Hello from Iowa! Wow, we’ve been busy since our last blog post – two weeks has flown by! After leaving our nice Airbnb south of Houghton, we spent another night in Michigan (camping in the Porcupine Mountains), then to Bayfield, Wisconsin for one night and a peek at the Apostle Islands (definitely a place I’d like to spend more time in the future!), then to Grand Rapids, Minnesota to catch up with a friend. After that, we hightailed it south on I35 to the Des Moines area for a few days, and now we’re in my home town of Storm Lake for a couple of weeks with my dad. I’ll catch you up on the Storm Lake stuff in a future post – but here’s a few snaps of our last week on the road.
Our last stop in Michigan: the Porcupine Mountains. More beautiful colors, and a nice little hike up to a lookout tower. 
The Presque Isle River meets Lake Superior – very scenic! 
We decided to stay in Michigan one more night and set up camp early to enjoy the Presque Isle rustic campground. 
Beautiful sunset … 
…and delicious dinner of pork chops smoked on our little Smokey Joe! 
Speaking of food … I couldn’t leave Michigan without having a pasty, so here’s my lunch the next day. *shrug* I get the point – lots of hearty calories wrapped up in a hand-held package – but it’s probably not something I’m going to rush out and get more of. 
Apostle Islands boat cruise – in weather reminiscent of Sitka! Several lighthouses along the way … 
….but the main attraction is the weather-beaten outer island, Devil’s Island. 
Really incredible caves and rock formations. 
You know you’re in Wisconsin when you come across an accordion museum! 
Next stop: Grand Rapids, Minnesota! Turns out they ALSO have a brewery! Hooray! 
Which rapids do you think are grand-er: Grand Rapids, Minnesota? 
Or Grand Rapids, Michigan? 
Haha, it’s a little unfair to compare … the rapids in MN have been dammed on both sides. 
Fantastic to see the lovely Liza – a friend from Alaska Humanities Forum days. 
We walked past a station that I’ve always considered a sister station to KCAW in Sitka — KAXE in Grand Rapids MN was founded by Rich McClear, who is also one of Raven Radio’s founders! Didn’t have time to go in and say hi, unfortunately. But we did listen to the station for awhile! 
Next stop: Ankeny, IA! There’s a Rails to Trails right outside my friend’s house … 
…which passes by a couple of BREWERIES!! We’re with my very dear high school friend Bridget and her awesome bike. 
We spent two nights in Ankeny, where the guest room is Bridget’s amazing craft room. 
I think I even dream more creatively being surrounded by all these supplies! 
We spent a day in downtown Des Moines with another dear friend. 
No … not these goofballs … 
THIS goofball! 
Scott and I also go way back to high school and have one of those friendships that feel like you can just pick up where you left off, no matter how much time has passed. 
We had a very artful afternoon, in the Des Moines sculpture garden .. 
…and also at the Des Moines Art Center, which has an incredible exhibition from Justin Favela. Inspired by Latinx culture, art history, and food, he assembled this on site, using layer upon layer of vibrant strips of paper … like piñatas, party decorations, and parade floats! 
A featured item is a giant taco pizza – a quintessential Iowa concoction, and one of Scott’s favorites. 
We were also captivated by this super-weird film, trying to figure out how they filmed this to look possible! 
After our art-filled afternoon, we picked up another few miles of the bike trail, biking from Madrid to Woodward, and crossing the high trestle bridge at sunset. 
So much fun! 
The bridge crosses the Des Moines River. 
The tiny town of Luther, Iowa, pop. 152, has somehow managed to establish a really popular BBQ joint. I’m pretty sure they served more than 152 people the night we were there! 
Bridget and her family own a farm near Boone, which is about 50 miles NW of Des Moines. 
We stayed there with them for two nights, and spent a beautiful fall afternoon exploring their forest. 
Their property is adjacent to a railway – their kids have made many helpful signs on their trails, like this one: “Railroad Look Out” (now that I think about it, I’m not sure if that’s a warning or the lookout as a destination!) 
Another high bridge for the train. 
We hiked up to the top of that bridge! 
The Boone Scenic Railway comes through here, so we sat on a hill and waited for it to come by. 
Really fun to wave at all the passengers! 
Bridget & Cory put us to work the next day on a little landscaping project. 
We burned a lot of sticks … 
…and moved a lot of dirt! 
I love spending this time with Bridget and her sweet family! 
Even though it’s been over 20 years since windmills started dotting the Iowa landscape, they still look so strange and amazing. 
It’s nice to be in Iowa during harvest season – look at that big pile of corn!
Hey, Jealous Jeff here, Way to go, you are doing it. Photos and info outstanding ,makes the day.
Sitka news, 9 bears dead so far and more to be dispatched they say.
Covid still sky high,
Jeff back and forth to Hazel-land, her B.D is the 27th, 7 years old, Jeff will be there.
Keep those cards and letters coming. Ahhh I am now on a unusual or weird museums, thank you for the accordion tip. Aloha ha, Jeff b
Such beautiful pics. Love your writing style, Kayla. So nice to have a peek at all the curious places you find.