Iowa Girl on the Go

I recently returned from 10 days in the desert Southwest. That’s an area I wouldn’t call my favorite part of the country, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed traveling there and how COLD it was in the upper elevations. The little jacket I packed, thinking, “Oh, I’m just going to southern California and Las Vegas” really didn’t cut it in Los Alamos and Flagstaff. Or even, as it turned out, southern California and Las Vegas. I was cold the entire trip.

As this was a VISIONS Across America trip, I traveled with photographer Jim Heemstra. We started out on an early-morning flight to LA and hit the ground running with a photo shoot and interview that afternoon in Santa Monica. It was extremely windy and a bit chilly, not the best conditions for a photo.

After we finished our work, we attempted to find our Venice Beach hotel in the dark. Both Mapquest and GPS were confused by the fact that our hotel could not be accessed by its front-door address but rather only by its back-door, scuzzy alleyway address. This was one of those hotels that, when you drive up to it, you say, “No way am I staying here.” Only the desperation brought on by a very long day and the alternative of finding a different hotel in the dark in Los Angeles – not to mention the fact that our rooms were pre-paid for the night – made us go inside. The Venice Beach Suites & Hotel was truly a one-star accommodation, if that. The front area was barricaded for the night and inhabited by a homeless man. The back alley was surrounded by sketchy skater boys and potential drug dealers. Inside, the guy on duty was only one notch above the guys outside. Our rooms were fairly large, but we both did a thorough check for dead bodies (rodent, insect, human, etc.) before bringing in our bags. The elevator was one of those manual affairs; I opted for the stairs in fear of getting stuck. The place was loud all night. Without a sleeping pill, heaven knows if I would have slept at all. I actually left the light on in the bathroom, something I never, ever do.

In the morning light, the hotel seemed somehow better. The day guy at the reception desk was creepier than the night guy, but the hotel’s location was pretty awesome: right in the middle of all the Venice Beach attractions. The whole place is seedy, but artistic and fun, too. I was amazed at the number of skate boarders active at 6:30 in the morning. (What motivates this behavior?) Jim and I had fun taking pictures, looking at the street art, and walking on the beach until we had to leave for our next assignment in Temecula.

Driving in Los Angeles is not fun, but if you have to do it, Sunday morning is probably the best time. That’s when we were navigating the freeways en route to the Temecula Valley Wine Country – an up-and-coming wine area that could be compared to Napa Valley 25 years ago. We visited Wilson Creek Winery and its vineyards and restaurant and found them charming and delicious. I was told that 42 wineries are now located in this area. Who knew?

The next morning, after spending the night in the funky Joshua Tree Inn in Joshua Tree Calif., (where the dreadlocked proprietor offered us freshly made chai) and eating Mexican food for breakfast, we visited Joshua Tree National Park, a desert filled with, well, Joshua trees. This is a national park that I had wanted to visit for a long time, but after traveling through the not-so-beautiful, rather scrubby desert landscape I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth it. But the short time we spent in the park, driving and hiking, was very enjoyable. I was surprised at the beauty of the rock formations and arm-waving Joshua trees surrounded by arid mountains.

We only had a few hours to spend on this diversion, because our destination for the day was Las Vegas. Neither Jim nor I like Las Vegas, but we had a job to do, so we headed for the Strip and met up with an Iowa State alum who does public relations for big events and companies there. I enjoyed meeting her but not so much Las Vegas, so we got up very early the next day and got the hell out.

Our destination that morning was not far: Henderson, a Vegas suburb. We were to meet a pilot at the Henderson Executive Airport for a short flight in a small airplane so Jim could photograph the pilot in the desert just south of town. (I was hoping he would look like Indiana Jones. He did not disappoint.) It was a bit of an exciting flight – after we were all buckled in, the airplane wouldn’t start, and we got to experience the pilot’s MacGyver-like abilities as he jump-started the airplane with his car battery. Yes, we still took off with him. Yes, we landed in the desert with no runway. Yes, after the photo shoot the airplane started. When that engine turned over we all said, in unison, “YAY!” I shudder to think of the adventure we would have had otherwise.

We left Nevada behind and headed for Arizona.

Our overnight lodging was in Flagstaff. We rolled in after dark and left before it became fully light, so I have only two memories of Flagstaff: We ate dinner at a fabulous Indian restaurant, and it was 14 degrees when we got in our frost-covered rental car the next morning. Fourteen degrees! Holy moly.

We drove Oak Creek Canyon south toward Sedona. The sun rose and warmed things up. The canyon was spectacular, but also nausea-inducing. I’ve never seen so many switchbacks in my life. But it was worth it. The scenery was gorgeous. Sedona, too, was spectacular. It’s a shame that Sedona is not a national park. The town itself is rather too touristy for my taste, and it’s surrounded by breathtaking views. A great spot for hiking and photography. I recommend it.

More driving, and we again arrived after dark – this time in Tucson. By now we had upgraded our lodging to the somewhat more predictable Marriott chain, and we found a Whole Foods Market for dinner.

We spent the entire next day with U.S. Border Patrol agents. One, a public information officer, drove us to our alum out in the field about an hour and a half southwest of Tucson. From there we descended into the rugged and unfriendly landscape of the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, which is roughly the size of Connecticut. This is a place that is filled with creatures who want to bite and sting you (think rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and scorpions), cactus that wants to poke you, and an endless desert that wants to kill you with its oppressive heat (in the summer – not so much when we were there). Not to mention drug smugglers and lowlifes trying to bring illegal immigrants into the country for a hefty price. It’s a dangerous job for the agents, and I learned a lot from my daylong ride-along with them. We went all the way to the border and got to see the fence.

