beer hall” (maybe they’ll have Weisswurst, those sickly grey-colored sausages I remember from Munich beer gardens. I do see “german food,” aka veal schnitzel, homemade country sausage, braised red cabbage, wholegrain mustard on the menu!) near Meredith in the western Gateway. 1514 Walnut Street.
  • Confluence Brewing (located just south of Gray’s Lake, presumably named for being near the confluence of two downtown rivers – the Des Moines and the Raccoon) 1235 Thomas Beck Rd. (Interestingly, you have to enter your birthdate to prove you’re over 21 to get on the brewpub’s website. Never seen that before.)
  • 515 Brewing (on University, just west of 73rd street,  along the Clive/Greenbelt Trail in Clive) 7700 University Ave. (see below)

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February 25, 2013 · 7:50 pm

Maple syrup festivals in Iowa in early March

File:Maple syrup.jpg

Word has it this is a good year for sap in Iowa  – the kind that is used to make maple syrup. And there will be two festivals in late early March when a lot of us Iowans are climbing the walls, desperate for spring and short of that, distractions. So here’s the sticky scoop: Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids and Harman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls  are each having a two-day festival Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3. They’re about an hour apart from each other.

Indian Creek Nature Center
6665 Otis Rd SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

 Telephone: 319-362-0664

Hartman Reserve Nature Center – You can try tapping a maple tree, watch syrup processing and, of course, eat pancakes with the real deal maple syrup!
657 Reserve Drive
Cedar Falls, IA 50613
(319) 277-2187
Fax: (319) 277-4420

A sugar maple tree

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February 13, 2013 · 2:52 pm

Talented team to feed masses at DSM’s Riverwalk soon. walking tours too.

Good to hear that the talented Lisa and Michael LaValle will team up with talented George Formaro to run the food stand at the Hub Spot along Des Moines’ Principal Riverwalk , off Court Avenue west of the river, starting this April. The food sounds equally promising – with locally-sourced items like LaQuercia prosciutto, Maytag Cheese and Zanzibar coffee to be sold, not to mention a “Zombie Burger” cart – a spin off of Formaro’s popular East Village restaurant. Lisa has been the longtime chef at the Des Moines Art Center and is an all round nice person. (Our kids went to school together.) Here’s more info from the Des Moines Register! And here’s hoping the Riverwalk becomes as popular as Gray’s Lake with outdoor enthusiasts. We regularly ride our bikes on a trail through both – now we’ll have a new place to get a snack downtown.

The Hub Spot at the Principal Riverwalk, which is nearing completion, is on the west side of the river, near the Polk County office building.

The Hub Spot at the Principal Riverwalk, on the west side of the river, near the Polk County office building.

And what’s this about Carl Voss, another person we’ve known for decade, offering walking tours of downtown Des Moines in the spring? And kayaking on the Raccoon River?

The Des Moines Art Center

 

 

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January 22, 2013 · 12:46 am

Tour the international space station – by internet

 

My dad provided me with this post fodder – an internet tour of the International Space Station. It’s a brave new world.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k

and here’s a list of possible dates to see it over Iowa….


THE FOLLOWING ISS SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM MON JAN 21 TO TUE FEB 05

SATELLITE LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE
DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)
ISS Tue Jan 22/06:41 AM 5 18 10 above NNW 10 above ENE
ISS Wed Jan 23/05:52 AM 2 15 15 above N 11 above NE
ISS Thu Jan 24/06:37 AM 4 27 11 above NW 17 above ENE
ISS Fri Jan 25/05:48 AM 3 20 20 above N 11 above ENE
ISS Sat Jan 26/05:00 AM < 1 12 12 above NE 11 above NE
ISS Sat Jan 26/06:33 AM 4 53 15 above NW 33 above E
ISS Sun Jan 27/05:44 AM 2 33 32 above N 21 above ENE
ISS Mon Jan 28/04:56 AM < 1 15 15 above ENE 13 above ENE
ISS Mon Jan 28/06:29 AM 4 60 18 above WNW 19 above SE
ISS Tue Jan 29/05:41 AM 2 73 73 above NE 21 above ESE
ISS Wed Jan 30/04:53 AM < 1 14 14 above E 14 above E
ISS Wed Jan 30/06:26 AM 4 23 18 above WSW 11 above S
ISS Thu Jan 31/05:38 AM 2 29 29 above S 12 above SSE

ONLY DAYS WITH SIGHTING OPPORTUNITIES ARE LISTED

This data last updated on 21 Jan 2013 17:35:25 GMT

A silhouette of the ISS shown orbiting above the Earth. This image is suspended within an orange and purple shield, with the words 'International Space Station' above the image, and laurel leaves beneath. ISS insignia

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October 30, 2012 · 5:54 pm

Advice on how to get Machu Picchu tickets – persistence and a little help from your hotel!

