2022 Trip 2:Central Iowa: June 24

Des Moines, IA June 24

No oddity like a matchstick cathedral today but the day still packed a few punches. Early rain meant we passed on visiting a restored prairie and national wildlife refuge. Our first visit was to the Iowa state historical museum-with a bonus, free parking! What a treat nowadays.

Pearls, Buttons and clamming along the Mississippi River

The Iowa historical museum is large and the first floor exhibits were sort of like visiting a department store, a little bit of something for everyone. Early history with farming, Civil War, immigration, glaciers, fashion styles, flora and fauna, river mussels, natural resources, Native Americans, etc. It seemed like every imaginable topic was covered by one or two exhibit boards.

The second floor was more focused. Two large exhibits, one on Iowa and films, the other on RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) dominated the space. Living in Minnesota, RAGBRAI was well known to us. For novices, RAGBRAI is a seven day bike ride of 450 miles across Iowa limited to 10,000 riders. Not a race, but an experience. The route is not straight and it varies from year to year. Basically the route starts at the Missouri River (Sergeant Bluff, south of Sioux City, this year) and ends at the Mississippi River (Lansing, this year, about 30 miles south of the MN border). Daily distances range from 50 to 100 miles and yes, there is elevation gain. Mason City, where we were Thursday with Shannon and Adam, is one of the host cities in 2022. The referral to ”Register” is due to the Des Moines Register, a newspaper, being the initial sponsor.

The second major exhibit was devoted to ”Hollywood in Iowa” featuring local movie stars and films made in Iowa. Film names you might recall include Bridges of Madison County, Field of Dreams, Music Man, State Fair, etc. Four to six minute clips from the movies were shown.

We asked a helpful staff member about the lack of any mention of Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the U.S. who was born in Iowa. The Hoover Presidential Library is in West Branch Iowa and we thought it was extremely well done when we visited it. After reminding us that Minnesota has never had a President, the staff informed us that all of Hoover’s presidential and personal effects had been left to other groups. Without a base of items tied to his life and presidency, it did not seem appropriate to have any exhibit. Understandable but still it seems at least some reference could have been made.

After two hours at the history museum, we made our way to the Iowa State Capitol. Here we had a wonderfully informative and interesting 90+ minute tour. Our docent was able to bring to life the building, its history, architecture and personality. If there was one overarching theme it was that the state wanted a show place, a major statement that Iowa was a great state in its own right. The Capitol was completed in 1886, although some finishing touches lingered into the early 1900s. The golden capped dome is the largest dome of any state capitol.

Chandeliers in the two legislative chambers came from Vienna and Czechoslovakia. There are 29 varieties of marble and numerous wood varieties. The Capitol houses the only five story law library of any state government. The tour included both houses of the legislature, showed us the original Iowa constitution, and had us climbing up (and down) 125 feet into the rotunda.

The Supreme Court bench.

Our docent provided many interesting stories. Just one to give you a sample. The original Supreme Court had five jurists. The dais and bench they occupied was to be carved out of mahogany wood and a competition was held to select one person to carve the intricate woodwork. The person winning the competition was only 22 years old but there was opposition to selecting a person so young. Eventually he was awarded the work and completed it masterfully. Forty some years later the Supreme Court was expanded from five to nine jurists but the dais and bench were too small so a call went out for another master woodworker to complete an addition to the original. The woodworker who had carved the original dais and bench responded. He was living in Chicago, was still carving, and would love to finish the project. He got the contract.

Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden

After a late lunch we headed to the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Located along the Des Moines River, the facility combines indoor and outdoor displays. The day had become sunny and warm with enough of a breeze that it was pleasant to walk among the outdoor displays. We had hoped to end up with a visit to an outdoor sculpture garden but the area was home to a weekend art festival and parking was a hassle. We settled for ice cream instead.

Behind the waterfall at Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens

Ed and Chris, Des Moines IA