After that exciting day, I got to have dinner with my friends Jim and Shelli Moore, whom I met at Northwest Missouri State about a million years ago. We shared a bottle of wine and then went out to eat at a good Mexican restaurant in Tucson.

We said goodbye to Arizona the next morning, traveling east on I-10 out of Tucson, crossing the border into New Mexico. It was a full day’s drive to our destination: Santa Fe. Our only stop was in Hatch, N.M., known as the Chile Capital of the World. We had lunch at a divey little place and sampled both the famous red and green chiles. (I think the green chile is far superior.) We also prowled around a bit, taking pictures of all the chiles and oddities in town.

When we rolled into Santa Fe, it was once again dark. (Damn you, Daylight Saving Time! Why did you have to go away before we took this trip?) We stayed (in a boring but clean Fairfield Inn) on the outskirts of town and didn’t even have the energy to go into the more interesting city center for dinner. But we came back the next day, after our reporting gig in Los Alamos, which is, by the way, surrounded by beautiful mountains. We spent a few hours in Santa Fe poking around in art galleries and looking at the lovely, historic architecture. We grabbed dessert (flan and sopapillas) and coffee on the town square before heading to our final destination: Albuquerque.

We got there (surprise!) after dark, and our hotel (The Hotel Blue) was less than ideal in a slightly seedy part of town. But I sort of liked it; it was a real old Route 66 kind of hotel that probably had its heyday in the 1950s, and there were plenty of bars and a few restaurants within easy walking distance. We were to rendezvous with our alumni at 6 o’clock the next morning for a sunrise hot-air ballooning photo. But, alas, it was not to be. While I was showering, at 5 a.m., one of the alumni called to tell me it was raining, so the photo was postponed. I was hoping we could do it later in the day, but the winds remained too strong. So we had a whole day to kill in Albuquerque.

Here is what we did: We went to Petroglyph National Monument, where I sat in the car while Jim hiked in the cold rain. (No, thank you.) Then we went to Old Town and walked around in the cold drizzle because nothing was open yet. We finally found a place to get a cup of coffee (and get warm), so we sat there for a while. When we came out, lo and behold, the sun was out and it was much warmer.

From there, we went to the art museum at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, which was featuring a fascinating exhibit called “Stitching Resistance: The History of Chilean Arpilleras.” We also viewed a cool fresco by Frederico Vigil that told the story of 3,000 years of Hispanic history.

By then we were hungry, so we went back to Old Town and ate at Church Street Café, home to award-winning salsa. I ate chile rellenos, and they were fantastic.

Next we went to the American International Rattlesnake Museum. Yes, I paid $5.00 to go to a rattlesnake museum, and I liked it. There were live rattlesnakes in cages, plus other snakes and reptiles, also in cages. According to the website, this museum houses the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the world. Who am I to doubt this? The museum also featured a weird assortment of snake memorabilia and two large land tortoises who were walking freely throughout the museum (so cute!) I happen to like snakes, as long as they aren’t a surprise, and I got to hold a couple of ball pythons. Jim took pictures of this, so maybe I’ll add a photo later. I thought the whole experience was quirky and odd and a lot of fun.

By this time the sky was a glorious shade of blue and the air was warm, so we took a walk at the Rio Grande Nature Center. That was very pretty, and it was nice just get out and walk.

Our last day was supposed to be a travel-only day, but since our ballooning photo got cancelled, we tried one last time to do a 6 a.m. shot with our alumni and their balloon crew. This time it worked out perfectly, and by 9 a.m. we had our shots – and made new friends to boot.

You know the phenomenon where you don’t notice things that are happening in your own backyard? The other day when I was in downtown Ames I suddenly noticed that the Main Street district had grown and flourished, and I wasn’t even aware of it. Changes have been taking place for several years, but this past year a real renaissance has occurred.

So yesterday I spent the day wandering from shop to shop, amazed at the shopping and dining possibilities I’d missed just 10 minutes from my house.

I started with Ames British Foods, “purveyors of fine foods, teas, beers, and gifts from Britain, Ireland, and around the world” according to their sign — and that seemed accurate to me. They have a great selection of imported beer (many sold by the individual bottle), cute teapots, European candy, and hard-to-find foods like lemon curd. They also carry fresh shortbread baked by a woman in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Ames British Foods has been open in Ames for four years, but it just recently moved to its current (and much improved) location at 429 Douglas, in the former Octagon Shop space. I met Marcus Johnson, the owner, who came to Ames from southern England to work at Ames Lab. He served me a cup of hot tea (a benefit to all shoppers, he said) and told me about another British venture he recently opened in Ames: The Chip Shop, a fish and chips restaurant at Char’s at 3100 South Duff. I don’t eat fish, but the rest of my family does, and I wouldn’t mind some authentic chips, so I’ll have to try it out.

A couple doors down is the Octagon Shop (427 Douglas), the retail space affiliated with Ames’ Octagon Center for the Arts. The current space has expanded from the earlier location, and I found much to look at. The art is high-quality, approachable, and — best of all — local, featuring works from 125 area artists. I tend to gravitate to the practical pieces (scarves, jewelry, printed note cards) but the paintings, sculptures, and tiny hand-made animals also caught my eye. I will be back to shop for Christmas.

I thought about the holidays a lot while I was shopping in Ames yesterday. I feel like, given that this is the first weekend in November, we’re just on the cusp of the big Christmas-decorating-and-holiday-promotion season. It was nice to browse through the stores without all the shopping hubbub, but I look forward to going back with a list in my hand and holiday music (and cookies and hot apple cider?) in the shops.

