Iowa

The state of Iowa is the 23rd largest state in land area, and was part of the territory the US bought from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Iowa became a state in 1846 and now has a population of 2,944,062.

The state is located near the geographical center of the mainland US, and, as a result of its location in the plains, it's not surprising that some of its major economic endeavors involve agriculture and agricultural manufacturing. In the US, Iowa ranks first in soybean, corn, and hog production.

Nor is it surprising that some of its famous icons are tied to the rural life. For example, M*A*S*H company clerk Radar O'Reilly hailed from a farm near Ottumwa – which is a real town, set southeast of the capital Des Moines along the Des Moines River! And you can grab your mitt and get in the game at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, located in the northeast part of the state near the city of Dubuque, which borders the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. (Dyersville is also one of the towns hosting a large maze made of corn – a maize maze – for you and your children to get lost in.)

A fan of Americana? Visit Eldon and see the American Gothic House, which artist Grant Wood used as the background for his famous farm-couple painting, American Gothic. Or tour the bridges of Madison County, which are scattered across this county (located southwest of Des Moines). And the Iowa State Fair was the subject of a book, three movies, and a Rogers & Hammerstein play.

Some Iowa firsts include the invention of the Eskimo Pie™ ice cream bar (Onawa), the invention of the Shaeffer pen (Fort Madison), the first laboratory to record human EEGs (Iowa City), and the invention of technology to transmit digital data (Cedar Rapids).

Other things to see and do include making visits to historic sites (e.g. frontier outposts, Native settlement sites and burial grounds), museums, and art galleries. The state is bordered on the west by the Missouri River and on the east by the Mississippi River, and both waterways allow visitors to take nostalgic riverboat journeys (and gambling riverboat journeys), or to lazily sail along in a rental houseboat. You can also enjoy camping, hiking, golfing, spelunking, bird-watching, antiquing, hunting, and fishing.

As is typical of the plains, the weather in Iowa can vary greatly across the seasons and is punctuated by hot summers and cold winters. It's not unusual for temperatures to reach 100F (38C) in the summer and drop to -20F (-28C) in the winter. At least high humidity is not guaranteed in the summer! And in the pleasant fall, you can do things like head out to the town of Anamosa, the Pumpkin Capital of the World for the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off.

Of course, my taste leans toward experiencing Sac County – the popcorn capital of the world!

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