Although it sounds like its Japanese, Okoboji is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, and has the deepest natural lake in the state, it is crystal clear and one of only a handful of lakes in the world that is classified as a true blue water lake.

Completed in 1886 and built of limestone, granite, and sandstone, the Iowa State Capitol Building is one of the largest statehouses in the nation. It was built on the site of an earlier small brick building that housed the state legislature. Front and back porticos are supported by six Corinthian columns each. The central dome rises to a height of 275 feet (84 meters) and is covered with 23-karat gold. The four corner wings of the building are capped by small domes, so the Iowa state capitol building is the only one in the United States with five domes.

The capitol building houses Iowa's Legislature, Supreme Court, Law Library, and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor. Among the many historical items on display in the building are the Iowa Constitution, a scale model of the battleship U.S.S. Iowa, original battle flags carried by Iowa regiments, and a collection of dolls depicting Iowa's first ladies in replicas of their inaugural gowns.

The enduring character actor John Wayne remains a vivid memory for Winterset, Madison County, and Iowa, even though the actor left with his family for Los Angeles when he was about age 3. The modest original home is well preserved to it's early 20th century style, with well kept landscaping, and a nice little gift shop nearby. Winterset hosts a John Wayne festival every July.

The Des Moines Botanical Center opened in 1979, although a city-owned greenhouse occupied the site since 1939. The grounds of the 14-acre (six-hectare) botanical garden contain trails which wind among beds of native and other temperate-climate plants; conifers and deciduous trees; rose gardens; herb gardens; water gardens; and a cascade.

Indoor exhibits include seasonal displays of plants; flowers; a pond stocked with goldfish, catfish, and turtles; and free-flying birds under one of the largest geodesic domes in the nation, at 150 feet (46 meters) in circumference. There are over 15,000 tropical, subtropical, and desert plants on display under the dome.

Its collection of Japanese bonsai trees is one of the ten best in the nation, and its outdoor display of cactus is the largest cactus and succulent garden in the Midwest.

Founded in 1970, the 600-acre (243-hectare) Living History Farms is an open-air museum which tells the story of Midwestern agriculture during four different time periods, including the Ioway Indian Village (1700), the Pioneer Farm (1850), the Town of Walnut Hill (1875), and the Horse-Powered Farm (1900). The displays are concentrated around two sites: one featuring farms, and the other featuring towns. Tractor-drawn carts transport visitors between the five different farms, although all the exhibits are within easy walking distance of each other.

On each farm, the buildings, planting methods, and livestock are authenic to their respective time periods. The displays are explained by interpreters in period costumes, who also reinact such daily routines of early Iowans as cooking, caring for the animals, blacksmithing, and gardening. Visitors are also invited to try their hand at such activities as wool carding and apple-butter making.

In the Town of Walnut Hill, visitors can relax and enjoy an ice cream at the town's cafe, or buy candy at the general store.

The Field of dreams is the site of the movie! When we were there (several years ago), they told us that half is owned by one family and half by another family. So they have competing souvenir shops and will only let you play on their part if you are using their equipment. It's pretty funny.

A visit to the Amana Colonies can easily fill an entire day. There is much to see and do (and eat) but it's all done at a relaxing pace.

The Amanas were founded about 150 years ago by a group of German people seeking religious asylum in America. They originally lived in a communal setting but in the 1930s abandoned that for more individuality. However, you can still hear some of the older people speaking about working in the communal kitchen or things like that. There is a museum about the history of the community located in Main Amana.

Main Amana is the largest of the colonies and has the most businesses and sights for tourists. It is also the busiest area though. The visitor's center is here as well as the RV Park and a motel. Also at Main Amana: an ice cream shop, quilt shop, chocolate shop, winery, candle shop, most of the restaurants, lace shop, Christmas shops, bakery, basket shop, brewing company, woolen mill, furniture shop and factory, & meat shop. The most important thing to remember about the Amanas is that these shops are all locally owned and operated, almost all with handcrafted items. So, that's hand-woven baskets, hand-dipped candles, hand-made lace, hand-carved Christmas ornaments. The quality of items is outstanding. You can find some amazing souvenirs and gifts for the people back home.

The other villages are quieter, have more historic buildings and, as such, less shopping. West Amana has a basket shop. South Amana is the site of some robberies by Jesse James & his gang in 1877 as well as a furniture shop, quilt & gift shop and some bed & breakfasts. Middle Amana has an amazing bakery, a museum, a walking trail, the lily lake, a golf course and Maytag Factory. High Amana has the historic general store and the arts guild center. Homestead has a cafe, a restaurant, a country store, and a nature trail, as well as a museum, a meat shop and some more bed & breakfasts.