It was much harder than it should have been but I finally am the proud holder of two tickets to visit  Machu Picchu next month. My Bolivian friend at our hotel in Peru’s Sacred Valley came through and things did work, although not without wrinkles. Even he had trouble getting the government website or booking system to work properly for several days. So if you are looking to buy tickets, here’s what I recommend: Go through your hotel if at all possible – which means you’ll have to wire money and some personal details (like your passport number) which is a little discomforting. It cost us about $30 extra – $10 per tix comission to the hotel and $10 to wire money – but I think it’s worth the peace of mind to know that you have advance tickets, given that the number of visitors per day is restricted and it take a lot of time, effort and money to get to Machu Picchu – (you have to book advance trains, hotel, etc.) I’m very excited to see this amazing place!

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October 18, 2012 · 7:09 pm

Machu Picchu – still trying to figure out HOW to buy advance tickets

 

The ruins viewed from the Guardian’s Hut

I have never – ever – had such trouble figuring out how to buy tickets for a place in my life. It’s maddening. I have not been able to get  clear answer on 1) if I need advance tickets in November to visit Machu Picchu? 2) If there is any way to get advance tickets?

The Peruvian government has a website to reserve the tickets but because you can no longer use a credit card of any type to pay for them (due to problems with credit card fraud, apparently) it’s highly unclear how the reservation system works. There are all kinds of stipulations that frankly don’t make much sense. Below is the latest missive I got from the Peruvian government website folks. Clear as mud….(My concern is that we’ve spending a lot of time and money to go to the site – we’ve booked planes, trains, a hotel etc – and apparently there is a limit on how many tourists can visit so I certainly would prefer to reserve or buy tickets in advance. But maybe I don’t need to – because we’re not in the peak tourism season. Or maybe I just plan cannot!)

Dear Betsy

We are so sorry but Visa had so many problems with stolen  and cloned cards that they preferred to cancel the payment system from abroad, all foreign card payments are suspended due to the high level of fraud presented.
We don’t accept any other kind of payment.
Probably visa won’t accept the payment until the next year.

If you have already employed a hotel o some service in Cusco they are able to help you to purchase your ticket.
Another option is to contact to some travel agency.
On our website www.machupicchu.gob.pe – Consultas (Queries)- agency, you can see the list of the travel agency.
Remember that you have 6 hours to make the payment or your reservation will be cancelled. 

However if you want to visit only Machupicchu City, you can buy your tickets with 3 to 2 day in advance, if you want to visit Machupicchu and Huaynapicchu you need buy your tickets with 2 weeks in advance.

In Perú: 

You can make your reservation on our website www.machupicchu.gob.pe and pay Any office of the Banco de la Nación it is necessary to bring the printed RESERVATION FORMAT; Hours of Availability: Monday to Friday from 8:00 – 17:30 hrs and Saturday from 9:00 – 13:00hrs. Only you can pay in cash and Soles (Peruvian currency).  

In Cusco:
In our authorized offices located on Av. De la Cultura Nº238 Condominio Huascar Wanchaq. Hours availability from Monday to Saturday  07:15 – 18:30. you can book and pay
The AATC (Association of voyages and travel agencies) located on Calle Nueva Baja N º 424, Cusco –  Peru Phone: (084) 22-2580. Hours of availability: Monday to Friday from 9:00 – 16:00hrs.  you can pay just with Visa Card     
Remember that you have 6 hours to make the payment or your reservation will be cancelled.       

Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely,
 

CALL CENTER
DIRECCION REGIONAL DE CULTURA CUSCO
Facebook, Skype y Twitter: DRC Cusco Ministerio de Cultura Call Center
e-mail: callcenter@drc-cusco.gob.pe
Telefono: (51) 84 236061
Direccion: Av. de la Cultura Nº238 Condominio Huascar Wanchaq – Cusco, Perú

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September 7, 2012 · 2:35 pm

My recent travel story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune – The High Trestle Trail in Iowa

I forgot to mention that a story of mine about riding bikes on central Iowa’s The High Trestle Trail at night ran a few weeks ago in The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune – for more details see: http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=165756086

Night riding on The High Trestle Trail in central Iowa

Fresh air, exercise and an art bridge

  • Article by: BETSY RUBINER
  • Special to the Star Tribune
  • August 13, 2012 – 2:41 PM

The other night, I did something new and possibly stupid: I rode my bike on an unlit trail through rural Iowa. It was dark, except for the dim beam from the cheap flashlight I jury-rigged to my handlebars and the occasional flickering light of passing bikes. It was quiet, except for the periodic rustling, croaks and calls of who-knows-what. It was spooky.

