Category Archives: Art

Hot Dog! – Ankeny Field Work

April 30, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Back in February, after church, Teresa and I met Sheri down in Ankeny at Naughtea for lunch. Naughtea specializes in serving a variety of bubble teas and Korean hot dogs. I had no clue what a Korean hot dog was, but I was more than game to find out.

You can get your K-Dog with either half cheese and half hot dog, all hot dog, all cheese, or either combination wrapped in American cheese. I got the Hot Cheetos K-Dog with half cheese and half hot dog. I would actually recommend going all cheese cause quite frankly the hot dog is nothing to write home about. I don’t know what kind of hot dog they use, but it isn’t one that would ever make it to my fridge and on my grill. I’m not exactly a hot dog snob. Well… maybe a little bit. But I would never use the “e word” to describe my relationship with hot dogs.

Here are some pictures from the day:

For the bubble tea I got the Mango Princess Jasmine Milk Tea with the Mano Jelly Boba. It was 100% delicious.

My K-Dog was also delicious. However, for somebody like me, one K-Dog probably doesn’t do in the appetite. But since K-Dogs are relatively inexpensive (anymore if I can get out of a restaurant paying less than $15, that is a win and if I can get out for less than $10 I alert the media) I would maybe get 2 next time. But then you factor in the $7 drink, I’m suddenly becoming an expensive date.

I would definitely go back, but I don’t think I would search it out. At least not for a meal. Maybe if I was hardcore craving a bubble tea.

Naugtea is located at:

1810 SW White Birch Circle
Suite 115
Ankeny, Iowa

The next food adventure will take place in Altoona, Iowa.

Art, Black & White, History, Nature, Road Trip, Street Photography

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 3

April 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for yet another collection of images from Muscatine County. One of my favorite counties that I visited. At least that wasn’t in the Loess Hills or the Driftless Area. Definitely Top 5. No lower than Top 10. This is not the collection that will show the dragon I bought the best watermelons of my life. However, there is pictures of Wildcat Den State Park that has a mill that I think is one of the most photographed tableaus in the state of Iowa. Plus an Old Stone Church that is set in a breathtaking rural Iowa vista.

Wilton

Walcott – Based on Balmoral Castle

Buffalo – Scott County

Old Stone Church

Methodists!

The only thing I hate more than bigotry is power lines.

Wildcat Den State Park

There are plenty more pictures to share from this road trip. We haven’t even made it to Muscatine yet!!

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Art, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Naima, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Street Photography, Tamara, Teresa, Travel, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 397 – FRIENDS

April 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 5 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
No.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that start to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough to me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their largest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

Suggestions are closed for next year’s list. It will be a minute before they open up for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

+++++++

Well things worked out correctly.

I boarded an airplane.

I flew back to the Cyclone State.

I made it through the road construction on Fleur.

Made it to Ted’s Coney Island.

Had a badass tenderloin.

Onion rings.

And some delicious baklava.

Delivered popcorn to Elizabeth.

Greeted Naima. She was glad to see me.

Took her for a car ride.

Took her to Dickcissel Park.

Watched the show I’m currently binging. (SUCCESSION)

Did some laundry.

Then finally did all the coding necessary for you to see all the FRIENDS submissions.

So without further adieu, I present the post on this WEEK 397 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE…

+++++++

FRIENDS! They are pretty great to have in your life, but do a lot of people have FRIENDS in their life that they could photograph? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 17, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Porter Degeneffe – 1 week
2-Scott Degeneffe – 2 weeks (2)
3-Mary Green – 2 weeks (3)
4-Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
5-Alexis Stensland – 2 weeks
6-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
7-Mindi Terrell – 8 weeks (3)
8-Suzie Brannen – 13 weeks (2)
9-Monica Jennings – 13 weeks
10-Mike Vest – 14 weeks
11-Tamara Peterson – 24 weeks (2)
12-Brandon Kahler – 34 weeks
13-Linda Bennett – 38 weeks (2)
14-Sarah Toot – 39 weeks
15-Angie DeWaard – 43 weeks
16-Dawn Krause – 47 weeks
17-Kim Barker – 52 weeks
18-Joe Duff – 54 weeks
19-Logan Kahler – 54 weeks
20-Teresa Kahler – 65 weeks (2)
21-Carla Stensland – 65 weeks
22-Micky Augustin – 66 weeks
23-Andy Sharp – 68 weeks
24-Bill Wentworth – 69 weeks
25-Cathie Morton – 73 weeks
26-Elizabeth Nordeen – 74 weeks
27-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 75 weeks
28-Kio Dettman – 78 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 48 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Illinois) – 44 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Kim Barker (Illinois) – 53 weeks

Kim Barker (Illinois)

Scott Degneffe (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 75 weeks

Heather Courtney (Iowa) – 1 week

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 35 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 70 weeks

Cathie Morton (Illinois) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 55 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 39 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Christopher D. Bennett (Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 56 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Utah) – 76 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (California)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 40 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

26 participants! That is a pretty good week all things considered.