Although passing the Amanas on your way down Hwy 151 from Interstate 80 to Cedar Rapids, you might be tempted to stop and look around, it really is some place that is better suited to at least one full day of exploring.

Here's the story of The Mormon Trail: After the death of the founding prophet Joseph Smith in 1844, the vast majority of the Mormon population of Nauvoo, Illinois responded to the leadership of Brigham Young and set out to establish a new Zion in the parched lands of the Great Basin around what is today Salt Lake City. The actual trek began in early 1846. A trail was established across the southern reaches of the Iowa Territory (Iowa didn't become a State until December 1846) by advance parties. These advance parties were not to reach Utah until the summer of 1847 and it would not be until 1850 when the bulk of the 12000 pioneers would reach their new home. The Iowa section of what became the Mormon Trail only makes up about a quarter of the total length but in many ways it comprised some of the most trying times the pioneers were to face due to inexperience, lack of roads/trail and poor weather conditions. Literally hundreds died along the way. It has been estimated that there were about 400000 emigrants who went West between the years of 1840 to 1860 with over 250000 of those heading to California. The original Mormon party consisted of about 3000 people of whom one in ten would die along the road. Two large recuperation camps were established at Garden Grove and Mt Pisgah. A huge outfitting camp was also set up at Kanesville - near Council Bluffs - from which pioneers could spend the winter in anticipation of the next year's push across Nebraska and Wyoming to Utah.

Many of the sites along the Mormon Trail were commemorated in 1996 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the trek and Iowa has done itself proud in establishing a modern-day Mormon Trail route on which you can retrace the old trek from. Several communities along with the State have established memorials to one of the more extraordinary migrations in human history.

The presidential selection process begins in Iowa. Presidential hopefuls descend upon the state and begin campaigning heavily in December before the Iowa caucuses are held in January. On December 27, 2007, I heard Bill Clinton speak on behalf of his wife Hillary. This is an amazing time of year to hear the next president of the United States speak in Iowa's own  backyard. We do have a rather odd election process in the United States, and sometimes it feels as if the presidential campaigning drags on for much too long, but it is quite an event in Iowa.

Built in 1846 by Mormon craftsmen who were en route to Utah from nearby Nauvoo, Illinois - they were earning money to buy needed supplies for the large Mormon emigrant wagon trains that rolled through the area between 1846-1851. The Inn was built to serve steamboat passengers on the Des Moines River, the Mason House was purchased by the Mason family in 1857. That family ran the inn for 88 years and it is the oldest steamboat hotel along the Des Moines in continuous operation. There are 5 guest rooms furnished with 19th century antiques.

Hoover's Birthplace; not the home of the vacuum company, that's Canton, Ohio. President Herbert Hoover was the 31st President of the United States. He lead the nation from 1929 to 1933. Rising from a poor family, he was an example that old American adage, "anyone can grow up to be the President of the United States".

This is an amusement park. Although it isn't famous and doesn't have any unique rides, there are a lot of rides here and you could easily spend a whole day in the park. Plus, it is way cheaper than any of the famous parks!

Each time I crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa [Dubuque], I would comment on how beautiful the Courthouse looked as the sun reflected off the golden dome. So, it was absolutely imperative that we see it up close.
It's located in the downtown business district and is next to the Old Jail Museum. It's not the first courthouse in Dubuque; it is the second one and was completed in 1891. This stately Victorian/Edwardian/Richardsonian Romanesque structure/Beaux-Arts architecture  was put on the National Register of Historic Places. It has a grand style, a large amount of detail, elaborate moldings, & large columns. Incidentally, it was built as Dubuque's first combination courthouse and jail.

I especially love the 14-foot statue of Lady Liberty that tops the golden dome. I also love the details of the columns in the front. This might be a good time to mention that Dubuque is one of the oldest settlements in all of Iowa. It has the state's first church [1834], first band, and first newspaper. The city is named after the French-Canadian, Julien Dubuque who began mining lead on the west band of the Mississippi. Even though tours of the courthouse and jail are given on a reservation basis, it is really just a working courthouse and not meant to be for tourists. But, hey, getting up close and personal on a Saturday in May to take photographs was well worth the effort.

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