It’s been a fun two days with my old friends Scott and Julie. Yesterday the rain stopped early enough in the afternoon that we were able to go on a bike ride on one of Des Moines’ many bike trails. The city and county have acquired a large number of abandoned railroad lines and converted them into paved bike-and-pedestrian trails. We rode on the Great Western Trail to a small town called Cumming and back, about 17.5 miles. A real treat not only because we didn’t have to worry about cars, but also because the trail ran through lush green woods and fields, a delightful ride. Here’s an old-fashioned selfie taken at the half-way point.
Before the ride we had lunch at a place called Teddy Maroon’s, where in a fit of nostalgia I ordered a breakfast dish called the Loaded Tater Tot Breakfast Bowl, which turned out to be an enormous bowl of scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, and, yes of course, tater tots. I managed to get through only about a third of it, and it satisfied my desire for tater tots (which wasn’t that great, in truth) for the next 10 years. The remaining 2/3 of the dish is still in the Honseys’ refrigerator; I’m thinking that Rico the dog will find it delicious.
Sunday a.m. we drove down to Scott’s farm, about 60 miles south of Des Moines. He has 40 acres of mostly forested property, and with all the spring rain, the place was wildly verdant.
In the afternoon after lunch (no tater tots) we played Des Moines tourists, visited the sculpture garden and the grounds of the state capitol, with its monuments.
This one … hmmmmmmm. Must be a metaphor of some sort.
The coolest thing we did followed, a trip to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, which has returned farmland to native prairie, and hosts a herd of bison.
It took us a while to find the herd, they were all hanging out on one side of the bison area, sleeping and eating. We got out of the car to get closer, but because, as the sign says, “Bison are Wild and Unpredictable Animals,” we didn’t want to get too close, although none of them seemed like anything would much perturb them.
It was peaceful out there, mostly quiet except for bird noises, and the occasional sound of bison moving through the grass. There were big bulls and a mother with a nursing calf. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bison in one place.
Today it’s back on I-80 East, heading to see my old friend Boyd. More later.
Categories: Blogging