Back in April I made a road trip with the Gorshes to Indiana to see the solar eclipse. It was a 3 day trip with many great memories. But on Day 1 I didn’t take many pictures. Just a few at a rest area and 1 in Indiana.
Here are those pictures:
More pictures from this trip to come!
Time for more of my road trip to Dubuque County. After I left Mines of Spain I made a quick trip across the Mississippi to Wisconsin. I only took a couple of pictures there before heading back to the Cyclone State and mostly taking pictures of churches.
Here is the next collection:
Still one more collection of images from this trip left to share!
The day after RAGBRAI was in Winterset I followed it for part of the day. I started in Saint Charles and ended in Milo. But I did my eating (most of it) in Indianola.
Here are some pictures from this food adventure:
Winn’s Pizza’s food truck tenderloin.
This same restaurant won the Best New Food at the Iowa State Fair.
But definitely not for their tenderloin.
Thanks to the Indianola Nice lady that took my picture.
I’m told this is a Jimmy Buffett lyric.
I’ll also got a root beer float from the Lions in Milo.
The tenderloin wasn’t great. Definitely a disappointment. I wouldn’t get it again. However the pie was top notch as was the root beer float. It is hard to find a gooseberry pie, so anytime I find one, I have to cash in.
Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve the Downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market.
Today is Johnathan’s birthday, so I have to wish him a happy birthday.
I hope your birthday is filled with good food!
Can you believe I haven’t shared a collection of images from THE BOONE ART CENTER PROJECT since April! It has been too long. If you have forgotten, THE BOONE ART CENTER PROJECT is me photographing “found art” in or near the confines of Boone. So without further adieu, I present Gallery Seven from THE BOONE ART CENTER PROJECT:
Most of Gallery Seven was taken at McHose Park.
Day 3 of the Liberty Bowl Road Trip was the day of the actual Liberty Bowl. A game that didn’t go very well. I didn’t take very many pictures as most of the day was spent at the game. Afterwards, was in no mood to take pictures. Before the game we went to Gibson’s Donuts. A recommendation from Adam and one that definitely hit the mark. Then we met up with Jon and his friend at Railgarten for a We Will pregame brunch.
Gibson’s was amazing and Railgarten was one of the coolest bars I’ve graced with my presence. It just had a really cool setup.
The next day we loaded up and went back home. That was pretty close to a straight trip home. I only took a few pictures on the trip. So this collection will wrap up the collection of images from the Liberty Bowl Road Trip:
Now I’m through this trip, I can start on pictures from the Eclipse Road Trip!
The finalists for this year Best Tenderloin were announced yesterday. Here is the press release from the Iowa Pork Producers Association:
The annual competition for the title of Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin has been whittled down from 40 restaurants to just five finalists across the state, showcasing the best of Iowa’s beloved, hand-breaded delicacy!
The top five restaurants still in the running for the coveted title this year, listed alphabetically, are:
Bronson Bar – Bronson
Dairy Sweet – Dunlap
Ruby’s Pub and Grill – Stuart
The Blind Pig – Monticello
The Market at the Tap – Monticello
“There were 532 restaurants nominated for our 22nd annual contest, which goes to show that Iowans love their breaded pork tenderloins,” said Kelsey Sutter, marketing and programs director for IPPA. “Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand that Iowa has no shortage of these hand-breaded favorites.”To win the “Iowa’s Best Breaded Tenderloin” title, a restaurant must offer the sandwich on their menu year-round. Seasonal eateries, caterers, concession stands, and food trucks are not eligible. While the style of tenderloin can vary, the pork must be hand-breaded or battered to qualify!
This summer, judging commenced for the top 40 restaurants, selected from public nominations. The list featured the five restaurants with the most nominations in each of IPPA’s eight districts, ensuring statewide representation.
IPPA members and industry affiliates visited these locations anonymously, evaluating the tenderloins on pork taste, quality, physical characteristics, and presentation. After reviewing all 40 evaluations, IPPA’s Restaurant and Foodservice Committee chose five finalists to move on to the next round. A panel of three judges was then appointed to visit each finalist and determine the first and second place winners.
The winning restaurant and runner-up will be announced later in October, during a month-long celebration of pork called Porktober, or national pork month. The runner-up will receive $250 and a plaque from IPPA, while the winning restaurant will receive $500, a plaque, a banner, and statewide publicity—which has been known to send pork tenderloin sales hog wild!
Winners from the past five years:
2023 – Cliff’s Place, Manning
2022 — Lid’s Bar & Grill, Waukon
2021 — Victoria Station, Harlan (closed)
2020 — PrairieMoon On Main, Prairieburg
2019 — The Pub at the Pinicon, New Hampton
I haven’t eaten at any of the finalists yet. In fact, I still need to eat at Cliff’s Place and Lid’s Bar & Grill. Pretty sure I’m going to knock off Cliff’s on October 12. Iowa State is on the road and doesn’t play until 7 PM. Plenty of time to get there and back. Interested parties should let me know.
Back in March I made a road trip out to Dubuque to do hike around Mines of Spain and then do the Way of the Cross at Saint Donatus. Here are some pictures I took on the road trip:
Much more to share from this road trip!
Back in March I took a little stroll around Woodward doing some street photography. I ended up meeting a guy that turned his old hardware store into a museum. The museum has since been closed, but he gave me a tour of it. It was a cool little adventure.
Here are some pictures of the day:
You never know what kind of fascinating people you will meet when you are out in the world!
A reminder that this weekend is Pufferbilly Days and with that comes the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Here is a map of where to find all the entries:
Here is the flyer on how to vote for the People’s Choice Award:
Or you can click on this link:
To see all the submissions, click on this link:
Big thanks to Monica for designing the flyers!
There were 162 entries this year! And this contest couldn’t have happened without so many wonder volunteers, but I’ll get into all that stuff in a future post.
As you know, I am a big fan of graffiti. And back in April I went under a bridge in Brookside Park in Ames and photographed some of the graffiti there. Here it is:
I believe this to be a Chinese website that sells fish. Maybe.
A reminder that this weekend is Pufferbilly Days and with that comes the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Here is a map of where to find all the entries:
Here is the flyer on how to vote for the People’s Choice Award:
Or you can click on this link:
To see all the submissions, click on this link:
Big thanks to Monica for designing the flyers!
There were 162 entries this year! And this contest couldn’t have happened without so many wonder volunteers, but I’ll get into all that stuff in a future post.
Now I proudly present the rest of the pictures from Jesse and I’s trip to Sun Records:
Still one more collection of images from Day 2 of the Memphis Trip left to share!
Back in March, when I went to a sketchy mall to get my TSA Pre-Check, I stopped in the Highland Park neighborhood in Des Moines to do a small bit of street photography.
Check it out:
A pretty cool little neighborhood!
