WIOTA, IOWA

Why-I-Otta!!!! The sign struck me as funny as we were driving home today. It is a name of a town just outside of Council Bluffs. I won't write much about Council Bluffs, I will simply let the photo tell the story.

We left today and drove out of Nebraska. Honestly, Nebraska was a wild and wonderful kind of place with great people. It was wildly beautiful, but harsh and unyielding. Iowa strikes me as more hospitable.

Iowa is the second largest wind turbine state in the USA. We passed several pieces going down the road. There are hundreds of them.... look at how large just one spoke of the turbine is.

Here is one assembled.... HUGE.... most of them were not turning today. It was raining and supposed to storm. Perhaps they shut them off.

Speaking of storming... it was when we left town today. Here is the van and trailer loaded down. The trailer is 18 feet long. The winds were horrific. I drove for a couple hours today, and during the worst of the wind, the steering wheel was turned about 40 degrees to the right to just try to keep the van on the road... UGLY. I have a whole new respect for truckers....

And, lastly on this blog.... check out the price of PREMIUM GAS! My Caddy would be in heaven and so would my check book. Premium gas is always 20 cents cheaper or so than the regular! Go figure.... finally someone told me that it was because it is 10% ethanol out here and so it is cheaper.

Final Thoughts on Nebraska

Note the warning label on this bottle of wine..... it was one of the raffle prizes tonight at the farewell banquet.... Nebraskans do have a sense of humor.....
The people are amazingly resilient and are very, very down to earth and resourceful. Today while wandering around the fairgrounds, I ran into a group of people preparing for a Holstein cattle show. They brought them in and set up right behind our building. This was a scene that I found when I wandered into the barn. These children were so PROUD to show off their calf "Mooey". She was even in good humor with a ball cap on her head! Those cows are pretty darn tolerant too, as I saw several being washed with a POWER WASHER! I am pretty sure that my horses would never stand for that.

This is a common site along the country side. This is where they hook up the irrigation systems. Pat explained to me that the propane powers the generator to pump the water up, but once hooked up, the water actually powers the large irrigation operation. WOW... again, this shows the character of the farmers out here. I can't imagine the amount of work that must go into the growing a crop where rain is not all that common in the summer. They have to move the irrigation around, and cultivate often between the rows of crops. Ohioans have it relatively easy once the crops are planted.

Tomorrow we will head out on our way home. I have sure enjoyed this trip and have learned an awful lot about another part of our country. The windmillers were very welcoming and all were extremely helpful. I saw many of them lead around newbies and people who wandered on the scene and patiently explain how the mills work and why. I can honestly say I abandoned my purse, camera and cell phone for long periods at a time in the merchant hall and no one would dream of bothering any of it. The people are honest, hardworking, and not afraid to jump in and help one another. I sure wish more of America still shared those values.

Wrap Up

So today has been the wrap up of the trade fair. The last bits were sold and the guy that bought that beautiful windmill you saw photos of came to get it. I am now relaxing in the hotel in blessed air conditioning. Patrick and I spent about 2 hours loading up the trailer with windmills and parts to come home. He is delivering it for someone in Ohio. They brought in a front end loader bobcat to help the process. Somehow I am still tired and a little sunburned. Tonight is a banquet for the windmillers at a fancy place here in town. I am sure hoping for some prime rib after today's activities!

I did look up a wildflower guide today, but have not had time to really read it yet. I am hoping to figure out what some of the gorgeous flowers are. I know that I have seen coriopsis and various cone flowers.

I can honestly tell you too, that I have a whole new respect for the pioneers. This land here is gorgeous, but also brutal. It is HOT and the wind never ever stops. The storms are horrific, and I am told that the winters are too. I am not sure how they made it.

More later....

another

sorry this is sideways... I don't know how to turn it!

Views of Roger Bailey's Ranch

I just wanted a chance to share a little view....listen to the wind!

Paradise FOUND

So today was another day at the trade fair. It was VERY windy..downright GUSTY, really, but stayed somewhat cool out. The high was supposed to be 88 degrees, but I am sure it never got that warm. That is a blessing. I am not sure that I wanted another sun burn.
The best part of the day was going to visit Roger Bailey's ranch. I am not sure what else to call it. He lives outside of McCool, NE and has made a fortune as a bee keeper. He ships his bees all over the western part of the United States. He is also a HUGE windmiller..... I counted over 35 on his place. They are simply everywhere. (Side note: In order to get there, we had to drive outside McCool, like I mentioned. The roads in Nebraska and Iowa all are dirt, believe it or not. The main highways are not, but all of the country roads are. It seemed odd....)

Isn't this about the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? I am just amazed by the beauty of our country. I am sure that there are many more, but somehow this rural solitude has always spoken to me. From what I understand, Mr. Bailey has tried hard to maintain the feel of historic prairie on his property.





He lives up on a hill, and the view is spectacular! I just about lost my jaw. When we first arrived a bus was there to truck us up a hill and to his home. He has installed a PIPE ORGAN in his house! He had a gentleman there to play a recital and then we were free to wander and explore his place. He had a neat view, as I mentioned. I was blown away almost literally by the wind. He has a 20 foot windmill installed at his pond that pumps water from a well into the pond. It was pretty cool to see how the windmills were really supposed to work! WOW.

Dinner was a low key affair... it was in his airplane hanger. He flew them out somewhere else so he could fit all 300 of us in.... again.... wow.

Maybe I should get into bees?!

gear box running

Here is a better shot of the gear box running that I promised you. It really is very cool to watch go. It pumps once per revolution of the wheel.