Grand Rapids: Blues on the Mall

A Grand Rapids tradition, going back as far as I can remember into the high-school era, was WLAV-FM’s Blues on the Mall concert series. Every Wednesday night they’d sponsor a free concert in the downtown outdoor ampitheatre and it would be this most amazing mix of people: bikers, yuppies, punks, preps, frat boys, emo kids, hippies, hackeysackers, D&Ders, and even some families. Good news — West Michigan represented in true-style at last night’s Blues on the Mall, with a new addition: the hip-hop kids. Mike Zito was the performer on stage with the musical accompaniment of the roars of the motorcycles echoing against the buildings downtown.  The hip-hop kids had taken up space on the other side of the ampitheatre, rolled out some linoleum, unveiled their spin-tables and got to dancing.

I had an awesome night – learning all about the new (and old) angles of my hometown with Jesse, Mark and Tory.  And we ate BBQ and hot dogs, of course.  Mad props G-Rap!

Sunday, June 8th: To Michigan!

Although plans were laid to head to an Illinois State Park, I was thwarted – again – by the storms ravaging the Midwest. So – I packed up everything from the guest room in Iowa City and headed towards Michigan.  I have traveled Coast-to-Coast and, by far, the worst roads I have encountered were in the stretch between Chicago and my parents’ house.  It was a gorgeous day to drive — sunroof open, windows down, Dixie Chicks up.  It had rained the last few days so everything was green and gorgeous.  I got to my parents’ home just in time for dinner.  The plan is to stay here for a few days to do some packing, fix the car (never fear, nothing terrible), consolidate/find boxes hidden all over the house, dog sit, and things of the like.  The next few days you will be graced with some stories of Rachael-in-West-Michigan….before the next leg of the trip.

Saturday, June 7th: Iowa City

Allison, Nate and I headed for brunch at one of the most famous joints in Iowa City: Hamburg Inn #2. For West Wing and political fans everywhere, the Hamburg Inn is home to the coffee bean caucus in Iowa…and a definite stopping place for all political candidates when in Iowa. They serve what they call a “pie shake” – make a milkshake, drop in a piece of pie, blend, serve. Delicious! The antiquing/junk scene was our next adventure finding many things to entertain us for hours. A swing by the new house Allison and Nate will be moving to this fall, then led us on a walk through the downtown arts festival that was filling the streets. There have been terrible storms in the Midwest lately and our path led us to the river to see the flooding. There were folks building sandbags in preparation for this weekends oncoming storms. Then back to the apartment for nap-time – a non-negotiable point when spending time with Allison. That night we hit the streets of Iowa City again, this time to hone my parlor game skills. Thankfully Nate is a great foosball teacher, and I only panicked every fourth play.

Friday, June 6th: Highway 6

I trekked west along Highway 6 from Des Moines to Iowa City.  There were parts of the highway that were closed due to flooding (the flooding will continue to get worse) but it took me through gorgeous farmlands, the Amana Colonies, and some beautiful Iowa scenes. I *miraculously* found Allison and Nate’s place again in Iowa City.  After hanging around the apartment for a while, we had a great night on the town – they had to prove to me that Iowa City has more than PBR available to drink.  We went to a brewhouse, a bar with a great selection of taps — and then to a hole-in-the-wall bar to play/watch foosball with folks in Nate’s cohort, wander through a bluegrass concert, check out the local drag show, and then caught up with some of Allison’s former campaign friends at a sports bar.  All within the same block!  Hello Iowa City!

Thursday, June 5th: Living History Farms

An ominous day in Iowa, I spent the day wandering around Katie’s world – the Living History Farms. It is an re-enactment historical outdoor museum, for lack of a better description. I started my tour “in town” wandering in and out of shops, the printing shop, the doctor’s office, the lawyer’s office, the drug store, broom maker, blacksmith, etc. all set in 1875. From there I walked through “300 years of history” in farmlands – a 1700s farm, a farm from the 1850s (where Katie works), and a farm from the 1900s. The interpreters were awesome (especially since I met many of them at El Bait Shop the previous night) and really quite knowledgable. Needless to say, I learned quite a bit. After spending hours wandering around, I headed back to the house to enjoy the overcast afternoon. Katie and I went and picked up dinner, reminisced about people we know, left some absurd phone messages, and then scurried amongst sheets of rain to the basement of the 1900s farm when the tornado sirens went off. I would expect nothing less for my last night in Des Moines.

