Time to share the final collection of pictures from the road trip I took with Nader after I dropped off my entries at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.
This collection starts where the last collection last off. In a park in Manning.
They changed their sign…
It was a great trip. Filled with great food, cool discoveries, and great memories.
Here is the final collection of images from the birthday road trip I took with Jesse and Nader. On the way back we stopped at The Grotto of the Redemption. Nader had never been to it before, which was no shocker. But this was also Jesse’s first trip there.
But before we made it to The Grotto of the Redemption, we stumbled across an unincorporated town with a town sign that had a town sign I hadn’t harvested:
Maybe not a great town sign, but a solid town sign.
When we pulled up to The Grotto, I wasn’t sure if Nader was going to get out of the car. He was being a grumpypants and was pretty addicted to his phone. But he did finally get out of the car and then after he saw the Grotto he described it as the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life. It is definitely beautiful.
Here are the pictures:
I wonder where I will go for my birthday road trip in 2024?
Today is Jason’s birthday. Happy birthday Jason!
I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!
Time to clean up the backlog. These images are from September that never quite fit into any previous posts. Some are alternates for THE WEEKLYPHOTO CHALLENGE. Another is a photo I took of Ron for last year’s Computer Mine Holiday Card.
Maybe you are wondering about the George A. Wyman sign. Don’t worry, I’ll feed you baby birds. From the Wiki:
Wyman used his 1902 California machine for his crossing of the United States. The California had a 200 cc (12 cu in), 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) four-stroke engine attached to an ordinary diamond-frame bicycle. Wyman’s machine was equipped with 28 x 1.5 in. tires, wooden rims, a leading-link front suspension fork, a Garford spring saddle, a Duck Brake Company front roller brake, and a 1902-patent Atherton rear coaster brake. A leather belt-drive with a spring-loaded idler pulley directly connected the engine output shaft to the rear wheel.Using a standard steel bicycle frame, the California weighed approximately 70–80 pounds (32–36 kg) without rider, and was capable of approximately 25 mph (40 km/h) using the 30-octane gasoline of the day, with a range of 75 to 100 miles (121 to 161 km). Throttle control was not yet perfected, and engine revolutions were mainly controlled by means of a spark timing mechanism. The wick-type carburetor was crude, consisting of a metal box with internal baffles stuffed with cotton batting. With no float chamber, the rider had to open the gasoline tap periodically to admit fuel into the carburetor.
For such a long trip, Wyman carried a remarkably small amount of gear. A set of warm clothing, money, water bottle, cans for spare oil and gasoline, a Kodak Vest Pocket camera, a cyclometer, various bicycle tools and spare parts, and a long-barreled .38 Smith & Wesson revolver constituted his total luggage.
Wyman departed from Lotta’s Fountain at the corner of Market and Kearny streets in San Francisco at 2:30 P.M on May 16, 1903.[4] He had previously agreed to keep a diary of his journey for later publication in The Motorcycle magazine, a periodical of the time. The first part of his trip took him across the Sierra Nevada, through the Nevada desert into Wyoming, then on through Nebraska to Illinois.
As the dirt trails and wagon tracks of the day were often impassable, Wyman rode the railroad tracks for over half of his journey. During the first part of his trip, he frequently slept in railroad company housing or at rooming houses located in division settlements (small municipalities founded by the railroad). His motorbike suffered several breakdowns along the way, requiring him to make improvised repairs until he could get to a larger town to obtain new parts. As he neared Aurora, Illinois, his engine’s crankshaft snapped, and after pedaling his way to Chicago, Wyman was forced to wait there five days for a new crank to arrive by railway express.
After leaving Illinois, Wyman traversed the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania before entering New York state. Outside of Albany his engine lost all power, and he was required to pedal his heavy motorbike the remaining 150 miles (240 km) to New York City using a cycle path reserved for licensed cyclists.