From the Octagon Shop, I crossed Main Street to visit a store I’d never noticed before: The Artisan Peace Shops. There I met owner Jim Hennager, who told me the shop opened in June. It features a mix of local art, crafts, food, Iowa wine and honey, and photography by DMACC students. There’s also an international component, with products from 15 countries, focusing on the Philippines, the homeland of his wife. The shop is at 136 Main Street.

At that end of Main Street (between Douglas and Duff) you’ll also find two of Ames’ oldest and most beloved restaurants: The Grove (a local dive that’s serves the best breakfast in town) and Great Plains Sauce and Dough, home to thick-crust, cheese-laden, diet-busting pizza that is oh so delicious. There are also a number of bars on that block, including the recently renovated Whiskey River, at right.

In the next block, I discovered my new favorite clothing store: B. Belle, located at 207 Main. Ames has several very good women’s clothing stores and fun boutiques, but the vibe in B. Belle was absolutely delightful. The clothing was fabulous, the prices were not out of control, and the owner, Susan Hart, made me feel right at home. She said the shop, which opened in May in a portion of the former Antique Ames building, was named after her mother, Bonnie Belle —  a photo of her mom at age 4 is displayed prominently in the store. I can’t wait to go back.

Next door, in the other part of the old Antique Ames building, is a design space occupied by Iowa State’s College of Design students.

On the other side of B. Belle’s is “It’s All About Me,” a boutique and spa featuring facial and body treatments, massage and reflexology, waxing, and makeup — but also cute scarves, baby items, and more. The shop, which has been at 209 Main for more than five years, is owned by Kathy Drevs.

Just down the street I discovered another store I hadn’t known existed — and it was a great find. The Tangerine Zebra, featuring antiques and vintage decor, is just next door to the venerable Emerhoff’s shoe store. I found lots of things to love about the Tangerine Zebra, owned by Robert Hague. The woman running the store yesterday said Hague offers custom light fixtures, restorations, and custom repairs and painting. It’s a real find for anyone who enjoys vintage furnishings.

This block of Main is just chock full of great shops, like Worldly Goods (a non-profit retail store filled with hand-crafted items from around the world) and Chocolaterie Stam (above), a chocolate-and-gelato shop that is alone worth a trip to downtown Ames.

Two consignment shops are located in this block: The Loft and Duck Worth Wearing. Duck Worth Wearing is a children’s and maternity consignment shop that in April moved from its longtime location on the northeast corner of Kellogg and Main across the street to a more spacious location. Owned by Eric and Amy Abrams, the shop (the busiest of all the places I visited yesterday in downtown Ames) is filled with consignment clothing, toys, and a selection of new items as well. The Loft, formerly located above Duck Worth Wearing, has moved downstairs to Duck’s vacated space. Both stores are now considerably larger. The Loft, also owned by Amy Abrams, features women’s consignment clothing and shoes.

Last, but not least, on this block is Cafe Diem, one of my favorite places in Ames. I love coming to this cozy coffee shop in the winter, for hot drinks, soup, and grilled-cheese sandwiches. It  makes me warm just thinking about it.

Heading west, the 300 block of Main is also filled with shops and restaurants, including the popular Olde Main Brewing Co., Downtown Deli, The Pumpkin Patch toy store, American Country interiors, Evert’s Flowers and Gifts, Great Stuff Ltd. (a furniture and home consignment shop), Teal and Tenacious women’s clothing store, Gallery 319, Skunk River Cycles, and more. Relatively new to this block is Ames Cupcake Emporium, located at the corner of Main and Kellogg. The Cupcake Emporium obviously sells cupcakes (above), but it also serves lunch in a fun space filled with vintage decor.

I frequently visit two other shops on this block: Cook’s Emporium (above) at 313 Main — a great shop for all things for the kitchen and dining room — and Photosynthesis, next door at 317 Main.

Photosynthesis took over the former Walden Photo shop, and while I grieved the loss of Walden’s, I have grown to love Photosynthesis. Not only do they do the best photo processing and printing around, they have expanded to offer photo books, photo gifts, jewelry, photos printed on slate and metal, and lots of other fun things. Most importantly, I trust them with my pictures.

Another fun store in this block is Anything But New, located at 309 Main in the former Temptations store. It’s a fun antiques store with lots of men’s and women’s vintage clothing and hats, Christmas items, books, kitchen items and dishes, jewelry, toys, and more.

I was hoping to visit Della Viti, billed as Iowa’s first and only self-serve wine bar, serving 48 varieties of wine, plus a full-service bar and craft beers. Wine comes in three sizes: a taste, a half glass, or a full 5-oz. pour. The shop opens at 2 p.m. daily, and I just got there too early. I’ll definitely come back.

The last block of Main Street, between Burnett and Clark, features two of Ames’ best restaurants: The Spice Thai restaurant, and Lucullan’s Italian Grill. It also features one of Ames’ best boutiques: Lyla’s. Located at 404 Main, Lyla’s has a slightly younger vibe than B. Belle’s but is certainly in the same league in terms of quality, trendy, fun clothing, handbags, and jewelry. The black-and-white checkered floor and ample use of hot pink decor always makes me smile.

I’ve left out dozens more businesses: shoe stores, men’s clothing, jewelry, art galleries, a ceramics studio, pet shop, bookstores, hobby stores, hair salons, service providers, and even a violin shop. Another wonderful consignment clothing shop, Miss Meyer’s, is located just north of Main Street on Clark Ave. Just to the west are Aunt Maude’s (arguably the nicest restaurant in Ames) and Wheatsfield food cooperative. I really can’t believe how much downtown Ames has to offer.

The thing I like best about shopping in downtown Ames is that, with very few exceptions, all of the shops and restaurants are locally owned and one-of-a-kind. During my tour yesterday, I was greeted by the owners of most of the shops. I would easily put Ames’ downtown district up against Des Moines’ East Village and Valley Junction for shopping, dining, and nightlife.

