NCAA Track and Field Championships

After attending the Quarter Horse Show and the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, it was finally time to attend the event that we actually came here for - the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The meet was held at Drake Stadium and we tried our best to cheer on the Florida State Seminoles that were competing.  FSU ended up 4th overall.  It would have been great to see the 'Noles win it all but we still had a great time.

                

Just try making it over the hurdle after you

 have run almost 2 miles

FSU pole vaulter on his way to failure :(

 No idea who this is

 or this

FSU long jumper - did not fair so well

 110 Meter Hurdles

 FSU Decathalete, finished 4th.  He will be in the Olympics this summer competing

for his home country Chile.

Maurice Mitchell - ran 3rd in the 100 meters and

won the 200 meters for the 2nd year in a row.

GO NOLES!

After sitting on aluminum bleachers for 4 days my butt is happy to be back in the passenger seat of the motorhome heading west.

Pigging Out in Des Moines, Iowa

During our tenure in Des Moines, Iowa we are camped at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. 
Our purpose in being here is to attend the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. But, wherever we are we like to do whatever the locals are doing and far be it from us to turn down a chance to pig out - literally.

The fairgrounds is a busy place this week. There is a quarter horse show going on all week which we attended one day. However, the big draw is the WORLD PORK EXPO. Who ever knew that there was such a thing? A trade show for the purveyors of swine. Since it is here and we are here and we had some time to kill - we figured this is our one and only chance to attend this event.

This thing is huge - hundreds and hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of gawkers. It truly is an international affair - we heard several languages being spoken and saw a great many people who did not appear to be stereotypical Iowa pig farmers. We saw displays for everything from pig genetics displays to pig confinement facilities to robotic pig tenders to pig cremation vaults (the ultimate pig roast).

As we made our way through the exhibits we dined on fine swine. We ate pulled pork, pork burgers, ribs, and brats. Feeling like porkers ourselves we passed up tent after tent of free pork comestibles.

After eating we moved on to pig on the hoof. Hundreds of pigs in pens waiting for their chance to strut their bacon. These swine are very pampered on their way to being baby back ribs. They are brushed and shampooed and get to eat like pigs. Then they get to run around a show ring and be judged. A much better life than that of the average pig I assume.

So although this event was not on our bucket list - we are glad we had the opportunity to attend. Once and done.

And by the way - there's an App for that! On both iPhone and Adroid so run right to your app store to download it for free.

Iowa Has Much To Offer (If you don't ask for much)

A Day in the Greater Des Moines Area

We hit the trifecta by coming to Des Moines, IA. We had one full day to tour the Greater Des Moines area and we took full advantage of it.

Our first stop was in the town of Indianola to visit the National Balloon Museum. When I told Monte that we were going to a balloon museum he had visions of clowns and balloon animals. He did not hide his disappointment well when I informed him that it was about the history of man riding in big balloons. The museum chronicles more than 200 years of ballooning history from the first flight in 1783 to the present. The museum contains balloon envelopes, gondolas, inflator fans, ballooning instruments, trophies, and other memorabilia. We were met by a 80+ year old docent who I immediately wanted to tell to “straighten up and fly right” since her name tag was upside down – but I refrained. She had a power point presentation on the history of ballooning and would we like to see it? Sure! 15 minutes later when she and another octogenarian figured out how to start the program we did watch it – however the sound was about 3 slides behind where it should have been. The highlight of the museum was meeting the only other tourist there. She was in town for a wedding and it turned out that she is from Exton, PA about 10 miles from where Monte's family lives. We had a nice chat with her and by the time we finished talking she was ready to go with us rather than the wedding – but she did not get an invite from us.

On west a few miles – to Winterset, Iowa. The birthplace of none other than the Marion Robert Morrison, whose name was changed to Marion Mitchell Morrison and who you know as “The Duke” John Wayne. We got there but skipped going in when we found out that it was $6 each for a 20 minute guided tour of a one room house. Heck – the Balloon Museum was on $3, had multiple rooms and had a power point presentation. So, we drove by, took some pictures and found the North Side Cafe where we had a great lunch.

On the way to Winterset and on the way out of town, the real tourist attractions exist. Winterset is in Madison County, Iowa. Ring a bell? It should. This is where Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood had their 4 day love affair in the movie “The Bridges of Madison County”. I don't watch too many movies but this was a very good one. Several of the bridges still exist and we visited 4 of them. All of the bridges are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Back in the day bridges were covered by order of the County Board of Supervisors to help preserve the large flooring timbers which were more expensive to replace than the lumber covering the sides and roof. Most of the construction was done by farmers to pay their poll taxes.

To finish off the day we attended the thoroughbred races at Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino. We did not win but neither did we lose.

One final note on Iowa – we have seen more windmills than in any other state. We have seen lots of wind farms in many states but just about the entire state of Iowa seems to be covered with windmills. Clean and Green!

End of Iowa – on to Nebraska.