We are having sun again today. Yesterday was drop dead beautiful, finally. The weather in Iowa, as is true everywhere, has been strange to say the least. Way too much rain with one small town, Hamburg, in the southwest corner of Iowa, struggling to stay intact with the ever increasing rising waters of the Missouri threatening to wipe it off the face of the map. Here in Des Moines, the rivers are high but so far not creating too many problems.

Monday and Tuesday there were incredible thunder and lightening shows around midnight, just rolling through, and rain fell in the inches! Hail fell for about fifteen minutes, pinging off the downspouts and cars. The winds were very high, and sometimes it looked as if the rain was not coming down, but rather coming across. Strangely enough, the tomato plants and other veggies that the folks here planted in their small garden area, were just fine.

Last Sunday I went up to Nevada, Iowa, and saw all of Dick's kids and their families. What fun that was. I know how hard it is to get my own children all together in one place at one time. I think it was a tribute to Dick. His wife, Judy, died 20 years ago this month, and they honored her also. Here is that handsome crowd!

Monday the Archives isn't open, and it was raining, so we just hung out reading, doing crosswords, talking, knitting and catching up on "stuff."

Des Moines is a really nice small city. It is easy to get around in, there are wonderful arts displays around the city, nice parks, the downtown area has been restored, and it is a warm welcoming place. I have been at the Historical Archives everyday, from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM, going over the original Civil War letters of my Civil War uncle, William H. Hawley, and have been able to fill in the blanks of my copies, by seeing the original letters. So far I have been successful in doing so, and making each letter complete. The Iowa State Historical Building is a very nice one, and I believe is newly built or restored. It is just down from the Iowa State Capitol which is a beautiful building -

Downtown Des Moines has iron planters filled with flowers, on many of its blocks, each block containing a different arrangement. Louise said she thinks the companies on each block manage them.

After dinner last night, Louise took me downtown and around Des Moines so that I could take some pictures, without being in a lot of traffic. Better Homes and Gardens has their main office in Des Moines, and across from the main building is a huge red trowel...

Further down the street there is an open area, where there are all kinds of sculptures which were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Pappajohn to the City of Des Moines. These sculptures once were situated on the lawns of their home here. The Papajohns, along with the city and the Art Council are in charge of them. They are quite impressive scattered over a large park like setting smack dab in the center of the city, for all to enjoy. Here are a few of them ...

Along the streets in the downtown area I saw various different pieces of sculpture, much of it humorous and fun such as this...

Along the Des Moines River where there is a park, walkways, and the Botanical Gardens, is a pagoda, which is quite a contrast to the Des Moines skyline across from it...

The bridge behind the pagoda is a new pedestrian walkway across the river. There are several of those around the city. Louise told me that after the Vietnamese War ended, and there were so many refugees fleeing from their country, the mayor of Des Moines invited many of them to come to Des Moines. They have been a very welcome addition to the city.

And finally, I will leave you with this. Many of you know that Matilda and I like bumper stickers, and when we were touring, I saw this, and just had to get a picture of it to share with all of you...

So here I am, in the great state of Iowa. The Tea Party is making their rounds here, and I hope I don't run into them, but if I do, I will say "HI" and send them your way...

A hui hou,
Sally