A few weeks back I cruised around Shelby and Mills County (and Pottawattamie County) harvesting their town signs. Here is the second collection of auxiliary images from this trip:
There is still one more collection of images from this road trip still left to share.
A couple months back on my way back from a trip to Manhattan, Kansas to watch Nate graduate from Kansas State, I cruised through Harrison County and harvested the balance of their town signs.
Here are some facts about Harrison County:
+ Population is 14,582 making it the 53rd most populous county in Iowa. Below Kossuth County and above Mills County.
+ The county seat is Logan.
+ The largest town is Missouri Valley.
+ The birthplace or home county of Josh Kraushaar.
+ Where Sneaky Snake Root Beer’s near professional labeler was trained.
+ Major highways are I-29, US-30, IA-37, IA-44, IA-127, IA-183, and IA-191.
+ Adjacent counties are: Monona, Crawford, Shelby, and Pottawattamie.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 25,597.
The Harrison County Courthouse is not gorgeous, but is pretty in an understated way:
The Harrison County Freedom Rock is located near Missouri Valley, Iowa.
With Harrison County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
59 counties completed. 59.6% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Harrison County:
Woodbine, Iowa
WOODBINE
Population: 1,625 (+166)
Logan, Iowa
LOGAN
FOUNDED
JULY 19, 1867
Population: 1,397 (-137)
Dunlap, Iowa
Welcome to DUNLAP
1867
Population: 1,038 (-4)
Mondamin, Iowa
Welcome to Mondamin
Gateway to the Loess Hills
Population: 339 (-63)
Persia, Iowa
PERSIA, IA
HARRISON COUNTY’S EASTERN GATEWAY TO THE LOESS HILLS
EST. 1882
Population: 297 (-22)
Modale, Iowa
Welcome to MODALE
Established 1874
Population: 273 (-10)
Pisgah, Iowa
Welcome to:
Pisgah
Heart of the Loess Hills
Since 1904
Pop: 268
Population: 249 (-2)
Magnolia, Iowa
Welcome to Magnolia
Population: 190 (+7)
Little Sioux, Iowa
LITTLE SIOUX
CHURCH OF CHRIST WELOMES YOU
ONE MILE AHEAD
Population: 166 (-4)
River Sioux, Iowa – Unincorporated
RIVER SIOUX
All in all, I think that Harrison County has a real fine set of signs. I think the worst one is pretty obvious. Logan has the classic tombstone looking sign. It already includes the date the town was founded on it and has left space on the bottom to put the date the town dies.
But who gets the Purple Ribbon for Harrison County? I think there are some real solid signs there. I like Dunlap’s. I like Woodbine’s. I like Missouri Valley and Pisgah’s. But I think I have to give it up to Modale for the best town sign in Harrison County.
There are a few alternate town signs in Harrison County:
Persia – Alternate
Missouri Valley – Alternate
Logan – Alternate
Pisgah – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Sow – Harrison County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will end up in Iowa County.
STILL LIFE has proven to be a moderately successful theme.
As of 10:59 AM on Monday, February 21, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:
+ Evie Gorshe – 1 week
+ Joe Duff – 4 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 4 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 4 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 4 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 5 weeks
+ Monica Henning – 6 weeks
+ Jesse Howard – 6 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 6 weeks
+ Becky Parmelee – 7 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 7 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 8 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 12 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 13 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 15 weeks
+ Kim Barker – 15 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 18 weeks
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Linda Bennett
Kio Dettman – 19 weeks
Michelle Haupt – 6 weeks
Shannon Bardole-Foley – 16 weeks
Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks
Joe Duff – 5 weeks
Christopher D. Bennett
Andy Sharp – 8 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen – 14 weeks
Bill Wentworth – 9 weeks
Becky Parmelee – 8 weeks
Becky Parmelee
Teresa Kahler – 5 weeks
Teresa Kahler
Teresa Kahler
Kim Barker – 16 weeks
Dawn Krause – 1 week
Suzie Brannen – 1 week
Micky Augustin – 7 weeks
Carla Stensland – 5 weeks
Carla Stensland
Carla Stensland
Carla Stensland
Logan Kahler – 1 week
Logan Kahler
Cathie Raley – 13 weeks
Monica Henning – 7 weeks
Mike Vest – 1 week
29 submissions from 20 participants! That is a great week! 5 people hopefully started new streaks this week and only Evie and Jesse had their steaks stopped. Evie’s streak stopped at 1 week and Jesse’s streak stopped at 6 weeks. Linda and Suzie were first time participants in this year’s set of 52 themes.
