By the light of the moon

I made a return trip to the High Trestle Trail Bridge last night - to see the sunset and experience the bridge at night. All I can say is Wow!

By day, you stand on the bridge - 70 ft. above the river - and view the expanses of the Des Moines River valley. The green of trees and grasses. Herons wading in the river. Iowa's rural beauty stretching into the distance.

As the sun sinks behind the hills, the colors mute, the landscape disappears, and the lights of the bridge illuminate.

Last night, the moon was high in the sky as the sun set. The combination of moonlight, reflection on the river, and bridge was most excellent.

By day, the view from the High Trestle Trail Bridge is rural. By night, the blue lights and angles of the bridge are distinctly urban.

The High Trestle Trail Bridge presents a blend that is truly Iowa.

Note: The HTTB is a popular spot for bicyclists and walkers on weekends and full moon nights. We'll enjoy a full moon in the next few days. Coincidentally, the Des Moines Register ran an article on the bridge in today's paper. For more information, check it out.

No broken bones

I was on the trail and then I wasn't.

A friend and I were biking the Great Western Trail south of Des Moines yesterday. The day was beautiful - sunshine, 70's, generally level. We were chatting away one moment. The next, I'm off the trail, down a riprap embankment, splayed against a tree.

In retrospect, there's a lot of things I wish for. I wish I'd worn long pants and long sleeves. I wish I'd been paying better attention to what I was doing. I wish I had a video replay of the moment so I could know what in the heck happened!

For sure, I'm thankful for lots of things. I'm thankful I had on my helmet. I'm thankful for my friend and the two guys who stopped to see if I was okay and to help recover my bike. I'm thankful the bike was still in riding condition.

And, man-oh-man, I'm thankful for no broken bones. It could have been a whole lot worse.

Horses to Steam Engines - Doing it the old way

I had the opportunity at the Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion this past weekend to picture how farming was done 100 years ago. When horses were the most common horsepower. When the shift to machines was just beginning. When the power was steam instead of gas.


The evolution of farming from horses to machinery was fascinating to see. Horses pulled wagons loaded with shocks of wheat and barley up to the threshers.  Massive traction steam engines powered threshing machines that looked a bit like the product of Rube Goldberg's imagination.

When Mr. Van Vark of Pella - who restores traction engines - actually let me drive his 1916 Case 40 hp (for about 30 feet), he showed me how much 'play' there was in the steering wheel. I could spin the wheel two or three revolutions before the wheels began to turn. I learned that's because the steering wheel reels in chains that attach to the axle and turn the wheels - just like a man driving a team of horses would have pulled on the reins to turn the team. 

I have never seen so graphic a demonstration of the step up in technology. Inventors took the idea of steering horses and transferred that steering mechanism almost directly to the 'iron horse' of the traction steam engine.

When Mr. Van Vark put the steam engine in reverse, I was quick to turn over the steering wheel to him.  I'll take power steering any day.

A trip down tractor lane

Just being around certain things will trigger strong memories.  I know that's how it is with farm kids and tractors. Boys or girls remember the first tractor they drove.

The Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion gave both my husband and me plenty of opportunities to remember our first tractor experiences.  My 'first' was a Farmall H.  I got to drive it for the hay wagon while my dad stacked bales. My fervent prayer was that I wouldn't 'kill it' when I let out the clutch.

My husband's 'first' was a John Deere 730. He remembers it was his first time working the clutch - much easier than the Farmall clutch, I understand. He also has fond memories for the Deere 430 he had on his acreage. Wishes he still had it.

Whenever I talk with groups about my memoir of growing up on the farm, and ask if people remember the first tractor they drove, smiles break out, heads nod, and stories start flying.

Each day of the Reunion, they hold a parade of power. People drive horses, traction steam engines, and gas-powered tractors past the grandstand. I was tickled to see kids driving tractors, with their dads standing right behind them. I just know those kids are going to remember their first tractor.