MONSOON!

I guess I do not really remember getting out much into the world before my peoples found me in the garage sale box. I say this because I have just experienced my 1st Monsoon!

There are several definitions of a Monsoon but usually its used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally-changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The Monsoon season runs aprox. June - Sept., here in Arizona.

The 1st thing that started was big white fluffy clouds coming in. They were not white long though, as the rain made them heavy and dark very quickly.

We could see rain pouring out of some, while still miles away! Then the wind .. when the palm trees appeared to start tipping over, I heard my peoples say "its going to be a big one!"

downed tree on our street!

The heavy rains rarely last more than several minutes, but can cause a lot of damage! The ground is so dry that the water has no where to go, and flooding often occurs.

Wal-Mart parking lot

The Duke ...

Another highpoint in my trip through Iowa, was Winterset, which is also in Madison County, where we saw the covered bridges!

Don't Shoot!

What the heck could I possibly have found in Winterset? Well, The Duke, John Wayne, was born here! 

John Wayne was an Academy Award-winning American film actor, director and producer in the late 20's until the mid 70's!

Sadly, the Duke passed away in 1979 from cancer. In 2009 he was ranked in the top 3 all time favorite movie actor; is the only deceased star on the list and the only one who has appeared on the poll every year since it first began in 1994.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. He also has an airport named after him, in Orange County CA.

If you are taking a road trip through this part of Iowa, you shouldn't pass up this few minutes to stop and visit the memorial.  Winterset is very pretty, and there is a gas station to fuel up right across the street even!  You will pass the Bridges of Madison county just a mile or two before you get here too!!

Bridges of Madison County

During the Iowa road trip with my peoples, we visited some famous covered bridges, in Madison County.

"Madison County originally boasted 19 covered bridges, but just six remain today, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridges were covered by order of the County Board of Supervisors to help preserve the large flooring timbers, which were more expensive to replace than the lumber used to cover the bridge sides and roof. Usually, the bridges were named for the resident who lived closest."

The bridge did have a very solid , sturdy floor.

It wasn't as scary to walk across, as I had first expected it to be.

It was a nice place to sit and relax a bit after a day of shopping....

 and do a little exploring too!!

RUNZA!

As part of my trip, my peoples said we just had to go to eat at a place that is "iconic" to Nebraska .. Runza!

I was curious, and maybe a bit skeptical, as I had never heard of this "Runza" place.  My peoples is real picky though, so I knew if she liked it, it must be good!

What is a Runza, you say? ( I did! )

It's a homemade dough stuffed full of ground beef, cabbage, spices and onion, then baked and served fresh!

My peoples said this was her 2nd job as a teenager, all through high school and that at 1st the thought of cabbage was gross...but she tried it (as her mama always taught her to do!) and she found she LOVED Runzas!

Getting Ketchup!

Her favorite is a cheese Runza with mushrooms, fries ordered extra crispy, and served with Ranch Dressing (I was told they make fresh Hidden Valley Ranch with real buttermilk, it was VERY good!)  They also make amazing swiss cheese mushroom burgers, I was told. 

 

I really enjoyed Runza and hope someday we get to eat there again!

Omaha!

We've been doing lots of stuff since I arrived in Omaha NE!

This was a view as we were heading into downtown, to cross a bridge over the Missiouri River, into Council Bluffs, Iowa.  That is where one of my peoples is from.  We were going there to see a "famous" site called the "Black Angel".  It's a memorial to Ruth Ann Dodge. There is also a famous "Dodge House", but we did not go there.

This is the "Black Angel" memorial ...

  

climbing a tree ...

There is a cemetary next door .. we would have looked through, but it was humid and hot and my peoples were ready to go!

you can see more photos of other places we have visited HERE