Here are the current top streaks:
1. Kio – 19 weeks
2. Shannon – 16 weeks
2. Kim – 16 weeks
4. Elizabeth – 14 weeks
5. Cathie – 13 weeks
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:
HARMONY! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what exactly is a HARMONY image? A HARMONY image is simply a picture of at least two things that team up together perfectly. Like peanut butter and jelly. Cardinal and gold. Laurel and Hardy. Colors can also harmonize. I’m not going to go deep into color theory, but here are a few examples of colors that HARMONYze: Orange-Blue, Pink-Green, Orange-Green, Red-Green, Yellow-Purple, Blue-Yellow, Green-Magenta, Red-Cyan. Also, a HARMONY image could also relate to music as HARMONY is a very important part of music.
When considering possible HARMONY subjects, think on the following quote:
Be in harmony, yet be different.
-Confucius
I look forward to seeing the interpretations!
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.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of HARMONY in this place that is little more than where my differences try to align on Monday.
It is time for another Formal Portrait Sunday. This Sunday we are featuring a collection of Kyle’s Fall Photo Shoot.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Kyle recently was crowned Winter Formal King. Making the latest person I know to become royalty. I think I know 4 people that are royalty at this point in my life. At least, I can think of 4 people off the top of my head.
There is a plethora of Kyle photos left to share, but next Formal Portrait Sunday will involve the Stenslands.
The pictures in the folders 2011-05-01, 2011-05-09, and 2011-05-14 are mostly from a Mother’s Day celebration we held at my house. But there are also pictures there from the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT (now known as THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE) and Logan running track.
By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the greenhouse formerly known as the Northwest Greenhouse.
I’m back in the Cyclone State from a whirlwind Computer Mine trip to Pittsburgh. I mostly sat on my couch on Friday night petting Naima, not wanting to move, and catching up on THE PEACEMAKER and THE GILDED AGE. I also watched the new TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. That is an experience that I do not recommend.
Now it is Saturday morning and it is time to share the submissions for BELIEVE. I thought that BELIEVE would be a streak busting abstract concept, but while it wasn’t super popular, many stalwarts had quite a few photographic examples of BELIEVE. I can’t say that I’m pleasantly surprised at how many submissions I got for such an abstract concept. Maybe BELIEVE made me BELIEVE in the rogue group of misfits just a little bit more.
As of 10:59 AM on Monday, February 14, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks: (IF they did not submit a picture by one more tick of the minute hand, then their streak went poof, like my belief in southern hospitality did in a North Carolina airport on Friday. POOF!)
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
+ Dawn Krause – 2 weeks
+ Mike Vest – 2 weeks
+ Joe Duff – 3 weeks
+ Logan Kahler – 3 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 3 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 3 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 3 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 4 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 5 weeks
+ Monica Henning – 5 weeks
+ Jesse Howard – 5 weeks
+ Becky Parmelee – 6 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 6 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 7 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 11 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 12 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 14 weeks
+ Kim Barker – 14 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 17 weeks
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Andy Sharp – 7 weeks
Joe Duff – 4 weeks
Micky Augustin – 6 weeks
Teresa Kahler – 4 weeks
Teresa Kahler
Jesse Howard – 6 weeks
Carla Stensland – 4 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen – 13 weeks
Kim Barker – 15 weeks
Becky Parmelee – 7 weeks
Becky Parmelee
Becky Paremelee
Bill Wentworth – 8 weeks
Cathie Raley – 12 weeks
Kio Dettman – 18 weeks
Michelle Haupt – 5 weeks
Shannon Bardole-Foley – 15 weeks
Tamara Peterson – 4 weeks
Christopher D. Bennett
Monica Henning – 6 weeks
21 submissions from 17 participants, that is a solid week. Only 4 streaks went poof. Jen could build her streak to two. Dawn and Vest both saw 2 week streaks snapped. Logan had a 3 week streak go the way of the dodo bird.
