Angel in Amana

An angel does exists in Amana, Iowa. Made of cement and molded as a figure it stands watch over a flower garden with wings pointed east and west.

Air Traffic Over Iowa City

Air traffic over Iowa City is always busy with scores of transcontinental flights. A Variable Omni Range transmitter is located in nearby Hills, Iowa that helps navigate air traffic over what the media calls "fly over" country. On cold air days people who live near the 42N latitude just a few miles north of Iowa City can look to the south and see this kind of traffic. And with apps like FlightAware you can easily identify those aircraft bound from NYC to LA.

A Bit More of King Tut at Davenport's Putnum Museum

A few more photos of the King Tut replica exhibition at the Putnum Museum in Davenport, Iowa. This statue is one of several roughly two foot travelers that helped make the journey to the other side a bit less stressful for the boy king.

We often see the famous golden mask of Tut from a straight on front view. Here is a view from the right side. While this mask is a replica, the craftsmanship and attention to detail in reproducing the original is extraordinary. The sands of time are shifting. You have until the first week in September 2016 to see the full display and experience what it was like to discover King Tut and the unexpected burial chamber treasures.

King Tut's Treasure at the Putnum Museum

Between now and the first week in September 2016 the treasures of King Tut's tomb discovery are on display at the Putnum Museum in Davenport, Iowa. While these replicas carefully show minute detail of the originals, the story telling graphics and videos really make the exhibit experience both educational and entertaining. Besides how can you not take a great photo of the golden mask?

Within the burial vault you can see how the original orientation of objects appeared when Howard Carter and others first opened the tomb in the 1920s. The narration tells the story of what each piece meant and how it was laid out in the vault. Further into the exhibit visitors can get close-up to the famous golden mask and sarcophagus to study the accurately reproduced detail. 

While it may be years before the original tomb items make the trip to Iowa, this was a great chance to see what is generally regarded as iconic, historical and artistic. More photos will be part of another posting soon.

A Bit of Bix

Bix Beiderbecke was a jazz trumpet player who played mostly in the 1920s. His cornet is on display at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa where Bix hailed from. As cool as that is, read the statement from trumpet legend Louis Armstrong just above Bix's cornet - can't get a better accolade than that.

February Afternoon at Central City's Roller Dam

In Central City, Iowa the small town is bisected by the Wapsipinicon River. Once part of the town's electrical generation, a roller dam was constructed decades ago which serves to impound the waterway for a few miles upstream. During a late afternoon stop on an early February day the river at the dam is clear of ice and runs nearly transparent. In the Spring the river will turn brown from organic matter of the growing season.

Just a few feet from the churn of the water over the dam, the river resumes its journey downstream. Since fish tend to collect at the base of the roller dam it is naturally a good spot to try your luck at angling. Look closely at the photo above to see fishing tackle entangled in the power line on the right hand portion of the ground just below the street.

Chilicothe's Old Canal Smoke House - BBQ Ohio Style

Found this BBQ place in Chillicothe, Ohio in October 2008. Liked it so much the 42N team went back a year later to the Old Canal Smoke House. A gap in time, an unconformity if you will then occurred. Returning on New Years day 2016, the team arrived yet again but at a different time of day and from the opposite direction. While the restaurant was closed early in the morning a few outward changes had occurred since we were last there seven years ago.

A bright pink pig car complete with Old Canal Smoke House advertising parked on the side street adjacent to East Water Street. Ok I get it - pig - pork - cute.

Besides the ribs, building and front door, I seem to remember this sign from the late Aughts. On both nights outward bound seven and eight years ago the Saturday night arrival guaranteed a full house, great Big Ten football on huge televisions and of course regionally famous BBQ. Check out the historic downtown if you come here to sample the ribs. Also there's a national or state park nearby that is focused on the ultimately cool Ohio River Mound Builders who were active in this area way back when.

Topping off the Tank at 2000 Gallons

A fuel gauge on a General Electric locomotive tops off at 2,000 imperial gallons which equals about 2,400 US gallons. Diesel is the fuel of choice for these massive machines. On this day two color contrasting locomotives are joined together on a tracks in Clinton, Iowa, just feet from the Mississippi River. The blue color Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DME) engine, called the "City of Wall" was built in 1966 per railpictures.net. The red Canadian Pacific locomotive also travels the Midwest from the US to Canada according to that website's tracking of CP 3081.

