Hula Hut Adventures: July 2012

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Iron Warriors - Iowa

The guys in Des Moines really reached out and treated this traveler with style. Special thanks to "Bug" who made all the arrangements, and a special shout out to Dick who patched me into his special "WWDD" club. The rules are simple. What would Dick Do? It would take too long to explain here. Trust me.

The Texas Chapter meets the Iowa Chapter!

Famous Dick....yeah, I said it. WWDD?

Dick was trying to explain why this patch has to be stapled, not sewed, in place. The reason ? That's what Dick would Do!

Oh...yeah.

Babes....why is it always babes?

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm just a sucker for blondes, and I'm even worse where redheads are concerned.

So I suppose it's cosmic justice that my heart has been stolen once again by a couple of blonde haired babes in Iowa of all places. . . .

Thank gawd they're not mine, I'd be locking them up for about the next 20 years or so. Can you imagine, an Olympic hopeful and a future rocker? I won't admit which one has my hand-me-down harmonica to drive her Daddy nuts. hehehehe

High Trestle Bridge

I finally went to that little out of way local site called the High Trestle Bridge in Madrid Iowa about 18 miles from my campsite at Saylorville Lake. Well worth the effort to say the least.

The bridge is an old railroad bridge that dates back further then I can recall. Yet I remember that it is 2500 + feet long, 13 stories over the Des Moines river and was turned over to private interests just within the last 10 years. It's part of a 20+ mile long bike path that runs between several of the small towns in the area.

Upon arrival I was the only car in the parking lot, about 3/4 mile from where the map said the bridge was located. Yet you can't see it from the lot. Great 8 foot wide concrete path, smooth seams, and golf course trimmed grass along the margins for a space of about 12 feet on each side. In other words, the perfect place for a Segway.

The bridge is located alongside the original bridge build at the turn of the century and the original bridge abutment is still in place on the riverbank. When the railroad decided to build a new bridge several miles upstream from the original, they pulled off the cross members and supports and re-cycled them on the new bridge. Only the original pilings remained behind due to their weight and the fact that they were built 60 feet into the ground on bedrock. Almost impossible to remove without tons of dynamite. As a result, the RR decided to abandon the property and eventually sold it to a private interest. They, in turn, raised funds to build the new decking and made it part of the bike path.

To make it interesting they invited artists to develop a theme. What they came up with is unique as you can see in the pictures. If the video comes out, you'll see what I mean.

Before any of you think I studied up on this bridge just so I could bore you to tears let me explain how this came about. While standing on the old (original) bridge abutment, I started chatting with an older gentleman who arrived by bike. He spoke, pretty much, for over an hour non-stop about the history of the bridge, the history of the area, the river, the bridge builders, the coal mining operations (13 mines at one point in time), and his grandfathers part in moving coal along the Des Moines riverbank by wooden wagon pulled by mules. Imagine that.

The man, whose named was Ron Johnson, turned out to be one of the volunteer guides along the path with a special interest in the bridge. He comes out every night to educate the public about it's history and special meaning and impact on the community. How lucky was I to spark up a conversation with just the right guy?

The pictures below will give you just a small idea of the size and scope of this project; what a great place to visit on a full-moon night, during a holiday evening...

Brief overview of the Bridge.

Much more impressive in person.

The only way to travel on a 20 + mile bike path!

At Dusk, this solar powed light show starts. The lights span the river and signify the transition a person going from the surface below ground in a coal mine. It's pretty cool as it's the only lights around for miles in any direction.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Iowa Part One

I should start with a shutter of remembrance of the drive out of the Chicago suburbs after departing Elkhart. But, "it is what it is" has become my mantra on this little road trip so I will leave that for another time perhaps. Let's just say the traffic is not anywhere near normal.

I drove as far as the west side of Iowa CIty the first day and stayed overnight in a nice little shady RV park off the interstate. After getting the Hula Hut settled in, I drove out for the mandatory exploration, a quick bite to eat, and a side trip to Riverside, Iowa, the future birthplace of Captain James T Kirk of Star Trek fame. Can you imagine a small Iowa city whose fame is based on a fictional character who hasn't even been fictionally born yet? Yet the town has banners and sites set up all along the main street (which runs about 400 yards total) and seems to be just the right setting for something out of a Hollywood script. It's funny how life imitates art sometimes.

