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Stories, quips and travel tips gathered while traveling the backroads of Iowa
RURALRoutes
Essential
Iowa's Online Regional Magazine
Iowa
August 2006
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COMING UP:
Aug. 24-26
Albia's Restoration Days Celebrates Town Square
Discover one of Iowa’s most beautiful squares. Events include Crazy Quilters Quilt Show, tractor parade, trolley rides and tours, museum tours, Art in the Park, threshing demonstration, cemetery walk, building tours, book sale and more.
See our Iowa Events page for this week's calendar
NEW UPDATES:
Restaurants close at 10 p.m. Learn to eat when the rest of us do or you're probably going to be hungry.*
Restaurants close at 10 p.m. Learn to eat when the rest of us do or you're probably going to be hungry.*
THERules
A Guide For Newbies and Out-Of-Staters.
IOWALibations
Quick links to more than 30 Iowa
wineries,
breweries, and liquor distilleries. Click here
IOWAEvents
Year round, there's always a great event taking place in Iowa.
IOWAAlmanac
Hitting the road? Our Almanac
includes data on
weather, the best
routes, gas prices, and web cam links. Click here
IOWAB&Bs
Unwind in one of Iowa's quaint Bed and Breakfasts. Enjoy quiet
hospitality and delicious food. Click here
INSIDE:
EATINGIowa
Recipes, stories about
farmers who
sell foods
you love,
plus links to Iowa
wineries. Click here
IOWATravel
From Ackley to Zwingle, your guide to things
to see across
the state.
Iowa's rich history a colorful cast of characters who shaped the state.
IOWAHistory
Explore Iowa's vibrant cultural scene, where the tradition of Grant
IOWAArt
Wood lives. Click here
Want to help pay for more content, hosting costs, etc? Click here.
CHRISRadloff
Our columnist discovers a hidden gem of a county park. Click here
ROAD TRIPPIN'
Seeing Iowa on the
seat of a cruiser
Looking for dinner ideas? Start here
Updated on Aug. 22, 2006
Check out our growing recipe archive with new ideas added every week. LINK
In Search of Iowa's Best Tenderloin
Updated on Aug. 15, 2006We're looking for the best pork tenderloin sandwich in the state. Read about some of our favorites at our Eating Iowa page. LINK
An Artist With The Corps of Discovery
Updated on Aug. 14, 2006
Visiting Ida County's gem of a park
Updated on Aug. 9, 2006
Our motorcyling columnist discovers Moorehead Park while wandering the western Iowa. LINK
UPDATED
UPDATED
UPDATED
Learn more in our history section. Click here
Content Copyright 2006 essentialiowa.com
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Filed by Jay P. Wagner on August 11, 2006
Photograph Copyright Bill Witt
Barnyard Humor
The State Fair is over and the kids go back to school in another week. Summer is quickly coming to an end. Where did the time go? There were so many things on our to-do list that we never managed to accomplish: a swing through southern Iowa to visit a couple of new bed and breakfasts, one more trip to Living History Farms, one more drive down the scenic byway adjacent to the Mississippi River. One more trip across Iowa on Amtrak.
I've never been a fan of winter, but I think fall in Iowa is just about the perfect season. Give me the Cyclones on the radio, a sizzling grill, a couple of thick, fresh-cut steaks from the farmers' market, and the sight of my wife with a rake in her hand and it's the perfect Saturday.
But what's not to love about summer (except for the relentless heat)? This picture, taken by Bill Witt in 1978, hangs over my desk in my office. It's so quintessentally Iowa that it makes me smile every time I glance at it. In my mind, it's haying season on the farm and these guys are stopping for a little lunch and a cold beer. No one ever told me that these guys were actually haying; that's just the way I like to think of it.
Bill is a good friend who served the state for several years as a representative from Cedar Falls. We got to know each other when he was shooting pictures and writing stories for a magazine I was editing. He's got an eye that captures everyday sights and makes them special. This picture will warm me up this winter when the wind is howling outside the picture window of my office. I hope you enjoy it at much as me.