If you come to Ames to shop and eat, don’t forget that the Campustown area just south of Iowa State (mostly along Lincoln Way and Welch Avenue) offers more interesting food, taverns, a few funky shops, and wonderful coffee shops. My favorite places in Campustown are Stomping Grounds (for coffee, lunch, outdoor dining, and summer concerts), Lorry’s Coffee, Es Tas (for the tacos), Cafe Beaudelaire, Pizza Pit, Thai Kitchen, and Welch Ave. Station. Good stuff.

I also have to give a shout-out to another locally owned restaurant: Indian Delights. Located at 127 Dotson Drive, this place is practically invisible in the shadow of West Ames Hy-Vee, but it’s so worth the extra effort to find it. The food is authentic and consistently some of the best food Ames has to offer.

Mother’s Favorite (Chedester Barn, Lake View)

Here’s a good excuse for a drive in the country on a nice fall day: The Sac County Barn Quilts.

Harvest Star (Peyton Corncrib, Sac City)

Driving in Sac County (north and west of Des Moines at the intersection of U.S. 20 and U.S. 71), you can view 55 quilt blocks mounted on historic barns and corncribs.

The project began in 2005, and maps were printed a year later. (You can find a map at www.barnquilts.com.) Most of the colorful, painted quilt blocks are 8 ft x 8 ft. A group of Sac City area quilters chose the quilt patterns based on the pattern’s agriculture-related name or heritage.  Students, 4-H members, and other youth and adult volunteers painted all of the quilt blocks.

Starry Path (Schramm Corncrib, Sac City)

I drove for about two hours in Sac County this morning, and I found 16 of the barn quilts. I used the map for reference, but it would be just as easy to drive on any paved, numbered highway (U.S., state, or county) in Sac County and keep your eyes open for the barn quilt signs at the end of the driveways. They’re easy to spot, and each sign tells you the name of the particular quilt pattern featured on the adjacent barn. The quilt blocks have fun names, like “Pig’s Tail”and “Double Windmill.”

Cornerposts (Lucht Barn, Lake View)

I focused my drive mainly in the eastern portion of the county. Sac County isn’t one of those cute Iowa counties with wineries and quaint small towns. It’s a hard-core agricultural county, with miles and miles of farm fields and an untold number of animal confinement facilities. Everywhere I stopped in Sac County, I could smell the hog confinements, even if I couldn’t see them.

Hovering Hawks (Schelle Barn, Early)

Sac City is the county seat, and other towns include Auburn, Early, Lake View, Nemaha, Odebolt, and Wall Lake, plus a few other tiny farm towns. The total population of the county is just 10,350, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Judging from the Romney for President and King for Congress signs, every one of those 10,000 residents is going to vote Republican.

Bear’s Paw (Buse Corncrib, Auburn)

Highlights of the county include Black Hawk State Park (near Lake View) and the 33-mile Sauk Rail Trail. Also, apparently Sac City houses the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. I’m sorry I missed it. And Wall Lake is the birthplace of singer Andy Williams.

But back to the barn quilts: There’s no easy way to find all 55, at least not that I can tell. It’s not a linear path, nor a circular one. You’d just have to drive down pretty much every hard-surface road in the county. I was happy with the 16 I found, so I called it good.

Two weeks in New England in the fall is not the worst story assignment I ever got. In addition to doing 12 interviews and assisting with 12 photo shoots, I had the opportunity to sightsee in my favorite part of the country.

Flying into Boston, I started and ended my travels in Massachusetts. Boston is a fabulous city filled with history, attractions, and fun neighborhoods to explore. I walked along the Freedom Trail (with such sights as the Old North Church and Faneuil Hall), to the Public Garden, Boston Common, the North End (with its seemingly endless Italian eateries), and the waterfront.

The Public Garden especially makes me smile because of the children’s book Make Way for Ducklings – they even have duckling sculptures upon which parents sit their toddlers for way-too-cute photos.

MAINE

From Boston, I traveled to Maine, which may just be my favorite state. From scenic Camden and Bar Harbor to the tiny fishing ports of Bass Harbor and Stonington to the awe-inspiring Acadia National Park, Maine is one huge gorgeous coastline in the fall. Although the weather was not always the best, it was great fun photographing the fishing boats and sailboats, rocky coastline, and sprawling vistas. There were seagulls, cormorants, and loons; lobster traps and buoys; rich, fall color; crashing waves, and placid inland lakes.

The locations of my two stories were on the coast, the first on Bailey Island, just north of Portland as the crow flies (a little further if you drive a car there). The island, easily accessible by a small bridge, is surrounded by Casco Bay. There are a lot of summer homes on Bailey Island, and a few lobster pounds.

We did a photo shoot with a shore platter (lobsters, corn on the cob, and steamers, a.k.a. clams.) That plate was a work of art, even though it made me sad. The second story was just up the coast a bit on Little Deer Isle, a picturesque and non-touristy setting with rocky beaches and the adorable Pumpkin Island lighthouse.

Despite my unwillingness to eat seafood, I found much to eat in this lobster-laden state. I ate a grilled-cheese-with-tomato sandwich, egg salad on a lobster-roll bun (delicious), pizza, an awesome main-dish salad, and pecan pie.

I saw a huge, orange harvest moon rise over the ocean on my first night in Bar Harbor. I gasped when I saw it – the reflection in the water made it too perfect to be real. I watched it from the balcony of my room at the Bar Harbor Inn, a historic oceanfront resort. The next morning, the splendor repeated itself in a pink-and-orange blazing sunrise. I took many photos…all of them out of focus.