On July 6, 1903, Wyman arrived in New York City, completing his transcontinental crossing and becoming the first person to cross the North American continent aboard a motor vehicle. His journey took a total of 51 days to cover some 3,800 miles (6,100 km). Afterwards, Wyman’s motorbike was placed on display at the New York Motorcycle Club while Wyman recovered from his grueling journey. While in New York, Wyman was present for the inauguration of the very first nationwide motorcycle organization, the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM)[14] at the Kings County Wheelmens’ Club in Brooklyn; it was reported at the time that his hands were still in bandages from the trip. Wyman later returned to San Francisco by train. His California motorbike was put on display in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park for a special exhibition commemorating the trip.
This is actually something Jesse and I have talked about doing as well. Not on a motorcycle, but driving across the country. We’ve never done anything about it, but maybe will someday.
Here is more information on the route he took:
It is hard to read, but the towns we care about in the Cyclone State are:
Council Bluffs
Woodbine
Denison
Ogden
Boone
Ames
Marhalltown
Tama Reservation
Cedar Rapids
Clinton
He stayed the night in Ogden. I hope he ate at Zeno’s when he was in Marshalltown!*
*That is a joke, don’t email me telling me that Zeno’s didn’t exist back then, because I will only reply back that Zeno’s has always will always exist.
It has been 6,052 days since August 9, 2006. 16 years. 6 months. 24 days. Since I first posted something in this little experiment known as “An Artist’s Notebook”. 145,2485 hours. 8,714,800 minutes. 522,892,800 seconds. Which is to say, it has been a minute.
There are some very important people in my life that I didn’t even know 16 years, 6 months, 24 days ago. There are people that I thought were important in my life that have come and gone in that 864 weeks and 4 days. It has been a journey. Some good. Some bad. Some of it ugly, I’m sure.
6,052 days ago I started this journal with the following words:
So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.
Since those words, I have posted 4,756 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.
4,757 posts. We’ve been through some stuff. I hope to keep going through some stuff for many, many, many more posts. 4,757 posts and I feel like I’m just getting warmed up.
On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.
Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:
THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #4500 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Macro – 495 (NR)
9. Teresa – 525 (#9 – +70)
8. Carla – 530 (#8 – +54)
7. Shannon – 539 (#6 – +39)
6. Road Trip – 569 (#7 – +92)
5. Art – 622 (#5 – +116)
4. Jesse – 630 (#4 – +51)
3. Animals – 735 (#3 – +37)
2. Flowers – 881 (#2 – +62)
1. Black and White – 992 (#1 – +74)
Dropped from the rankings was WPC – Submissions
THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 389 (NR)
9. Nature – 437 (#9 – +41)
8. Formal Portrait – 447 (#10 – +66)
7. WPC – Submissions – 493 (#6 – +38)
6. Macro – 495 (#7 – +54)
5. Road Trip – 569 (#5 – +92)
4. Art – 622 (#4 – +116)
3. Animals – 735 (#3 – +37)
2. Flowers – 881 (#2 – +62)
1. Black & White – 992 (#1 – +74)
Dropped from the rankings is PORTRAIT. I’m trying to eliminate it as a category, so it should eventually drop to zero.
NAIMA and CANDID PORTRAIT have a shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post #5,000.
THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Willy – 318 (NR)
9. Logan – 329 (NR)
8. Derrick – 330 (#7 – +10)
7. Kim – 342 (#8 – +45)
6. Jay – 348 (#6 – +11)
5. Mom – 458 – (#5 – +5)
4. Teresa – 525 (#4 – +70)
3. Carla – 530 (#3 – +54)
2. Shannon – 539 (#2 – +39)
1. Jesse – 630 (#1 – +51)
Dropping from the rankings was Jen and Vest.
Micky, Vest, and Jen have the best shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post #5,000.
If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.
I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.
If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 200 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #200 probably needs to be purged.
THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100
#100. Kelly – 71 (NR)
#99. Commercial – 72 (#97 – +1)
#98. Self-Portrait Project – 73 (NR)
#97. Andree – 75 (#94 – 0)
#96. Flat Earth Joe – 75 (NR)
#95. Lowell – 79 (#93 – +2)
#94. Photo Journal – 79 (#92 – 0)
#93. Suzie – 80 (NR)
#92. Pastor Sarah – 86 (#95 – +12)
#91. Becca – 87 (NR)
The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Jaycees, Vacation, Mark, Life, and Birthdays.
