Map of Iowa

I love this colorful hand painted map of Iowa.  It is located in the entryway  of Trader Joe's.  I'd love to have one for my classroom.

Nancy's Farm

Winnie and I spent the weekend at Nancy's farm.  Nancy lives a few miles outside of Pulaska.  If you don't know where that is, it's nine miles east of Bloomfield, Iowa.  We had beautiful crisp cool weather.  It was a great place to go for a walk early in the morning.

Photo #212/365: The Corn Crib in Summer

The Iowa countryside is beautiful. This is the view from Nancy's front porch. I also snapped this picture of the corn crib. I took a photo of it when I was there in January, so I thought I'd get another showing it in summer. I always enjoy taking photos of farm buildings.

Photo #213: Thomas Mitchell Park

This weekend I visited Thomas Mitchell Park. At 175 acres, this park is much smaller than Yellow Banks. It is located at 10509 NE 46 Avenue, outside Mitchellville, Iowa. This park is also managed by Polk County Conservation and it is much more familiar to me. Our Fourth Graders used to come here for a fall field trip each year, so I have looked for wildlife in the pond and hiked the trails, as well as supervised kids on the playground.



The tree sculpture is new. I don't remember that. I'm thinking this is a Morell Mushroom, but I could be wrong.



This park has nice picnic shelters, and some hiking trails. It has a campground with electric hookups and modern restrooms. There is a tenting area near the creek that runs through the park. It is green and shaded, but it is also close to the road. If you're looking for quiet and a more woodsy feel, Yellow Banks Park is probably a better choice. I do like the ambiance of the red foot bridge.



Thomas Mitchell Park is more of a groomed park than Yellow Banks. It is great for picnics and camping. There are some hiking trails, and a pond, but no fishing. It is a wonderful place to go, and it's just a short drive away.

Photo #196: An Iowa Tweet Up

For the past year I have spent part of each evening talking to, and learning from, other educators on Twitter. I have been amazed by the knowledge and generosity of these people, as they shared their ideas and work, with someone they had never met. Today, for the first time, I met some of those people, face to face.

Last night I charged up all my toys; my netbook, the iPad, my Droid and the camera battery, so I would have everything ready to go. Kathy Kaldenburg, (@scsdmedia), made all the arrangements. We met at the Kava House in Swisher, Iowa, 117 miles from Des Moines. I was both excited and nervous on the two hour drive. What if we didn't like each other? What if we had nothing to talk about?

It was amazing to walk into a place I had never been before, and have people I had never met, recognize me from my Twitter Avatar, and call me by name. Kathy and Jan Johnson (@4alakeview) were there when I arrived. Jan and I have been communicating via e-mail since November and sharing resources. Kathy introduced us, even though we really didn't know each other before that.

When Shannon Miller, @shannonmiller, arrived, I recognized her right away. I hadn't talked to Shannon a lot, but I "see" her on Twitter almost every night.

It is odd to know so much about people you are meeting face to face for the first time. I also had a great time talking with Matt Townsley (@mctownsley). I felt like I had traveled with Shannon and Matt when they went to ISTE10 a few weeks ago, because I had followed their tweets. I have talked quite a bit with Karla Duff (teacher6th), so I felt like she was an old friend. I was meeting Ernie Cox (@erniec) and Ivy Nielsen,(@ivus2370), for the first time today, but because we had this common interest it was very comfortable.

If you ever have the opportunity to meet some of the people in your PLN, I highly recommend it. Take the risk, and continue the Tech Adventure. You'll have a great time!

Photo #193: Simplicity and Versatility

I am still thinking about my vacation and enjoying the many photos I took. One of the things that impressed me, when I entered the Walter House at Cedar Rock, was the beautiful use of brick and wood. In the entry hall was this great combination of brick openings with light reflected through simple art glass. I also saw some of the colorful art glass displayed at Taliesin. What could be more simple than that?

The furniture as well as the home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Furniture was designed to be flexible and utilitarian. Many pieces could be easily moved to transition small tables into a long tables that could serve any number of diners. Seating was also easily moved. Everything was designed with function in mind, as well as beauty. I'm not so sure how comfortable some of it would be, however.

Photo #162: Hanging Out At Caribou

Today was the first official day of summer vacation. I woke up to a thunderstorm, and it was so nice to be able to just stay in bed. After a leisurely morning at home, I went out to run some errands in the afternoon. Later I met my sister at my favorite Caribou Coffee on Ingersol. I spent a lot of time in this coffee shop last summer, when I was working on my technology class. This time when I went, I took the IPad that I had checked out from school. I am just trying to figure out how to use this. It's cool, but frustrating, since I don't really understand how it works.

Jacci and I had been visiting for awhile, when she said, "Is that the Governor?" I turned to see a tall gentleman buying coffee. I said, "Yeah, I think it is. He does just live down the street." Caribou is located just a few blocks down the street from Terrace Hill, the governor's mansion. Governor Culver spoke with a couple other customers and introduced himself as he walked over to a corner table. Here he settled down to work and drink his coffee. There was no entourage, and no one bothered him while he was there. I did not take his photo, because I did not want to intrude on his privacy, if the governor of the state gets any privacy. All I can say is, where but Iowa would you see this happening? I love Iowa!

Photo #46: The Iowa State Capital Building

I spent the day downtown at the annual Professional Development for Des Moines teachers. I took the bus downtown to avoid all the traffic and parking problems, and then, at the end of the day, I walked to my sister's office, so I could ride home with her. I took this shot of the capital building from one of the skywalks, when I was on the way to her office. I always like the way our forefathers (and foremothers) designed the city streets, so you can look all the way down Locust Street to see the golden dome. We truly have a beautiful state capital building.