Wednesday, June 4th: Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota and named after a series of falls in the middle of town.  The falls were previously harnessed to develop local industry that revolved around the rapid moving water from Big Sioux River (hydroelectric power, artisans, mill). The industry has since moved from the falls, but I enjoyed following the trails around the falls and learning about the community.

From there I began my southeast trek to Des Moines and found Katie in a parking lot outside her office.  Good thing she met me there because I never would have found her house otherwise.   She lives on the property of the Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa – just outside of Des Moines.  The house is a bright, open and airy  farmhouse with a beautiful front porch with a view of farmland.  After watching tornado and thunderstorm warnings we headed into El Bait Shop in Des Moines for some dinner and drinks with Katie’s colleagues. El Bait Shop is a beer-haven in Des Moines with tons of taps and bottled beers – a definite RFD/Brickskellar feeling to Des Moines.  We came back to the house and watched the thunderstorm for a few hours before calling it a night.

Tuesday, June 3: Lots of South Dakota (and the rest of Wyoming)

Definitely a day of natural wonder (and mankind’s manipulation of nature).  Morning started with a drive by Devil’s Tower (literally rising from the middle of nowhere), then to see a few things I’ve seen before.  Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands.  I had a very different memory of what these looked like than what I saw yesterday. Crazy Horse is on its way to be the largest monument in the world (larger than the Pyramids and taller than the Washington Monument).  It is run by a nonprofit organization following the vision of the original sculptor – a very neat combination. Mount Rushmore was never finished (I didn’t know that) and was originally designed with a vault to hold precious American documents. A swing through Rapid City to see the bronze presidential statues “walking down the streets” was a great stopping point.  And the Badlands were breathtaking, and confusing. I was driving through prairies, lots of them, and then *bam* there are canyons and cliffs and Badlands.  I sat for a while at watched the prairie dogs — they are confusing creatures as well, they dance and shriek. Maybe I am part prairie dog?

Then the long drive across South Dakota to Sioux Falls….I’m on my way to go see what the falls actually look like today.

Monday, June 2: Stopped

This morning started out as a beautiful day to drive through Wyoming en route to South Dakota. I took a path that led through the Bighorn National Forest – I drove through a cloud and then found a secluded place to watch a creek and eat lunch.  I was at a steady clip towards Mt. Rushmore until a severe thunderstorm, hail and finally a tornado foiled my plans. Tomorrow morning I start out from Gillette, Wyoming.

Cody Nite Rodeo

It was opening night of the Cody Nite Rodeo. I set up the tent, grabbed some barbeque and took off for the rodeo. I had a blast — if I wasn’t so scared of horses and lived in the West, I’d consider working at a rodeo. Or at least hanging out there….all the time. I met a miniature horse (not a pony) and a few bulls before the show started.  The show kicked off with a miniature cowboy on a stuffed pony….he rode that thing until it threw him off, got up, and kept going! There were rodeo clowns, a funny-man (not really funny, but had some great one-liners), cowboys, broncos, cowgirls, bulls, cowboys, cowboys, cowboys…I learned that bull-riding is the most dangerous sport in North America, and how to score a calf-roping.  I might need to invest in some boots….and a hat.

Sunday, June 1st: Yellowstone

I did Yellowstone in three parts — North to West, West to South (through the Grand Tetons) and yesterday South (again through the Grand Tetons) to East.  First stop – the Mud Volcano.  History tells us that in 1870, Mud Volcano blew itself apart and turned into this gurgling pool of mud.  Tasty.  Next to Mud Volcano was the Dragon’s Mouth Spring — a previous home to Puff, I believe.

Following a few more bison encounters and I found myself at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  It was breathtaking — I should visit the Grand Canyon some day to see how it compares. I managed to find a place to eat lunch while overlooking the Upper Falls.

Then off to Cody, Wyoming….