Here is the current top streaks:
1. Kio – 18 weeks
2. Shannon – 15 weeks
2. Kim – 15 weeks
4. Elizabeth – 13 weeks
5. Cathie – 12 weeks.
Also, if you can’t tell from Cathie’s image, she got engaged last weekend. So CONGRATULATIONS CATHIE!!!
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:
STILL LIFE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what exactly is a STILL LIFE image? A STILL LIFE image is simply a picture of an inanimate object or objects. The object can be manmade or it can be from nature. A flower or a plant is a subject for a STILL LIFE image. A dog or a human being is not a subject for a STILL LIFE image. Food is a popular STILL LIFE subject. The great thing about STILL LIFE photography is it allows the photographer to manipulate his subject.
Meditate on the following quote while considering your inanimate subject for you submission from one of the greatest photographers of all-time, Diane Arbus:
I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.”
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of STILL LIFE in this place that is little more than my life held still on Monday.
A couple Saturdays back Scottie D. and I and his family hit up one of my favorite restaurants in Ames to try their tenderloin. That restaurant is Time To Roll. It is located in North Grand Mall and the reason I love them so much is they have a knock-off of the Crisp Meat Burrito that Taco Time used to serve before going the way of the dodo. Being a Boonie through and through, I have a very deep, nearly primal love for Taco Time and the Crisp Meat Burrito. I dare say that my favorite time, well it is Taco Time. Time To Roll has pretty much nailed the unadulterated greatness that is the Crisp Meat Burrito.
Perhaps, you never experienced Taco Time? Well if you are from Fort Dodge, imagine Taco Tico, but it doesn’t suck and instead is amazing. Dare I say, imagine it is amazeballs. If you are not from Fort Dodge, imagine whatever your local fast foot taco joint was amazeballs.
Recently, Time to Roll adding a tenderloin to their menu. However, it isn’t just any tenderloin. It is the Suburban Tenderloin. The Suburban was a restaurant in Gilbert, that back in the day served a tasty tenderloin. Or at least I am told, because I never experienced it. The one time that I tried to eat there with my #1 Tenderloin Buddy, Scottie D., it was closed. We ended up at BK’s and the rest is tenderloin history.
However, it certainly left a hole in the tenderloin resume. Which is cool, because now we were given the opportunity to plug that hole. Plug it with fried, greasy goodness.
Here are some cruddy cell phone pictures from this trip:
You’ve seen the pictures now, but how do I break down the experience. Well goes a little some like this… Hit it!
+ Good bun.
+ Toasted bun.
+ Nailed the meat to bun ratio.
+ Good thickness on the cut of meat.
+ White onions.
+ Serve Pepsi products.
+ Standard has lettuce and onions.
+ Generally bland tasting.
+ Breading has too much of a corn meal taste. It has a weird combination of being both very bland tasting and having a very strong taste of corn meal.
My final recommendation is to stick with the Crisp Meat Burrito. It doesn’t disappoint!
I don’t have any current tenderloin eating plans, but I do need to get another stamp on my Tenderloin Trail 2.0 Passport soon.
This is your reminder that although I still haven’t published the submissions for Week 335 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, also known as the BELIEVE photos, this week’s theme this week’s theme is STILL LIFE. At the time of the publication of this post, I will be sitting in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport waiting to board a plane to come back to the Cyclone State. If things break just right, I’ll be publishing the BELIEF images at some point on Saturday.
STILL LIFE? Sounds like a great theme, but what exactly is a STILL LIFE image?
STILL LIFE photography is photography of inanimate subjects. Subjects are frequently commonplace object. Subjects can be either manmade or natural objects (food, plants, rocks, shells). One of the joys of STILL LIFE photography is that you can arrange your inanimate objects any way you want!
Happy photo harvesting!