Now something I should explain is that I used to put Flat Earth Joe and Joe Duff under the same Category of simply “Joe” out of laziness, but in the last 250 posts, I split them.
Of these categories, I think Pastor Sarah and Suzie have the best chance to climb out of this list. Since I’m not doing the Self-Portrait Project his year, it could fall out of the Top 100. And I’m not sure what part of my life Flat Earth Joe will have in the future. He has taken a hard turn down the path of terrible decision making and has been in jail for over a month now. I hope he gets sorted at some point in the future. But quite frankly, I can’t make a prediction on his future. I can barely make a prediction on my future. So it is hard to say what will happen to that category. As for the category of Andree, I talk to Andree regularly, but he rarely makes an appearance on this website.
The categories that are closest to falling into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 are Faust, Birthdays, and Joe Duff. But I think at least Birthdays and Joe Duff are pretty safe. I talk to Faust now and again, but he rarely makes an appearance on the website. I still someday need to go visit the Godzilla statue in his town. But I also need to visit Nate and Bethany and Becca and Bill and Sarah and well it is quite a list. When I think about it, I have to sit down on the couch and watch another episode of THE LAST OF US.
That categories that are closest to cracking into the Top 100 are Mark, Layla, and Vacation. But since Mark isn’t really part of my life anymore, I don’t see that busting through. I also can’t see a vacation on my horizon any time soon. But I like Layla’s odds. A lot of spunk in that one.
“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:
9. Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020 – 47,269 Views
8. Jayton Poole – 2022 – 47,464 Views
7. 9 Emotions Project – 51,763 Views
6. Miami Beach – 2022 – 53,087
5. Christopher D. Bennett – 112,907 Views
4. Selfie Project -2022 – 162,595 Views
3. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 184,949 Views
2. Town Sign Project – 201,352 Views
1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 223,723 Views
At post 4,500 these were the 10 Most Popular Galleries:
10. Iowa
9. 9 Emotions Project
8. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 8
7. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9
6. Selfie Project – 2022
5. Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020
4. Christopher D. Bennett
3. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images
2. Selfie Project – 2021
1. Town Sign Project
The galleries that are right outside the Top 10 that have a shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post 5,000 are:
+ Drone
+ Daisies
+ FatMumSlim 2022
But considering I’m done with the FatMumSlim project, I don’t know that its gallery will maintain any popularity. I only know one person that definitely loves my daisy pictures, but I don’t think they poke around my website much these days. However, perhaps the Era of Rodan139 is nearly upon us. I could live with that.
But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.
9. Badger, Iowa – 1,967 views
8. Selfie with Mom – 1,993 views
7. Coon Rapids, Iowa – 2,146 views
6. Moingona, Iowa – 2,190 views
5. Prego Alexis – 2,415
4. Saydie and Kyle – 3,231 views
3. Baby Got Rack at Boone County Fair – 4,423 views
2. Miami – 6,039 views
1. Selfie at Bellevue – 6,864 views
That selfie at Bellevue was the most popular picture on my website at Post 4,500 as well.
The final statistic I want to share with everybody before riding off into the sunset and not boring you with these statistics for another 250 posts is the 5 people with the highest Photography Subscriber Loyalty Scores.
1. Kio Dettman – 100%
2. Aaron Barnett – 99.7%
2. Angie DeWaard – 99.7%
2. Mary Green – 99.7%
5. Joe Duff – 99.5%
There are a lot of people in the 90% range that could break into this list next time. Jeanette, Jesse, Sarah, Logan, Tamara, Frank, Michelle, and Andy.
To be honest, I don’t know how this number is figured. I believe it is the percentage of emails from the subscriber list that you open within the first 24 hours of getting an email from me, but I really don’t know if we are being honest. But thanks for doing what it is you are doing!
If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:
I think that is enough for now. We’ll check in again in another 243 posts.