The highlight of my Maine visit was Acadia National Park and its surrounding port towns. I spent parts of two glorious days there, taking the Park Loop Road, driving to the top of Cadillac Mountain and walking its perimeter, walking on Sand Beach, hiking a carriage road. I visited Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor – both fishing villages that are not nearly so far away from each other as they appear on the map. I went through Somesville to see its tidy, white curved bridge. I went to Bass Harbor for its postcard-famous lighthouse but fell in love with the town for its no-nonsense, working-fisherman culture and its picturesque harbor.

I could have spent days and days and days in Acadia, but I had to move on.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

I didn’t spend too much time in New Hampshire, and it was raining most of the time I was there, so I didn’t really give the state a fair shake. The highlight was a drive up the Mount Washington Auto Road near North Conway, a spectacular and hair-raising adventure up a road built in 1861 (though I can’t imagine how they did it.) At 6,145 feet, Mount Washington is certainly not the tallest mountain in the U.S., but it’s said to have the worst weather: a combination of high wind, fog, rain, snow, and something called rime ice. In 1934, Mount Washington Observatory scientists measured a wind gust of 231 mph, which remains the highest wind speed ever documented. I was up there to do a story on one of the meteorologists who works at the observatory, and I spent enough time with him in the wind (relatively light, compared with 231 mph) and rain that I was thoroughly miserable. But the views coming back down the mountain, once the fog cleared a bit, were truly spectacular and I consider myself lucky for having visited the place (and also grateful for not having driven the car myself).

I wanted to visit Franconia Notch and drive the Kancamagus Highway from Conway to Lincoln, through the White Mountains, but the afternoon was already getting dark and it was still raining. So I took the direct route to my overnight town of Littleton.

Another highlight of New Hampshire was the town of Hanover, the home of Dartmouth College, one of the prettiest college campuses in the country. The trees were just ablaze with color the afternoon I was there.

VERMONT

Vermont was a mixed bag. I encountered more leaf-peeping tourists in Vermont than any other state. The charming ski town of Stowe (above) had been turned into a Branson-esque nightmare, with Highways 100 and 108 converging into a literal gridlock on the town’s main street. Just down the road, hundreds of tourists were packed into the parking lot for the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory. The crush of humanity required a traffic cop. I am not making this up. As soon as I could get off Hwy 100 and on to back roads (some gravel), I encountered red barns, fuzzy cows, covered bridges, wild turkeys, pumpkin patches, a waterfall, and room to breathe.

I stayed in Stowe at an unfortunate motel called the Season’s Pass. My room literally did not have a proper door with a doorknob on it, and the carpet was so gross I couldn’t stand to walk on it with my bare feet. I was glad to bolt out of there the next morning. (Unfortunately, the night’s stay was pre-paid, non-refundable. Now I see why.) I did have two nice meals in Stowe, however: an evening meal at Frida’s Taqueria and Grill (with great guacamole, salsas, and sangria) and breakfast the next morning at Black Cap Coffee (excellent coffee and pastries).

Another tourist crunch came in Smuggler’s Notch, a state park / ski resort that was breathtakingly beautiful and in full peak color when we drove through but so packed with other cars that it was impossible to park/pull off the road/enjoy the view/take a hike. So it was beautiful, but disappointing.

I visited Burlington, a small metropolitan city, bordered by Lake Champlain and home to the University of Vermont. I was there on a Saturday and it was raining and there were way too many people there, making it hard to find a parking space, lunch spot, etc. I spent most of my time in Burlington doing laundry, but I did meet some friends for coffee and dessert later in the day, which redeemed the visit. I really did love Burlington when I visited before; the day I was there this time just wasn’t the best day to be there. Next time I go, I want to be sure to give myself time to visit the Shelbourne Museum and Farms just south of town and enjoy more of Burlington’s restaurants and shops.

The next day was not rainy, and that made all the difference. I spent a truly magical day in the Woodstock area: dining, shopping, and (of course) working. My story subjects took me to the Billings Farm and Museum, a delightful living history farm mixed with working dairy farm. I was there during a fall family weekend event, which would normally signal to me Too Many Kids, but this place was really great. It has beautiful animals (cows, sheep, horses), barns, exhibits, and an 1890 farmhouse. Special activities included games, demonstrations, food, and plenty of hands-on activities such as making apple cider and building a split-rail fence. The weather was glorious, all the kids looked like they just stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalog, and it was just darn fun.

I’ll mention one more tourist trap in Vermont, and then I’ll shut up. Quechee Gorge, just east of Woodstock, is (according to my guide book) “a mile-long, 165-foot-deep, glacier-sculpted chasm” that has unfortunately attracted the likes of souvenir stands and tour-bus-parking lots. I kept expecting Elvis impersonators to pop out. Way to ruin a natural treasure.

RHODE ISLAND

The time I spent in Rhode Island was nearly all for work. I stayed the night in Providence and ate a good meal at a restaurant called Cuban Revolution. I briefly visited Newport but did not stay long enough to view the mansions nor enjoy the waterfront. Such is life on the road. We crossed a few cool bridges and saw some small harbors and took a walk at Brown University. And then we left.

MASSACHUSETTS

I completed my circle tour of New England back where we began it: Massachusetts. We spent one the night between alumni meetings on Cape Cod, which was mostly shuttered for the winter. It was raining, cool, and windy most of the time I was there, but I still enjoyed seeing the beaches and trying to imagine what they must look like in July. Most of the beach parking lots charge $15-20, but in October you can drive right in, and you have the whole beach to yourself.

I stayed in Chatham, which was the nicest town I saw in Cape Cod: touristy, yes, but sophisticated and charming. I stayed at the Hawthorne Motel, and although the proprietor was creepy and the place mostly empty, it had a very nice view of the water and had its own beach.