Here is another collection of pictures of flowers from my Mom’s yard. These were taken on September 16, 2021.
There still are couple, but not many more flower pictures from my Mom’s yard to share.
A few weeks back I cruised down to Urbandale to watch Kyle wrestle. When I got there they told me that Boone was in the “small gym on the right”. So I went to a pretty small gym, but well lit gym on the right. But Boone wasn’t in there. Finally I had to call Andy and found out Boone was in an even smaller super dark gym on the left. It seems I can’t catch a break with lighting these days.
I still took several pictures of Kyle wrestling.
Kyle won this match 5-4 and now has more than 80 career varsity wins.
A couple months back, on my way back from a trip to Manhattan, Kansas to watch Nate graduate from Kansas State, I cruised through Pottawattamie County to harvest the balance of their town signs.
Here are some facts about Pottawattamie County:
+ Population is 93,667 making it the 10th most populous county in Iowa. Below Story County and above Warren County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Council Bluffs.
+ Named after the Potawatomi Native American Tribe.
+ Home of the only town in Iowa that is west of the Missouri River.
+ Major highways are I-29, I-80, I-480, I-680, I-880, US-6, US-59, US-275, IA-83, IA-92, IA-165, IA-191, and IA-192.
+ Adjacent counties are: Harrison, Cass, Mills, and Shelby.
+ Currently at peak population.
The Pottawattamie Courthouse is not much to look at:
The Pottawattamie County Freedom Rock is located in Oakland, Iowa:
With Pottawattamie County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
58 counties completed. 58.6% of the Cyclone State conquered!
Here are the town signs of Pottawattamie County:
Carter Lake, Iowa
WELCOME TO CARTER LAKE IOWA
Population: 3,791 (+6)
Avoca, Iowa
Avoca
Population: 1,683 (+177)
Oakland, Iowa
OAKLAND
1882 1982
Population: 1,524 (+18)
Treynor, Iowa (Note the Cy Rip-off on the Sign)
Welcome to TREYNOR
Population: 1,032 (+113)
Underwood, Iowa
WELCOME TO UNDERWOOD
EST. 1882
Population: 954 (+37)
Neola, Iowa
WELCOME TO NEOLA
EST. 1882
Population: 918 (+76)
Carson, Iowa
EST. 1881
CARSON
Population: 766 (-46)
Walnut, Iowa
WELCOME TO WALNUT
IOWA’S ANTIQUE CITY
EST 1871
Population: 747 (-38)
Crescent, Iowa
Crescent
Est. 1856
Population: 628 (+11)
Minden, Iowa
WELCOME TO MINDEN
EST. 1875
Population: 600 (+1)
Macedonia, Iowa
MACEDONIA
Pop. 325
ORIGINAL PIONEER TRAIL
“Small In Size Large In Heart!”
Population: 267 (+21)
Hancock, Iowa
WELCOME TO HANCOCK
Population: 200 (+4)
McClelland, Iowa
McCLELLAND
1903
Population: 146 (-5)
If you are wondering, Carter Lake is the only town in Iowa that is west of the Missouri River. There is no way to get to it from Iowa without having to drive through Nebraska. Which is a fate I wouldn’t wish on any Iowan. At least by car. I suppose theoretically, you might be able to swim across the Missouri River and never be in Nebraska, but I’m sure halfway through the Missouri River you are probably technically in Nebraska. Oh the humanity!
I’ll get into how Carter Lake ended up in Iowa and the Supreme Court cases that made it so at some point in the future. But Carter Lake does have a special place in my heart as its Methodist Church was the first church that Pastor Andrea was assigned to out of divinity school.
I think this is a pretty solid collection of town signs. The only one I would consider to be flat out bad is Avoca.
I really like Oakland’s acorn sign, but I’m going to have to give Pottawattamie’s purple ribbon to Walnut. And it isn’t only because I have a soft spot in my heart for antiques because of my parents.
There are a few alternate town signs in Pottawattamie County:
Walnut – Alternate
Oakland – Alternate
Oakland – Alternate
Carson – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will end up in Harrison County. A county that at least a couple of people that I know have a special connection with.
