Des Moines |
 My travels in Iowa started right here at the state’s capital of Des Moines. The capitol building here was my first stop in Des Moines. I have a goal of visiting all capitol buildings and I’d rate this as high on my list, but not necessarily a favorite. While the main structure had the typical capitol building architecture I liked the towers on the buildings corners. Also I appreciated the tan color rather than the all white or grey buildings that some capitols are. Not that those buildings are beautiful, but it’s always nice to mix things up a bit. Below are some more government buildings I saw in Des Moines. On the lower left is a memorial that was close to the capitol building. The lower right is a few blocks away but is the city’s Court House. |
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| Right in front of the capitol building was the end point for a triathlon. I think the majority of athletes were finished by the time I arrived, but there were still hundreds left crossing the finish line. This guy on the right let me take his photo. I should have asked for his run time and stats so I could share them here but didn’t. Since seemed to be in good shape I had assumed he did well. Since I enjoy running and biking I felt guilty walking around taking photos here and felt I should have been in the race myself. I’ve yet to do a triathlon or any serious race beyond 10k. The good thing about the event though meant lots of food stands where I was able to get some lunch from the different vendors. |
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| My prejudices would have me believe there were no tall buildings in Des Moines. Of course these are nothing compared to a major city in the US, but the city surely isn’t a small town like capitol as I’ve often found in New England. |
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| The previous photos I had taken on top of a parking garage so I could get a better view. On the way up I found this giant praying mantis who staring out a window. Since the stairwell had entrance doors to get inside he was basically stuck. I did take him outside after taking his picture and sent him on his way. In the past every time I’ve seen a praying mantis they are always sitting on a tree or wall and staring back in curiosity without any intention of leaving. I can’t recall ever seeing a praying mantis fly before and if you haven’t either then this is what they look like. This photo on the right was also taken at full zoom when he was quite a distance. I thought resembled a strange bird in flight rather than a giant insect. |
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| So I’d say Des Moines is a very nice city. I did come across this single abandoned house on the left and more intriguing this evil mural painted over a house on the right. I have absolutely no idea what this could be for. Initially I thought the mural was simply strange as the kids were holding bees in their hands and the girl on the left had a distraught face. But if you look closely you’ll see it goes from strange to demented because the boy on the right has several teeth falling out as he smiles at a bee wearing a top hat. |
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| The mural was the sole strange thing I saw in Des Moines. Otherwise everything else was enjoyable such as the downtown coffee shops, restaurants and bars. These photos where taken from the historic district which had a good number of people out enjoying the perfect weather. I never go out to bars alone but I did end up going to the coffee shop twice. |
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| My favorite place to visit in Des Moines was without a doubt Gray’s Lake. I came here on a perfect summer night with no humidity and a slight breeze. I ended up walking around this city park and went around the entire lake. The best part is the bridge which is illuminated by different colored lights during the night. I wish I had brought a tripod with me! The upper left was the best I could do while holding my camera in low light conditions. Another part of the lake had hundreds if not thousands of bikes chained up. I came here the night before the triathlon so these bikes were definitely part of the event. My understanding is that the swim portion of the triathlon took place at this lake as well. |
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| Like several large cities in the mid west, Des Moines was built along a body of water. The Des Moines river splits the city in half. Along the eastern banks you will find several buildings that house museums and performing arts. Below is a cool car and a shot of a downtown area of the city. |
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| A great place to visit that I almost missed is Pappa John Sculpture park. This outdoor our museum was only about four years old when I visited. The first photo on the left shows one of the larger buildings of Des Moines in view from the sculpture gardens. There are dozens of different forms of sculptures and art work here. The tree above is known as the “Air gets into everything” sculpture. The aluminum tree is actually created from a mold of a real 2,000 year old tree in the artists’ hometown of Naples Italy. The three story Nomade on the lower left is the artists vision of the information age, with letters and information forming the building blocks of the sculpture. The red I-beams below are the work of a former construction worker who later became a famous artist. He has created large forms of art work in most of the 50 states, below is the T8. |
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