Today is Lowell’s birthday… so… happy birthday Lowell!
Ironic that this picture was taken on my birthday? Either way, I hope your birthday has adequate amounts of happiness!
I count this trip a bit as auxiliary images for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. In fact I went camping with Carla and Jason at the Marble Beach State Recreation Area. While I was there I harvested one town sign. It was a town sign that I had harvested before, but I wanted to get a picture of it at night. So I revisited the town sign of Terril, Iowa.
The swinging bridge is located in Estherville. Made a special trip just to walk across it. It is hard to put into words how incredibly dark it was on that bridge on that night. The pictures make it look much brighter than it actually was. In fact, crossing a swinging bridge, suspended over a swift Des Moines River, in pitch black conditions was a bit of a rush.
I still have more pictures from this camping trip to share.
I learned something over the weekend. The architect that build the courthouse in Delaware County, the courthouse I proclaimed to be the most beautiful courthouse in Iowa, was the same architect that built the Boone First United Methodist Church. No wonder I love it!
Pastor Dave dropped that knowledge bomb on me.
But now I’m going to rank the 10 ugliest courthouse in Iowa.
#9. Floyd County Courthouse in Charles City
#8. Emmet County Courthouse located in Estherville
#7. Butler County Courthouse located in Allison
#6. Clarke County Courthouse located in Osceola
#5. Guthrie County Courthouse in Guthrie Center
#4. Cerro Gordo County Courthouse located in Mason City
#3. Cedar County Courthouse located in Tipton
#2. Pottawattamie County Courthouse located in Council Bluffs
#1. Story County Courthouse located in Nevada
If you would like to peruse all 100 Iowa courthouses, click on the link below:
If you are wondering if I’m going to rank the Freedom Rocks next week, the answer is that I am not. I would really struggle on that one. For reasons I best not disclose.
I don’t know what will be here next Tuesday. An update on the book? Possible. Very possible that next Tuesday this post will just be one word. “None.”
I stated last week that I would give some details about the book this week. Truth is I don’t have a lot of details worked out. In fact, I have virtually no details worked out.
For example I don’t know:
+ The dimensions of the book.
+ How much information will accompany the sign pictures.
+ What information will accompany the sign pictures.
+ I know virtually nothing about self-publishing, but I have a resource.
+ Will there be a forward?
+ Who would write it?
+ The name of the book.
+ I don’t know what I don’t know.
So here is what I do know. This will probably be the part that disappoints many people and drop my pre-orders from 12 to zero. I am going to pick out the 100 (number not set in stone). It is not going to include every town. It isn’t going to include every town sign. If you were to go to the THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT album by clicking on the link below:
You would see that there currently are 1390 town sign pictures in there. 1390 pictures are not going into the book. For a wide variety of reasons.
In a way, the inspiration is “Twentysix Gasoline Stations” by Ed Ruscha. Which probably isn’t a great photo book judged against modern standards, but was heavily influential. It is simply a book of twenty-six pictures of gas station Ed Ruscha photographed between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.
If you ever see a copy of it in the wild for the cheap, pick it up. I’ve seen it for sale online for anywhere between $1,250 to $36,000 depending on the edition of the book. There are only 3 editions of the book and there are less than 4,000 total.
Don’t be tricked into buying “Twenty-Six Abandoned Gasoline Stations”. Different book. Different photographer.
But that is neither here, nor there. The point is I’m not sure what the book will be, outside of it being only 100 towns signs or so.
As one of the cappers to THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, I wanted to rank the 10 best courthouse in Iowa, by looks. There are 100 courthouses in 99 Iowa counties.
#9. Johnson County Courthouse in Iowa City
#8. Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak
#7. Mahaska County Courthouse in Oskaloosa
#6. Dubuque County Courthouse in Dubuque
#5. Benton County Courthouse in Vinton
#4. Davis County Courthouse in Bloomfield
#3. Hardin County Courthouse in Eldora
#2. Taylor County Courthouse in Bedford
#1. Delaware County Courthouse in Manchester
Next week, I’m going to rank the 10 worst courthouses in Iowa.