My timing could (or maybe not) have been better. The town was virtually shut down in preparation for it's annual TrekFest which happens the last Saturday of each June. All the store fronts, streets, even the little Star Trek Museum were shut down while workman scrubbed, painted, and cleaned in all directions. It was, to use a term, odd. Despite my disappointment of not being able to get a picture of me and the Segway happily rolling through the (one room) museum, it was worth the drive out to see what it actually looks like in person. "Roadside America" comes through once again for it's odd entertainment value.

The drive from Iowa City over to Grimes Iowa, was a pleasant 2.5 hours with little traffic, although I had forgotten that Iowa is not, in fact, the flat farm country that everyone seems to imagine it to be. The hills, with grades matching parts of the Carolina's were unexpected.

Upon arrival at the National Park Service (NPS) Camp Ground at Saylorville lake, another unexpected surprise awaited me. While I was checking into the registration office a law enforcement Park Ranger came into the office and asked if I was driving the RV with the OIF sticker? Yes, and with that he asked how long was I staying, ect, ect...one thing led to another and it turned out he is also a OIF vet and told me he thought he had a camp site that I might enjoy. (There's a side story here that involves a displaced "California Hippie" and a whole other conversation, but I'll save that for when I can plant my tongue firmly in cheek)

Oh my gosh was he ever right. My campsite in this out of the way place, is right below the dam on the spill way and literally looks down what becomes the Des Moines River basin. All my neighbors are, essentially, behind me and the only thing that blocks my view are the fisherman lining the banks, and the wildlife that roams through during the early mornings and late evening at dusk. To top it off, the camp site was 50% off using my NPS access card - wow, really? - something that my budget appreciates to no end. What a way to spend the 13 nights I expect to be here, and my special thanks to that Ranger who helped out a buddy without even knowing who I was (which to put a point on it, is "nobody special").

I have several reasons to visit the Des Moines area (Saylorville is just to the north of downtown by about 20 miles). Among those reasons are a visit to several local area museums and tourist sites, a couple-friend of mine who live in the area and I haven't seen in several years, and the local chapter of the Iron Warriors who I've never had the opportunity to meet in person. This stop has been high on my list of expectations and if this first week has been any indication it's been well worth the journey.

The week has been filled with catching up with my friends and their kids (who despite having grown like weeds since I last saw them, still treated ole Uncle Dan to a dose of the family life - and pulled on my heart strings shamelessly), to jet skiing on the lake, to a night out on the town, sitting around a camp fire under a sky blanketed with stars, to a visit to the birth place of John Wayne, and a little tucked-out-of-sight Military Museum in the hills surrounding Saylorville Lake. All that, and a few of the Bridges of Madison County (yes, from the movie) in real life.

On that subject, the county of Madison was really not anything I expected. It's about 35 minutes from my campsite and I arrived before anything was open in the town, so I spent some time roaming the streets on my Segway around the County Courthouse (built in 1836) and had breakfast at the same little diner shown in the movie. The breakfast was superb and cheap, and the only complaint I could find was that the service kept being interrupted by members of the staff who wanted to chat about the Segway, that in turn, encouraged the normal breakfast crowd to ask their own questions and one thing led to another.....it was a great experience among a bunch of down to earth people.

In addition to the mandatory visit to the John Wayne statue (located on John Wayne street naturally), the visit to his tiny four room home (*), and the county square, there was an Art Festival weekend taking place which I was drawn to without much effort. Small town America is unlike what I'm used to and I found that people are truly friendly to an out of towner just passing through. The entire Art Festival could have fit into the backyard of Stephanie's house in Hollywood, yet, between visiting with strangers and poking through "art" of all types and sizes, I spent almost an hour at the place.

So, the week has been joyful and I have another week to look forward to filled with the upcoming 4th of July parade in downtown Urbandale, a bike night with my Iron Warrior friends, more camp fires (in fact I'm sitting at my picnic table with a fire blazing as I type), and a couple of mundane tasks like cleaning and laundry that I just can't ignore.

I suspect I'll stumble across other excitement during the week as well, or at least I hope so - and who knows, maybe my friend Crissie will come up with another "idea of the week" and send me to another unknown-to-me spot of interest.

I'm adding some new photos to give you a dose of this place, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I am enjoying the experience.

More later!

(*) Just for the record, I did NOT ride my Segway anywhere near the John Wayne birthplace or museum, much less near the statue of the Duke. I kept hearing a deep voice in my head saying "no way pilgrim, you tough it out, man up, and walk" - or something along those lines. No way was I going to have the spirit of the Duke coming after me!