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August 6, 2012 · 7:40 pm

Sending my son off to Peru…without a smart phone

 

 

One of the hardest things about dropping my son off at the airport in Omaha this morning is that he didn’t take his smartphone with him (he won’t be able to use it in his destination city: Lima). So of course right after we exchanged our last wave, just before he went through the x-ray machine, – me crying, him looking a little concerned – I thought of something I wanted to tell him. And I couldn’t. Soon enough he’ll be somewhere that he can email us from but not having the ability to text is tough. It’s not like we text that much – I try not to. But not having the option stinks.  It makes me wonder how my parents coped when I flitted off to Europe and the Middle East for months on end, just roaming without  much of an itinerary, and there was no email or texting option. Back in 1982, our only option – beside very expensive phone calls and not-very-timely postcards – was telegram and I do remember once sending a telegram to my dad for his birthday from Istanbul (when I almost forgot it was his birthday). I made the mistake of wishing him Happy Birthday in  Turkish  – which he of course didn’t understand so I may have unnecessarily alarmed him and my mom. This was only a few years after the movie “Midnight Express” came out…

Anyway, I hope to get an email from my son sometime tomorrow just telling me he’s arrived in Lima safely. Then I’ll be fine. I think.

 

 

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July 14, 2012 · 6:47 pm

Farm-to-table meal in the Iowa countryside at The Wallace Center in Orient, Iowa

The pretty farmhouse on the grounds of The Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center in Orient, Iowa

We had a lovely meal in a beautiful setting last night at The Gathering Table, a restaurant inside a  white barn (built in 2003 to replicate the original) on the 40-acre farm where Henry A. Wallace, the former U.S. Vice President (1941-45) and founder of the seed corn company Pioneer Hi-Bred, among other things, was born in 1888. The food was prepared with vegetables and fruit grown in The Wallace Country Life Center’s garden and nearby, and the chicken and lamb was also locally sourced. The bread, peach ice cream, strawberry sorbet, crystallized ginger cookies, chocolate almond truffle were all made at the restaurant which is overseen by an Iowa native and well-trained chef  Katie Routh.  There were four of us and we dined on  Bridgewater Farm Roasted Chicken, Cory Family Farm Lamb Meatballs, Early Morning Harvest Polenta Cake, Stuffed Kohlrabi and a Spring Vegetable Platter.

The dinners are available only Thursdays and Fridays – but there is a Tuesday July 31 event that sounds fun, a Quilt show displayed in the Center’s gardens and light summer meal. Thursdays are tapas night. In the restored white clapboard farm house is a gift shop and market with surprisingly good local crafts and produce. You can also wander around seven themed flower gardens, orchard and produce gardens, restored prairie and pod, and a 3/4 mile walking path with five sculptures.  sculpture. Well worth a visit and we’ll be back!

The Gathering Barn where we ate – didn’t feel like a barn inside but charming still.

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July 10, 2012 · 9:17 pm

Scary fall en route to the Neal Smith Trail near Johnston, Iowa

Photo by Dayne Magneson, Park Ranger – Saylorville Lake

Word of warning: be careful if you are riding your bike over the bridge in Johnston (Iowa) just east of NW Beaver Drive (i.e. NW 66th Avenue east of the Johnston soccer fields) crossing the Des Moines River  to get onto the Neal Smith Trail at the Sycamore Access. My husband took a nasty spill thanks to some rough pavement at the southwest end of the bridge, which is narrow to begin with. Fortunately he fell towards the guard rail, away from the traffic. I shudder to think what would have happened if he’d fallen the other way – when the first of two very large and long trucks hauling hay bales passed us. I shared this adventure with another biking friend who said she’s sworn off riding across that bridge after she had a scare on it during rush hour traffic awhile back. Our encounter was on a relatively sleepy Sunday. Or so we thought.

It’s a bummer because we were hoping to do a loop – going north on the Trestle to Trestle trail to Johnston, then winding our way through some quiet residential streets – and one busy street – to get onto the Neal Smith trail heading south. Might not try that again.

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