My last day was spent in Boston, in the rain, and all we did was work. I should mention that Massachusetts was State No. 23 on our 50-state tour, and we experienced the worst driving on Cape Cod and in Boston. Lots of road rage, scary rotaries, people driving too fast, people (like us) not knowing where they’re going, bad street signs, no grid to follow, crazy tunnels, etc. etc. etc. It’s surprising the rental car came out of the experience unscathed.

I was in Kansas City this weekend for my daughter Lauren’s birthday. We visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, one of my favorite places in the city to view art — and also my favorite place in KC to eat lunch. Dining in Rozzelle Court, I always feel as though I’ve wandered unexpectedly into a European courtyard, complete with a charming fountain.

We didn’t have a lot of time in the museum, so after lunch we hit the highlights: The Buddha statue (right, with daughter Katie and her friend Brittany) and the American wing. We definitely can’t visit the museum without seeing the Thomas Hart Benton paintings and the Cornhusker sculpture by  our own Christian Petersen (with Lauren, above). We also made it a point to stop by a special exhibit featuring some outstanding behind-the-scenes photographs of Pablo Picasso and also a disappointing collection of photographs of the remains of some of the World’s Fairs.

Today I viewed art of a different sort: The Octagon Arts Festival in Ames. This art fair, held on Main Street, offered a surprisingly good selection of art by more than 100 artists. Offerings included paintings, photographs, ceramics, sculpture, wooden furniture, hand-made purses, jewelry, glass, metal, lawn art, prints, and more. I didn’t have the I’ve-seen-this-before feeling like I often do at the larger and highly touted Des Moines Art Festival. Most of the works were approachable and affordable.

A quick scan of the list of artists shows that most were from the Midwest: mostly Iowa and Minnesota, but also Wisconsin, Illinois, and the surrounding states. A few were from out of the area, coming from as far away as Florida and even Montana. But this was definitely a Midwestern art festival, and I think that worked well.

In addition to the art, there were also a children’s crafts area, live music, and food vendors. Although I was tempted by a ceramic pumpkin, a tiny and adorable purse, a lithograph of a funny “cat lady” (with whom I related), and a wonderful necklace, my only purchase was a veggie gyro.

If there’s anything I enjoy more than a fall day, it’s a fall day in a pumpkin patch. Today felt more like summer, but it’s starting to look like fall, so I visited the pumpkin patch at Geisler Farms east of Ankeny.

This pumpkin patch is the perfect blend of family fun and straightforward grownup stuff.  There’s a 10-acre corn maze, trails, pedal karts, games, hay rides, and a playground. There are also rows and rows of perfect pumpkins in every size and shape.

Baskets, carts, and shelves are also filled with pumpkins, gourds, and squash. I don’t know when I’ve seen this many varieties of pumpkins, and they were all beautiful. I bought three large gourds for $1 each, a small pumpkin for $1, a butternut squash (to make vegan butternut squash and macaroni casserole, a recipe I just got from the Whole Foods Market Facebook page) for $2, and a perfect white pumpkin for $4. I was tempted to buy more.

If you go to this pumpkin patch, you will appreciate the location. From I-35, take the  First Street Ankeny exit and drive east for 3 1/2 miles. The farm is on the right, and there’s a large, well-maintained parking lot. No gravel roads to drive on; no mud to deal with.

The corn maze and pumpkin patch are open weekends in September and October. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. If you want to do the corn maze, it’s $7, and the other kids’ activities require a nominal entrance fee. No charge just to walk through the pumpkins, which is the best part — and there are lots of cute photo ops for the little ones.

While seemingly half of the citizens of the city of Ames were in Iowa City for the big Iowa State/Iowa football game (or at least hunkered down at a sports bar in anticipation), it was  great day to be downtown Ames.

I started the day at the Main Street Farmers Market. The market, one of three farmers markets in Ames, is located in the 400 block of Main Street in downtown Ames. The market offers all the usual produce, local eggs and meat, baked goods, prepared foods, coffee, and crafts you’d expect at a small farmers market. I thought the late-summer produce selection was especially attractive. Here are some views:

Click HERE for a list of vendors. The Ames Main Street Farmers Market is held Saturdays through Oct. 27 from 8 a.m. through noon.

Later in the day I visited the Octagon Center for the Arts exhibit “Rail Reality: How the Trains Made Ames.”

In 2009 the Ames Historical Society realized that there was a significant anniversary on the horizon for the city of Ames: the 150th anniversary of the Union Pacific Railroad in 2012. The society applied for a grant from the Union Pacific Foundation to fund an exhibit to tell the story of how the railroad shaped Ames. The resulting exhibit, presented by the Ames Historical Society and Octagon Center for the Arts, opened June 1 and runs through Oct. 28.

It’s a mostly poster-presented exhibition, with a few artifacts and a scale display of the Ames railyards from the 1930s and the Ames and College Railway, a.k.a. “The Dinkey.”

I’m especially interested in the history of the Dinkey, which ran from 1891 to 1907. The exhibit tells us that from the 1860s until 1890, you could get between the small town of Ames and the small Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) three ways:

• By walking the train tracks, cutting across a pasture, and taking a footpath.
• Taking the unpaved Boone Road (now Lincoln Way), which was often muddy.
• Using the horse-drawn “college bus” departing from the depot or hotel downtown.

The Ames and College Railway changed all that — and helped both the town and the college to grow and prosper. The fare was a nickel, and ridership reached as high as 14,000 per day. In 1892 the motor depot or “Dinkey station” was built between Old Main (now Beardshear Hall) and Morrill Hall — the current location of the Hub.