A few months back I travelled around Davis County with Teresa harvesting the town signs of Davis County. Davis County was the last county in THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. It was left for last for a reason. It was left because of some family history in Davis County. The ghost town of Paris is in Davis County. Paris was formed when Jackson Paris donated land for the Rock Island to build a railroad depot there. Why does that matter? Cause Jackson B. Paris was the father of Lewis Marion Paris. Lewis Marion Paris is the father of Matin Henry Paris. Martin Henry Paris is the father of Lyle Ronald Paris. Lyle Ronald Paris was my Mom’s dad. There really isn’t much left in Paris, except some ruins and a cemetery where a bunch of Parises are buried. I wanted this to be the last town of what is principal photography on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT for symbolic reasons.
Here are some facts about Davis County:
+ Population is 9,138 making it the 81st most populous county in Iowa. Below Emmet County and above Palo Alto County.
+ Largest town and county seat is Bloomfield.
+ Named after Garrett Davis, a politician from Kentucky.
+ Major highways are US-63, IA-2, and IA-202.
+ Adjacent counties are Wapello, Monroe, Van Buren, Jefferson, and Appanoose.
+ Population peaked in 1880 at 16,468.
Davis County has a gorgeous courthouse:
The Davis County Freedom Rock is located in Drakesville, Iowa:
With Davis County conquered, here is the updated and final Photography 139 Conquest Map:
99 counties completed. 100% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Davis County:
Pulaski, Iowa
WELCOME TO PULASKI PARK
Population: 264 (+4)
Drakesville, Iowa
DRAKESVILLE
Population: 164 (-20)
Floris, Iowa
Floris Veterans Memorial Park
Population: 116 (-22)
Paris, Iowa – Ghost Town
PARIS CEMETERY
FIRST BURIAL
L.B. PARIS
APRIL 20, 1854
You may be wondering what will happen now that principal photography for this project is done. The answer is the next thing I will do is start working on the book. I’m not sure when it will be finished or ready to be published, but it should be sometime next year. The book won’t probably be what you imagine, but I will get into that more in a future post. There still might be a few more Tuesday posts dedicated to THE TOWN SIGN project in our future.
Davis County isn’t loaded up with great town signs. It is a county that only has 4 incorporated towns. They are kinda terrible, but Floris’ town sign isn’t really a town sign, so it is the worst.
But who gets the purple ribbon. I guess I have to give it to Pulaski, even though it is really more of a sign for a park than a town, but at least it is in one piece.
I should point out that there are lots of ghost towns out there that only have a cemetery to mark they ever existed. I don’t stop and photograph these cemetery signs. I only photographed the Paris sign because of the family connection and the fact that it was the symbolic last town.
There were a couple of alternate town signs in Davis County:
Bloomfield – Alternate
Here is the final list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Allamakee County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buchanan County
Best in Show – Buena Vista 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 – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Chickasaw County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clayton County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Davis County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Delaware County
Best in Show – Des Moines County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dubuque County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Fayette County
Best in Show – Floyd 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 – Henry County
Best in Show – Howard County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jefferson County
Best in Show – Johnson County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Lee County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Louisa County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon 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 – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Muscatine County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth 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 – Scott County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Van Buren County
Best in Show – Wapello County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Washington County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Winneshiek County
Best in Show – Woodbury County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
There is no county next week. The road trip is over. The car is in the garage. It was a crazy ride.
A couple months back I went to Scott County to harvest their town signs. It was one of the counties I most dreaded doing because of the large cities that just kind of flow into each other. These kind of towns are usually hard to find a town sign, but it was still a good trip.
Here are some facts about Scott County:
+ Population is 174,170 making it the third most populous county in Iowa. Behind Linn County and above Johnson County.
+ Largest town and county seat is Davenport.
+ Named after General Winfield Scott.
+ Home of St. Ambrose University.
+ Birthplace and girlhood home of Elizabeth Nordeen.
+ Birthplace of Buffalo Bill.
+ Home of Antique Archaeology featured on the television show “American Pickers”.