Daniel Sampson - Union Soldier

Old cemeteries are fascinating – especially small country cemeteries. Such is the case for Hazel Knoll Cemetery in Jones County, Iowa. The bulk of this property is a hillside dotted with various stone monuments and traditional grave markers. There are several Civil War era soldiers buried here. However one grave stands out. Near the top of the hill and off to the side is a metal grave marker for soldier Daniel Sampson. His marker states that he was part of the Iowa 6th Cavalry,Company K. Internet research turned up that Daniel enlisted in the Army on Oct. 21, 1862. This regiment was mustered out at Sioux City. Nov. 17, 1865. He was listed as a wagoner.

Bubble People in a B-29

Where would you ride if given a chance inside a World War II B-29? In the unique nose seat of course. As an inspiration for Star Wars' Millennium Falcon window, the highly prized seat often rents for thousands of dollars for a 30 minute flight. While the price is a bit steep, it is an opportunity to have the front window B-29 ride experience which is probably like no other.



Another fantastic place to sightsee is from the waist gunner position on the B-29. From this location you can see much of the plane's wing, two engines and the world below.

He was a Confederate Soldier - John H. Walthall

Here in Iowa the default view found in many area cemeteries is a mixture of generations including those who fought in wars. For the most part Civil War related soldiers and sailors who are buried in Iowa are identified as having fought for the Union. Their graves typically include a bronze Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) fraternal star along with a military headstone.

Things are different just a few states away in Tennessee. There you can find cemeteries with markers of soldiers who fought for the South under the Stars and Bars. Such is the case in this Monroe, Tennessee country cemetery located just a few miles from the Kentucky border.

John H. Walthall’s gravestone is inscribed with the description, “He was a Confederate Soldier” on the south facing portion of the marker. The Stars and Bars flag was flying close to John’s grave on the day we visited the cemetery in search of a different family lineage. In fact there were probably another four or five tiny flags marking where Confederate soldiers are buried. As I recall all of those soldiers lived several years after the war.

In Iowa, I have seen the Confederate battle flag flying over a few gravesites in Iowa’s only National Cemetery located in Keokuk. During the Civil War the Mississippi River town established five hospitals to care for the wounded from both sides. When Southern soldiers perished at the Keokuk hospitals they were buried near their Union cousins in what would become known as the Keokuk National Cemetery.

I’m guessing that scores of former Southern soldiers came to Iowa after the war, lived their lives and are buried here. Perhaps their southern military identification was suggested to be left off their headstones by surviving family members who wanted to just move on with their lives rather than inflame. Its an interesting subject to explore further.

The Demise of the Armstrong Lumber Company Building

 

In Dyersville, Iowa the Armstrong Lumber Company building stood for several decades...until 2015. Last February, I photographed a couple old time buildings that were positioned along the east-west railroad track in Dyersville. The wooden lumber building was interesting photographically having been long ago boarded up and abandoned. Four months later I returned to Dyersville to find the Armstrong building gone. Nothing in its place except for a newly crushed limestone parking area.

Its easy to imagine back in the day that rail cars would bring lumber to Dyersville, where it was unloaded and stored in the Armstrong building. Farmers and towns folk would come to the business and buy materials for farms, businesses and homes. While commercial and residential lumber business continues elsewhere in Dyersville, the removal of the Armstrong Lumber building along the rail lines is another chapter describing how cities transform in the Midwest.

Was something lost in the removal of the building? Certainly the owners eliminated a liability and a potential hazard, but a piece of the city's heritage was also removed. Perhaps documentation of the building and published accounts of the business are preserved at the local historical society or museum.

Lock & Dam Chains

An eye bolt sunk into concrete holds a ring of iron on Lock & Dam #10 in Guttenberg, Iowa. This anchor is located on the exterior wall of the lock entry wing. Presumably it is used to secure recreational craft to the wall outside of the lock before launching or recovering a boat. These irons may have originated when the L&D system was constructed in Guttenberg in 1937. Despite some pitting the hammered ring is in good shape for being 78 years old.

Golden Indian Creek

A block away from 42N HQ is Indian Creek. The city of Cedar Rapids built a clay and dirt dike a year ago to help prevent the creek's annual flooding in the Sun Valley neighborhood. So far so good.

Late afternoon yesterday I re-visited the creek and shot a half dozen images of the cloud filtered sunlight on the fast moving water. Without any photo editing this image was the result. Quite spectacular I think - and it is only footsteps away.