The Dinkey also carried mail from the main post office to the campus depot and transported building materials and equipment during the campus building boom: The Campanile (completed in 1898), Marston Hall (1903), Beardshear Hall (1906), and Alumni Hall (1907).

The Ames Depot, which is still standing, is also filled with interesting history. Did you know that five presidents passed through Ames’ train depot? Yep — Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, William McKinley, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A portion of the of the Rail Reality exhibit is on loan from the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs. The Octagon Center for the Arts is located at 427 Douglas, Ames.

If you’re a train buff, you won’t want to miss the “Living Legend” Steam Locomotive tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 9) on the track at 20th St. and Ridgewood Ave. in Ames. The locomotive, constructed in 1944, will be in Ames from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Also coming up are two free gallery talks: Sept. 18 (“The Railroad Today” by Brenda Mainwaring of Union Pacific) and Oct. 6 (“Today’s Freight Trains” by the ISU Railroad Club).

For art enthusiasts, The Octagon’s biggest annual event is also coming up on Sunday, Sept. 23. The 42nd Octagon Art Festival will be held on Main Street in Ames from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mason City may be one of Iowa’s most historic and well-known towns. At least to older folks, Mason City will forever be associated with one of the most famous, most popular, and most American of all Broadway and film musicals: “The Music Man.”

Meredith Willson, songwriter and playwright of the famous musical, was raised in Mason City, and he based the fictional “River City” of Music Man fame on his hometown.

Today you can tour Willson’s boyhood home and visit The Music Man Square, a 40,000-square-foot facility featuring an indoor 1912 River City streetscape, a replica of the Warner Bros. movie set for “The Music Man.” A combined ticket for the two attractions costs $6 for adults.

Your ticket includes guided tours of both facilities as well as a museum located within Music Man Square. When I visited this weekend, the tour guide was – how shall I put this? – almost too thorough. It took us a full hour for our group to get through the boyhood home. I could have easily done it in 20 minutes.

I learned, for example, that when Willson was born in 1902, he was the largest baby born in Iowa up to that point: 14 lbs. 7 oz. He was one of three children; his sister Dixie was famous in her own right as a writer and performer in the Ziegfeld Follies. The home, built in 1895, is in remarkable shape, especially considering it was a rental property and boarding house for 60 years. The house still contains the original (never painted) woodwork and some original furnishings.

Once inside Music Man Square, our tour sped up a bit but our group started to wander. I enjoyed viewing the film about the making of “The Music Man,” starring Shirley Jones and featuring Buddy Hackett and other stars of the stage and film version. My kids would think it was boring and awful, but I thought Hackett was hilarious, and some of the behind-the-scenes stories were delightful. I had no idea Shirley Jones was pregnant during the filming.

The River City streetscape is fun and includes reproductions of some of the buildings in the movie, including Mrs. Paroo’s, River City High School, the Pleez-all Billiard Parlor (where all the trouble began), and an ice cream parlor

Meredith Willson’s boyhood home and the Music Man Square are open Tuesday through Sunday 1-5 p.m.

Apparently the facility is a popular place for wedding receptions, because the day I was there it was all set up with tables, chairs, and a buffet. Didn’t exactly thrill me because all these things were in the way when I tried to take pictures.

Although we arrived at Music Man Square / Willson Boyhood Home (located next door to each other) right as they opened at 1 p.m., by the time we finished it was after 3 o’clock and another Mason City attraction was already closed for the day: The Frank Lloyd Wright Stockman House & Interpretive Center. I was ambivalent about visiting this 1908 Prairie School home because admission is $10 and I’m not such a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright. So I was OK with the fact that the home was closed. I took pictures of the outside. For free.

Throughout Mason City’s historic district you can follow the Prairie School architectural tour (14 blocks) and historic walking tour (an additional 13 blocks). Walking tour guides are available at tourist info centers. One special feature of the walking tour is the Meredith Willson/Music Man footbridge (above) on Second St. SE, connecting River Heights Dr. and S. Connecticut Ave.

The last thing I did in Mason City’s historic district (because by this time I was very hot and extremely hungry) was walk through the historic Park Inn Hotel, the last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This classic example of Prairie School architecture has been completely restored – and it is a gem. Apparently you can take a guided tour for $5 a few times during the week, but you can just walk through the lobby area for free. It’s fabulous.

Prairie Moon Winery, located just north of Ames, has been doing summer concerts for who knows how long: The Live in the Vineyard Summer Concert Series every Sunday afternoon from 3-6 p.m. It’s one of those events I think about attending all the time, telling myself I should go out there and see what it’s like, but there’s always something more pressing — like laundry — to do on Sunday afternoon. Or it’s raining. Or it’s 105 degrees. There’s always something.

Yesterday afternoon I finally went. I really did not know what I was missing. The broad lawn behind the winery’s main building is set up with chairs and little tables and umbrellas — and you have a great view of the vineyard. Your $3 admission gets you a delicious glass of sangria — and you can buy glasses (and bottles) of Prairie Moon wine, bottles of micro-brewed beer, great Frisian Farms gouda cheese and crackers, and a few other food items. (No outside alcohol is allowed on the property, but guests are encouraged to bring a picnic.)

I wasn’t sure I’d like the band that was playing yesterday: The Dang Its from Madison, Wis. To start with, the name seemed awfully silly. And the Summer Concert Series flyer described the band as “American/Swing.” After watching them perform, I’d say they’re more country/bluegrass with a little rockabilly thrown in. They played some original songs, plus covers I recognized from Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline.

I really liked the group — three singer/musicians who took turns on lead vocals and played electric guitars, acoustic guitar, banjo, and bass. Apparently they also have a drummer who was not with them, but I didn’t miss him a bit. I loved the group’s vocals and friendly banter between songs. Jami Lampkins was especially fun to watch.

