A New 'State' Of Mind

Ocala Florida- Sunny 71 Degrees

This winter I have started noticing the maps on RV’s. You know the ones, you put it on the side and place a decal on all the states you have visited. It’s a sort of badge of achievement to those who strive to travel. I began noticing that the state of Iowa is often blank, even though the surrounding states are filled in. I ask people why they hadn’t visited Iowa in their travels that took them nearby. Most replied something along the lines of “there isn’t anything there accept corn fields is there?”  I reply contritely sometimes. “Oh, contraire!” Let me tell you what there is to see in Iowa. We’ll get to that later.

It started me thinking about my own preconceived notions
about states we have visited and how they have been debunked after spending an
extended amount of time there. Florida is a great example of my own imaginings
about a state and the delight I have had to discover an entirely different side
to my expectations. When we made our way to Florida, I had visions of beaches,
shorebirds and exotic flowers that would never survive Iowa’s extreme climate
fluctuations. For some reason I never considered that Florida had an interior.
Maybe we can blame that on the tourism industry. After all, the beaches are the
draw that get northerners here for spring break and snowbirds here for the
winter. Inland images in my mind included only Disney.

Having spent 5 months in the interior of Florida I am still amazed everyday at what I didn’t expect to find here. Woodpeckers would be a big one. I grew up in a heavily timbered area with many woodpeckers present in the dense white oak tree stand that surrounded my childhood home. I have seen more woodpecker varieties and quantities here than anywhere I have ever been. It’s pretty amazing. I even found out there is one that is only present in Florida.

I didn’t expect bears. Again, we Yankees associate alligators and big snakes with Florida. Bear boxes and signs warning that they are present abound in the state parks of interior Florida were unexpected. That's what we see in the Western Mountains. I have found and photographed tracks on the trails but have so far been disappointed not to have seen Yogi. The beaches are awesome and there are a ton of shorebirds as expected. The drivers are borderline insane as is the traffic in the cities. That part didn't suprise us.  I am getting lots of practice with my remedial Spanish skills and the ethnic food is excellent. Spending time in the interior areas this winter and given us a whole new perspective on Florida. We have visited a number of State Parks and Wildlife Preserves and are working on returning to volunteer at one in a couple of years. We’ll be back here in the Keys in three years for sure. We have made many friends who will make future trips here more familiar, just like Texas is to us now after spending two winters there.

Now for Iowa. I will plug Iowa tourism a bit. Iowa is not flat as an RV Park neighbor said he found out the first time he rode RAGBRAI; an annual bike ride across the state that draws thousands from all over the world each year. When people ask me what there is to see I don’t know where to start. A credit union coworker was looking at Iowa online one day and marveled at how beautiful it was. He admitted he had Idaho in mind when he Googled my home state. A common mistake for easterners.

Iowa’s western counties are home to the Loess Hills. A beautiful geological phenomenon that only exists in one other place in the world, China. It is the product of windblown silt from the Missouri River Valley nearby.  Central Iowa is where the National Hot Air Balloon Classic is held each August. The National Hot Air Balloon Hall of Fame is located in Indianola Iowa, 12 miles from where I grew up, where the festival is held each year. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an evening mass ascension. Central Iowa is also where the Pella Tulip Festival is held each May. A 4-day celebration that begins Thursday before Mother’s Day weekend transports you to Holland. The towns architecture is a celebration in Dutch culture. Even the Walmart had to adhere to classic Dutch architectural style to build there. Millions of tulips bloom throughout the town of 10,000 each spring. The town square is home to bakeries and meat shops, quilt shops and even a place that makes wooden shoes. The population swells by tens of thousands during the festival each year.

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  Mass Ascension
  Photo Courtesy of Trip Advisor

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  PellaTulips
  Photo Pella Toursim Board

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  The Loess Hills
  Photo Iowa Tourism Association

The Iowa State Fair is in a league of its own. It is one of
the Nations largest. Lasting 10 days each August and drawing over a million
people during that time it is something to experience. From the pioneer style
farming demonstrations, 1,100-pound boars, 2500-pound bulls, 1,000-pound
pumpkins, to the incredible photography contest and exhibit and national music
acts that grace the Grandstand Stage each night of the fair it is an event
native Iowan’s take for granted and outsiders marvel at when they find them
selves in Iowa in August.  Where else can
you watch women compete in a Husband Calling Contest in the afternoon, Stomp Grapes,
eat all three meals on a stick and then go see The Zac Brown Band or Jim
Gaffigan that night. Regional and local bands grace three free stages each
night as well.

The eastern border is defined by the Mississippi River and
beautiful bluffs, German towns and of course campgrounds. River culture and
beauty define the east and west borders of Iowa. Currently they are also the
source of catastrophic flooding as the record snowfall quickly melts over the
frozen ground creating ice jams and rapid runoff.

Of course, there is Saylorville Lake, where we live and volunteer each summer. It is one of 4 large reservoirs that draw campers and boaters all summer long. Northern Iowa is also home to a system of Glacial Lakes called Okoboji, a popular vacation destination for many.

People ask me about my home state all the time. I tell them it’s breathtaking in the summer. It is lush and green with lakes, woods and river valleys. An outdoor person’s heaven. The cities are rich in cultural and arts and music events throughout the summer.  Town festivals celebrating the kaleidescope of ethnic heritage of the settlers in the 1800’s go on all summer. Along about November it begins to turn into a frozen waste land, and everyone retreats to the indoors, accept those who love to ice fish and snowmobile, then they are in hog heaven. Pun intended.

As a native Iowan, I know how much of my home state goes unnoticed, or is simply not understood by most of the country. I blame it on national media who always interviews a retired farmer in overalls, a seed cap and one front tooth, when they come to do a story on a tornado or flood. Aside form the political coverage for the caucuses, Iowa is rarely depicted on national news. I take that into consideration when we set out to spend time in a state, we haven’t been in. This life has taught me to seek out the unnoticed things. Take advantage of the local festivals, stay off the beaten path, eat in the small-town diners and talk to the life long residents. That is where the pot of gold is at the end of each states rainbow.

Even this winter, trapped in the urban jungle of Ocala and working in my old industry, I have managed to find my way to many natural areas and lose myself in the woods amidst the songs of unfamiliar birds perched in trees I would not see in the Midwest. I have discovered a Florida that didn’t exist in my mind till this year. When we drive north in 5 weeks, I will already be looking forward to coming back.

If you find yourself near Iowa, go ahead and try it out. You
won’t be disappointed, and you can finally fill in the whole in the middle of
your map. As for me, I hear my Dad’s voice in the back of my head this time of
year. He was a prolific traveler in his younger years, and he used to say,
“Iowa is a nice place to come home to.” He is so right.

Until next time…