“Is this Heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa”

Bonus Question 1: What 1989 Oscar-nominated movie turned today’s post title into a Hawkeye State catchphrase? (Answer at end of post)

We were both up at 6:00 AM and were dripping with sweat while getting Dragonfly offloaded and out of the river. The Peoria Boat Club offered to let us keep the boat and trailer in their storage lot until we returned, and we jumped at the chance. By 11:00 AM, we were on our way home, weary but satisfied that we’d made the right choice to pause our trip. And leaving the boat in Peoria makes it highly likely that we will actually return to finish cruising the last 165 miles of the Illinois Waterway.

We crossed the Mississippi River at the Quad Cities, ate lunch in Iowa City and took a short driving tour of the University of Iowa, our son-in-law Jay’s alma mater. We also stopped in Des Moines for a state capitol selfie, which we collect.

Des Moines means “of the monks” in French. The name’s traditional explanation refers to 17th century Trappists that lived in the area, however recent research indicates that it actually comes from the native name for the city’s river, Moingona, which was misinterpreted and shortened by French settlers. Bonus Question 2: What other major world city is also named “of the monks” in its respective language? (Answer at end of post).

In Des Moines we picked up Interstate 35, and knew the way home without the need for Google Maps. Also called the Monarch Highway, I-35 runs from Minnesota to Texas and is aligned with the migration route of monarch butterflies between Mexico and Canada, providing essential habitat and milkweed, their main food source. Six states (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas) have partnered together to coordinate land management, conservation efforts, and increase public awareness of this iconic butterfly species. 

Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Source: Wikipedia

We almost made one more tourist stop in Mason City, but were eager to get home. Meredith Wilson, composer of The Music Man, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, was born and raised there, and we were interested in seeing the town that was the inspiration for the fictitious River City, Iowa. Another time, perhaps. By 7:30 PM, we were home in St. Paul and plopped on our couch watching a Mike Birbiglia standup comedy special. 

Bonus Question 1 Answer: Field of Dreams was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but did not win. It was Burt Lancaster’s final film appearance and Kevin Costner only got the lead role after Tom Hanks turned it down. While the story is fictional, it is based on several real baseball players from the early 20th century, primarily “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, played by Ray Liotta. One of the game’s greatest hitters, Jackson’s exceptional playing career was overshadowed by his participation in the “Black Sox Scandal,” when he and fellow Chicago players accepted bribes to lose the 1919 World Series. The baseball diamond (“if you build it, he will come”) constructed for the film still exists near Dyersville, IA, and is a popular tourist attraction. 

Bonus Question 2 Answer:  München (Munich) means “home of the monks” in German. First settled by Benedictine friars in the mid-8th century, Germany’s third-largest city is home to BMW, Siemens, Allianz, Oktoberfest and was the birthplace of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, precursor to the Nazis.