I had such a good time I’d like to go back again before the season ends. Here’s the rest of the lineup:

• Sept. 9: Erick Hovey, blues
• Sept. 16: Dave Zollo, indy/roots
• Sept. 30: Highway Home, bluegrass

Prairie Moon is located at 3801 W. 190th Street, Ames. The easiest way to tell you how to get there is to take Grand Ave. (AKA Hwy. 69) all the way north, past North Grand Mall, past Ada Hayden Heritage Park, to 190th Street and turn left.

I just got back from 10 days on the road in the upper Midwest as part of my VISIONS Across America adventure: 2,146 miles, four states, 17 Iowa State alumni interviews/photo shoots, and two alumni events.

I feel like I could sleep for a month.

As usual with these trips, I travel with photographer Jim Heemstra, and most of our time is spent driving, working, and sleeping in cheap hotels. But we always try to cram in some fun and sightseeing whenever we can.

Our travel to the upper Midwest took us to Detroit, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, and Tecumseh, Mich.; Chicago and Batavia, Ill.; Janesville, Dodgeville, New Glarus, Mount Horeb, and La Crosse, Wis.; and Red Wing, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and Frost, Minn.

Here are some highlights:

Detroit is a really fascinating city. While it’s said to be the first city to pave a concrete road, supplied 75 percent of all liquor during prohibition, and is the only city from which you can look south to Canada, what I saw in Detroit was incredible urban decay and a city desperately trying to keep it together while nearly half of its residents have fled to suburbia. My friend, Renee Grant, whom I met for dinner in nearby Dearborn (one of the aforementioned suburbs), said that locals drive into the city to enjoy major-league sporting events (The Pistons, Red Wings, Lions, and Tigers – oh, my) and cultural activities but then high-tail it back to the ’burbs, where they all live. Time magazine calls it “Detroit’s beautiful, horrible decline.” (View some spectacular images on this photo gallery.)

Of course, much of Detroit’s financial crisis stems from the decline in the American auto industry, which is why we were there. (We did a feature on an Iowa State mechanical engineer who works at Ford as a vehicle architect.) Afterward, we went into the city and photographed some pretty interesting stuff (including the two images above). And we were happy and relieved that our car wasn’t stolen. Here’s an image (below) from the Heidelberg Project on Detroit’s East Side. The 26-year-old project consists of two blocks of a partially destroyed neighborhood that have been turned into a strange, funky outdoor art experiment.

We then headed into Ann Arbor, a quick hour-long drive from the Detroit metro. Ann Arbor is, of course, home to the University of Michigan and The Largest College Football Stadium in the Nation. It’s also a very cool city, with a vibrant downtown area and a nice, walkable campus.

Jim and I had visited Ann Arbor before, so we decided to re-visit our favorite places there: Zingerman’s Deli, the Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant, and the  Arbor Brewing Company. I’d have fun photos of Zingerman’s except it was pouring rain the morning we were there so I wimped out and left my camera in the car. Zingerman’s has a truly outstanding college-town vibe; I can only imagine what it’s like when school is in session. You can order Zingerman goodies on their website – it’s almost as good as Zabar’s in NYC.

We got to Chicago the next day. Chicago is one of those cities I could definitely see myself living in – if it were not for the traffic. Once we got to our hotel, the old Congress Plaza, and got rid of our car, it was a relief. Unfortunately, we had to drive in the city the next two days.

I shouldn’t complain. We had interesting people to visit, ate good food, and got to pet a seal at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The zoo was actually a highlight of our trip. We featured Anthony Nielsen, lead keeper at the Kovler Lion House and Seal Pool, so we got cool behind-the-scenes views of those areas, including “back stage” at the big cat complex and an up-close audience with Della, the big gray seal.

We ate brunch at the zoo’s café patio and enjoyed a lovely view of the nature boardwalk and a small lake. The Lincoln Park Zoo is free – but be aware of the parking cost. We were there all morning, and our parking fee came to a whopping $30.

Another Chicago highlight was a quick run through the Chicago History Museum. We could have spent many hours there, but we only had a short time to cram in exhibits on the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 (my current obsession), the famous Chicago fire, Chicago blues, and a few other Chicago treasures. See it if you can.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the friendly welcome we received in Chicago from the nearly 50 Iowa State alumni who gathered on the patio of the Millennium Park Grill for a little Cyclone Summertime Happy Hour. It was a great night to be outside, enjoying the weather and the local Goose Island brews and listening to the sound of The Walk-ins.

Leaving the city behind, we traveled to southern Wisconsin. I enjoyed the slower pace of the rural areas, and I even got to spend one very relaxing night at a friend’s family cabin on a lake before getting back to work the next day.

We took a lot of photo detours in Wisconsin’s scenic countryside, searching for the perfect barn with the perfect black-and-white cows. We also visited the New Glarus Brewery (who the hell knew it was that popular? It’s in the middle of freaking NOWHERE) and brought back some mixed six-packs since we figured we shouldn’t do the tasting room before our photo shoot in Janesville.

We ended our four-state tour in Minnesota, spending most of our time in the Twin Cities. I must have been tired by then because I came back with very few photos. Jim, of course, took thousands. We met with a lot of great alumni in Minnesota, including an HIV researcher, a fifth-generation farmer, a TV host, a doctor-in-training at the Mayo Clinic, and a Betty Crocker Cookbook editor. We also got to go out on Lake Minnetonka with an ISU graduate who has a boat docked in the Wayzata marina. That was a real treat.

This is me, on the last stop of our last day, in a soybean field near Frost, Minn.