There were submissions this week taken in the following states:

+ California
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas
+ Utah

Thanks to Shannon’s bee road trip, we added two states to the map! California and Utah!

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

24 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

My submission was taken 360 miles from my front door.

This week saw the first ever submission from Heather. I don’t know if that is a sign of things to come or a one-off, but I hope it is a sign of things to come.

But it wasn’t all good news. There was a veritable bloodbath of streaks falling though. Porter couldn’t build on his submission from last week. Mary’s streak snapped at 2. Sabas’ streak is history at 4. Most tragically, Vest’s 14 week streak is gone!

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

ROAD TRIP

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! This is one of my favorite themes for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It isn’t just because I am one of the few universally recognized Masters of the Road Trip. Okay, maybe it is.

But what in the Sam Hill is a ROAD TRIP photo? Simply put, it is a picture that is taken on a ROAD TRIP or in preparation for a ROAD TRIP. It doesn’t have to be a picture of a road or a car or a map or snacks. I LOVE a good ROAD TRIP snack. For example, if you are taking a ROAD TRIP to Pella to do a little flowertography this weekend, then a picture of anything you encounter on that ROAD TRIP is fair game. It doesn’t have to be a grand ROAD TRIP. You don’t have to leave the state on this trip. And judging by where many of my submissions come from, many of you haven’t left the state since Theresa Becker was the Iowa State women’s basketball coach*. I can cast stones, I’m in Illinois right now. I’m a world traveler baby! I go places. I’m a baller. I ask questions. You want me on your corporate team!

Sorry got sidetracked. Your ROAD TRIP could be a jaunt around the block or down to the grocery store. I don’t judge. Or it could just be a picture of preparations for a ROAD TRIP to PELLA to do some flowertography.

While considering possible subjects for your ROAD TRIP submission, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt that you will come up with an amazing idea:

All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road.
-Jack Kerouac

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of ROAD TRIP in this place that is more of a journey than a destination next Monday.

Art, Drone, Nader, Road Trip

Rodan 139: The Gorge

April 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

While I was in Dysart with Nader, I also took Rodan139 up to photograph their most famous illusion The Gorge. It needs to be painted, but it still gets the job done. It is an indication of how small of a town that Dysart is that there biggest tourist draw is painted right now their main street. It even includes a spot that tells you to “Stand Here” that is right in the middle of the street.

Here are some pictures from the sky:

The next time we take Rodan139 up to the friendly skies, it will involve Teresa’s back yard.

Andy, Angie, Art, Carla, Derrick, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Lowell, Monica, Night, Sara, Scottie D., Still Life, Street Photography, Travel, Work, WPC - Reminder

Viva Las Vegas: Day 4 and Day 5A

April 21, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Day 4 of my trip to Las Vegas was the 2nd Day of the CCM. It was a busy day and I barely touched my camera. I spent pretty much the entire day at the conference center. I got to leave for the day at a pretty normal time and only felt the urge to punch another human being in the throat one time. But I didn’t. I just want you to know that. I didn’t punch that other human being in the throat. I only wanted to punch them in the throat.

That night I was taken out for supper by one of the biggest Computer Mine customers. They are big fans of Italian food so they took me to Trevi Italian Restaurant. Trevi is inside the Shops at the Forum. Our Uber driver dropped us off at The Caesars Forum, which is actually farther away from Trevi than our hotel.

Everybody else at the meal was Catholic and adhered to the no meat Friday deal. I ate lasagna. I offered to join them in not eating meat, since they were paying, but they told me not to worry about it. The lasagna was good and I followed it with some delicious tiramisu.

We walked back to the hotel cause we no longer trusted Uber drivers. We stopped and watch the fountain show at the Bellagio. Then I bid them a good night. I think it was late enough in the evening that I might have just went to bed myself. I don’t know. It is all a blur at this point.

I only took one picture worth sharing:

So after 4 days, here is the Per Diem Fund Update

I started the Day with $223.

Breakfast: Free
Lunch: Free
Trevi Supper: Free

Estimated Per Diem Balance: $223.

According to my highly inaccurate fitness app, I walked 18,170 steps for 8.35 miles.