+ Major Highways are: I-74, I-80, I-280, US-6, US-61, US-67, IA-22, and IA-130.
+ Adjacent counties are: Clinton, Muscatine, and Cedar.
+ Currently at peak population.
Scott County has an okay looking courthouse for being contemporary:
The Scott County Freedom Rock is located in LeClaire, Iowa:
With Scott County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
98 counties completed. 99% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Scott County:
Bettendorf, Iowa
Bettendorf IOWA
a premier city
Population: 39,102 (+5,885)
Eldridge, Iowa
Hometown With A Vision
ELDRIDGE
Welcomes You
Population: 6,726 (+1,075)
LeClaire, Iowa
Welcome to Historic LeClaire
Population: 4,710 (+945)
Park View, Iowa – Unincorporated
Park View Welcomes You!
Durant, Iowa – Also in Cedar County and Muscatine County
welcome to DURANT
Population: 1,871 (+39)
Blue Grass, Iowa – partially in Muscatine County
Welcome to Blue Grass, Iowa
A Great Place to Call Home Since 1853
Population: 1,666 (+37)
Walcott, Iowa – partially in Muscatine County
WECLOME TO WALCOTT
FOUNDED 1854
Population: 1,551 (-78)
Buffalo, Iowa
BUFFALO
Population: 1,176 (-94)
Princeton, Iowa
PRINCETON
ON THE MISSISSIPPI
Population: 923 (+37)
Long Grove, Iowa
Welcome to LONG GROVE
…a place to call home…
Since 1838
Population: 838 (+30)
Riverdale, Iowa
Riverdale
Population: 379 (-26)
Donahue, Iowa
THE CITY OF DONAHUE
WELCOMES YOU
EST. 1871
Population: 335 (-11)
McCausland, Iowa
McCausland, IA.
WECLOME TO McCAUSLAND
Population: 313 (+22)
Dixon, Iowa
ESTABLISHED 1854
THE CITY OF DIXON
Welcomes You!
Population: 202 (-89)
Maysville, Iowa
EST 1856
MAYSVILLE
Welcomes You
Population: 156 (-20)
Panorama Park, Iowa
CITY OF PANORAMA PARK
Population: 139 (+10)
New Liberty, Iowa
Welcome to New Liberty
Est. 1886
A Place to Grow
East Davenport, Iowa – Unincorporated
Village of East Davenport
1851
The worst town sign of Scott County is pretty obvious. It is clearly Riverdale. They didn’t even have a sign, I had to use the DOT sign. Although, I’m not sure that Riverdale is a real town. It seems like just a place that was zone for factories that became a “town” so the factories could do whatever they want.
But who gets the purple ribbon? Who gets Best of Show for Scott County. There are several signs I like. Long Grove, Maysville, McCausland, East Davenport, and Blue Grass. But my favorite is LeClaire!
There are several alternate town signs in Scott County:
McCausland – Alternate
Long Grove – Alternate
LeClaire – Alternate
LeClaire – Alternate
LeClaire – Alternate
Eldridge – Alternate
Bettendorf – Alternate
Bettendorf – Alternate
Blue Grass – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Allamakee County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buchanan County
Best in Show – Buena Vista 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 – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Chickasaw County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clayton County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Delaware County
Best in Show – Des Moines County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dubuque County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Fayette County
Best in Show – Floyd 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 – Henry County
Best in Show – Howard County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jefferson County
Best in Show – Johnson County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Lee County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Louisa County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon 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 – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Muscatine County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth 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 – Scott County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Van Buren County
Best in Show – Wapello County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Washington County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Winneshiek County
Best in Show – Woodbury 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 hit the open roads of Davis County.
Dubuque County is a large county. It has almost the most, maybe the most incorporated towns in Iowa. It is an absolutely beautiful county. Also, of all the “cities” in Iowa, Dubuque is my favorite. It is a river city, but not filthy like most river cities. Plus it has interesting things to do and the natural beauty and the community art is hard to beat.
Here are some facts about Dubuque County:
+ Population is 98,718. Making it the 9th most populous county in Iowa. Below Story County and above Pottawattamie County.
