Des Moines (Living History Farms)

Last night I was awoken from a deep sleep by a fire alarm. I guess it was inevitable that I would experience something like that over a year’s journey. I immediately sensed that it was not a true fire alarm, but some sort of false alarm. I did not smell smoke, heard no screams of panic, no banging on doors and no sirens. As I and others began wandering down the stairs to see what was going on, a guest who had been a bit quicker was on his way back up. He reported that it was a burst pipe in the boiler room and the fire department was on their way. I guess it was more of a nuisance than an emergency, because they never did activate any sirens. The main issues was that as they were working on it, they kept setting off the fire alarm. My silicon earplugs did help some, but it was not a great night’s sleep.

On that note, I have to report that this Residence Inn is a very run-down property, in sore need of renovation. That seems to be the case with a number of the properties meant for longer stays. I have to wonder if they are thinking about phasing them out. It was not that much of a surprise, as the nightly rates were far less than commensurate properties. In addition, the downtown descriptor is a bit optimistic; it is a few blocks from the edge of downtown. A perfectly fine walk on a nice day, but worth noting.

In spite of Labor Day and the Autumn solstice both having come and gone, the Midwest, at least, seems to be experiencing endless summer. Today the high was 87 degrees. My fear is that Summer will precipitously dip into Winter with very little shoulder season. It has definitely been a very weird weather year, really all over the world.

Nevertheless, this morning, I drove the 15 minutes out of town to visit Living History Farms . This institution comprises a village, constructed to appear as it might have in 1876 and three different farm areas representing an indigenous Ioway farm in 1700, an early settler farm in 1850 and a more modern farm in 1900. The interpreters are all dressed in period costumes. I was pleased to see a much better treatment of the Indigenous history that I saw yesterday at the State History Museum. They had a nice land acknowledgment and several exhibits that more truthfully and clearly conveyed the early history of European settlers’ interaction with Native peoples. While this place is probably more appropriate for school age children, and in fact several groups were visiting, it was still a pleasant outdoor experience for the morning. The walk between the farms was a wooded trail and had I brought a long lens, I probably could have found some birds to shoot.

A few hours was more than sufficient for Living History Farms, and I was happy enough to take care of some errands on the way back and to get back to my room before the worst of the afternoon heat.

Tomorrow I leave Iowa and drive South to St. Louis, Missouri.