Day 5 of my trip and Day 3 of the CMC is only a half day. I got to the convention center around 8. It ended at noon. Afterwards everybody “helps” pack the crates. This was the other time I wanted to punch another human being in the throat, but not as hard as the person yesterday. Also, not the same person. Just a person that had “opinions” on how the crate should be packed. After everybody else left, Lowell and I tried to redo the crate as much as we could. Then we locked them up and called it a day.

We took a moment to go back to the hotel and change clothes then we went to Nacho Daddy for lunch with Kim. Nacho Daddy serves the “most insane gourmet nachos smothered in queso and salsa made fresh daily and (they) guarantee you’ll never find a dry chip”.

I believe I got the Fajita Nacho. Which the menu describes as:

Marinated filet mignon, seared peppers & onions, refried beans, melted Cheddar & Jack cheese, yellow queso, cherry tomato pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, & pickled onions on top of our house made tri-colored chips.

Nacho Daddy also serves a Scorpion Shot. It consists of Telson Blanco, a scorpion, salt and a lime wedge. I don’t drink alcohol, so I was off the hook for trying it. But Lowell and Kim both backed down from the challenge. It was a bit of a disappointment.

After the meal we back to the hotel for a bit. There was talk of going to Fremont Street but I didn’t hear from anybody for hours, so after resting I decided to explore a bit nearby on my own. Scottie D. had recommend I check out the Botanical Garden at The Bellagio. I walked across the street to seek it out.

Here are some pictures:

It just absolutely poured rain all night. It pretty much eliminated the chances of anybody wanting to do anything that night. Which I guess was okay because we had to be at the shuttle by 5:15 in the morning.

Still more pictures to come from this rain-soaked night and one final Per Diem Upate!

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is FRIENDS:

FRIENDS

Not only is this your reminder that this week’s theme is FRIENDS, it is your reminder that I am in Chicago right now and won’t return until Tuesday. Three things to note about that:

#1. If you were hoping to have me in your FRIENDS picture, you better make it to Chicago.
#2. I’m going to be in Chicago on Monday, so there might not be many reminders sent out, so you will be on your own.
#3. I won’t publish the submissions until Tuesday at the earliest.

A FRIENDS photo is simply a picture that involves FRIENDS or a picture that represents a FRIENDShip.

While considering possible subjects for your FRIENDS image meditate on the following quote:

Friendship is being there when someone’s feeling low and not being afraid to kick them.

This isn’t the first time that FRIENDS has been a theme. Here is a look at a few of the submissions from the past to help inspire you:

Angie DeWaard – Week 246

Elizabeth Nordeen – Week 310

Andy Sharp – Week 172

Carla Stensland – Week 172

Christopher D. Bennett – Week 172

Hopefully this inspired somebody.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Road Trip, Ruins, Still Life, Street Photography

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 2

April 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time to share another collection of images from my road trip to Muscatine County to harvest their town signs back in July of last year. Most of these are taken in Wilton. Wilton, Iowa. Home of many of my worst road trip failures. I’m talking about you Wilton Candy Kitchen and the fact that you are never open. However, if I make it bake to Wilton again, it will be all about Arty’s.

Atalissa

I think this place is closed, but I’m not sure.

Moscow

Wilton

If this thing ends up missing from Wilton, I know nothing about it…

But it would look great in my front yard.

I have questions…

I would definitely ignore this sign.

There are still so many pictures from Muscatine County to share. Such a great county with great watermelons.

Art, Drone, Nader, Road Trip

Rodan139: Koi Pond Illusion

April 18, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple of weeks ago I went on a road trip with Nader to check out the illusions of Dysart, Iowa. I have to confess it was a little bit of a bust. They are supposed to have 5 illusions, but 2 of them are gone. One badly needs painting. The other one doesn’t need painting. But it just isn’t all that impressive. The last one though is unique. It is the only illusion like it in Iowa. It is The Magic Koi Pond Illusion. It is the only mirrored cylinder anamorphic illusion in Iowa.

I decided to take some drone pictures of it, but it was a great drone subject because over the top of the illusion are two trees that make it hard to fly the drone and get a great angle at it, but I tried anyways.

The next time Rodan139 takes to the skies, it will also be in Dysart.

Art, Carla, Road Trip, Tenderloining, Teresa

Tenderloining: Oskaloosa Field Work

April 16, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I’m hoping somebody out there is enjoying these Sunday food adventure posts as much as I enjoyed eating this food. Still finding my footing a little bit on the format, but that is okay. Today’s post is about a tenderloin I knocked down in Oskaloosa back in December on a road trip with Carla and Teresa. We had left the Kretmarkt in Pella and had some time to kill before the Oskaloosa Lighted Parade. So we went to the Wood Iron Grille.