+ Largest town and county seat is Dubuque.
+ Established in 1834 as part of the Michigan Territory. Then became part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Then part of the Iowa Territory in 1838.
+ The city of Dubuque was chartered in 1833. It was the first city in Dubuque.
+ Named for French trader Julien Dubuque, the first European settler of Iowa.
+ Home of Mines of Spain State Park, one of the prettiest stater parks in Iowa.
+ Home of the Fenelon Place Elevator.
+ Home of the Field of Dreams.
+ Home of University of Dubuque, Clarke University, Loras College, Emmaus Bible College and Divine Word College.
+ Major highways are: US-20, US-151, US-52, US-61, IA-3, IA-32, and IA-136.
+ Adjacent counties are: Clayton, Jackson, Jones, and Delaware.
+ Currently at peak population.
Dubuque County has a beautiful courthouse:
The Dubuque County Freedom Rock is located in Epworth, Iowa:
With Dubuque County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
97 counties completed. 98% of the Cyclone State conquered!
Here are the town signs of Dubuque County:
Asbury, Iowa
CITY OF Asbury
Welcomes You!
Population: 5,943 (+1,773)
Dyersville, Iowa – Partially in Delaware County
Welcome to Dyersville
Population: 4,477 (+419)
Epworth, Iowa
Welcome To EPWORTH
Population: 2,023 (+163)
Peosta, Iowa
Welcome to
Peosta
CROSSROADS TO THE FUTURE
Population: 1,908 (+531)
Farley, Iowa
FARLEY
welcomes you
Heart of the Cornbelt
Population: 1,766 (+229)
New Vienna, Iowa
WELCOME TO NEW VIENNA
THE eNVy OF IOWA
Population: 382 (-25)
Worthington, Iowa
WELCOME TO WORTHINGTON
Population: 382 (-19)
Holy Cross, Iowa
Welcome to Holy Cross
Population: 356 (-18)
Luxemburg, Iowa
Welcome To LUXEMBURG
Where Highways Meet
Population: 245 (+5)
Rickardsville, Iowa
Rickardsville
Welcomes You
Population: 202 (+20)
Sherrill, Iowa
Welcome To SHERRILL
Iowa’s Beautiful Hill Top Community
Population: 189 (+12)
Centralia, Iowa
CENTRALIA
Population: 116 (-18)
Bernard, Iowa
WELCOME To BERNARD
Est. 1880
Population: 114 (+2)
Sageville, Iowa
SAGEVILLE
Population: 95 (-27)
Zwingle, Iowa – Partially in Jackson County
WELCOME To ZWINGLE
Settled 1846
Population: 84 (-7)
Balltown, Iowa
Welcome To Balltown
Population: 79 (+11)
Graf, Iowa
WELCOME TO GRAF
Population: 76 (-3)
Bankston, Iowa
BANKSTON PARK RD
Population: 23 (-2)
Durango, Iowa
DURANGO
Population: 20 (-2)
Dubuque has a very solid collection of town signs. The only ones I think are bad are the ones that aren’t real town signs. Like Centralia and Bankston and Sageville. But the worst is clearly Bankston. Best I could find is a street sign that had the town name in it.
The best of show is a little harder. I really like the town signs of Worthington and Sherrill and Farley and Durango and Holy Cross and Luxemburg and even Dubuque. I also love the sign for New Vienna, but I have to give the purple ribbon to Rickardsville!
There were a couple of alternate town signs in Dubuque County:
Farley – Alternate
New Vienna – Alternate
New Vienna – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Allamakee County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buchanan County
Best in Show – Buena Vista 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 – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Chickasaw County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clayton County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Delaware County
Best in Show – Des Moines County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dubuque County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Fayette County
Best in Show – Floyd 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 – Henry County
Best in Show – Howard County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jefferson County
Best in Show – Johnson County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Lee County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Louisa County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon 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 – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Muscatine County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth 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 – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Van Buren County
Best in Show – Wapello County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Washington County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Winneshiek County
Best in Show – Woodbury 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 hit the open roads of Scott County.