The Wood Iron Grille is on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0, but unfortunately I couldn’t find my passport that morning, so I did not get it stamped. You will just have to take these pictures as proof that I ate there.

I’m not going to break it down in my normal tenderloin breakdown fashion because it has been several months and it isn’t fair to the tenderloin to try to jog this foggy memory to review.

It is sufficient to say that it was very good. In fact all the food was very good and I would definitely eat there again.

For an appetizer we had Garlic Cheese Curds. The menu described them thusly:

White Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese lightly breaded and seasoned with garlic, deep fried and served with Ranch Dressing.

They were delicious! And the garlic was a nice little twisted.

On the menu, the refer to their tenderloin as Bread & Gold. The menu described it thusly:

Tenderized Pork Loin chop breaded and fried to golden brown delicious. Served on a toasted Bun with a side of our Sweet Corn Mayo. Comes with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion and Pickle.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The proper way to dress a tenderloin is thusly:

+ Mustard
+ Ketchup
+ Onions
+ Pickles

However, I am becoming more open to a sweet corn mayo or a nice aioli.

Here are some pictures of the meal:

Wood Iron Grille won Best Burger in Iowa in 2019. Seems to be a connection between a restaurant that serves a great tenderloin and serving a great burger. One might even call it causality. If they had my understanding of statistics.

You can find the Wood Iron Grille at the Oskaloosa Public Golf Course.

Address
2214 South 11th Street
Oskaloosa, Iowa

I will have to go back and have that award winning burger at some point.

Art, Blogging

Image Creator Powered by DALL-E

April 15, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

As you may have notice, I have been playing with Artificial Intelligence a bit lately. First with ChatGPT and then with DALL-E. Don’t know what DALL-E is, don’t worry, I had ChatGPT write a blog post explaining it to you:
Sure, I’d be happy to explain DALL-E, an image creator developed by OpenAI.

DALL-E is an artificial intelligence system that can create original images from textual descriptions. The name “DALL-E” is a play on the name of the surrealist artist Salvador Dali and the Pixar character WALL-E.

DALL-E is based on the GPT-3 language model and a computer vision model, which work together to generate images from textual prompts. The system can create a wide range of images, from realistic objects and scenes to surreal and fantastical creations.

To use DALL-E, a user enters a textual prompt describing the image they want to generate. For example, the user could enter “an armchair shaped like an avocado.” DALL-E then uses its language model to understand the prompt and generate a corresponding image.

One of the key innovations of DALL-E is its ability to generate images that go beyond the literal interpretation of the textual prompt. For example, if the user enters “a snail made of harp strings,” DALL-E might create an image of a snail with a shell made of harp strings, or it might create an image of a snail playing a harp made of harp strings.

DALL-E can also generate images that incorporate multiple objects or concepts in a single image. For example, if the user enters “a cat sitting on a hot air balloon floating in space,” DALL-E might create an image of a cat sitting on a hot air balloon with a view of space in the background.

DALL-E has a wide range of potential applications, from creating visual representations of text for people with visual impairments to generating images for use in advertising and marketing. However, as with any AI system, there are also potential ethical concerns around the use of DALL-E, particularly around issues of bias and control over the images that are generated.

Overall, DALL-E represents an exciting development in the field of artificial intelligence and has the potential to revolutionize the way we create and interact with visual media.

Here are some of the first images I made:

Some of my inputs:

“A giant alligator fighting a giant robot wearing a gorilla suit, digital art”
“A robot wearing a gorilla suit”
“A robot with a old time movie camera for a head standing over a small town”
“A black and white train holding a camera, digital art”
“A robot, part train, part 35mm camera, black and white, digital art”
“Man with a fierce beard, drinking a root beer from a glass bottle, with a golden retriever by his side, sitting on a throne, in the background, a giant alligator is fighting a giant robot in a small town, digital art”
“A chubby man with a fierce beard and a white fedora, on the open road, reading a map, digital art”

It is an interesting toy to play with, until it becomes sentient and takes over the world and enslaves humanity. Oh well, I’d like to say we had a good run, but we really didn’t.

Art, Flowers, History, Railroad, Road Trip, Still Life, Street Photography

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 1

April 12, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Back on July 30 I cruised around the towns of Muscatine County harvesting their town signs. Muscatine County was one of my favorite counties that I have visited. There are a few photogenic towns in Muscatine County and I purchased the most delicious watermelon I’ve ever eaten from a dragon in rural Muscatine County.

Here is the first collection of images from my road trip to Muscatine County: