This is Troy's Dad and his parents.
This is Troy's mom and her parents. I wish Alyssa would have smiled. :( It was hot and the sun was hard to squint through.
This is Troy's step-brother and his wife and their baby Henley. They live in Missouri, so we took a quick overnight trip there to spend time with them! 
Troy's step mother Cindy celebrated her 60th birthday! She was fabulous to us all week long cooking us steller Vegan meals.
Red Rock Lake was only created about 40 years ago since the Des Moines River kept flooding everything. This is an earth dam. The three biggest floods in recent years, were 1993, 2008 and 2010. We saw 2008 and 2010. The raging water was amazing. We timed our visit perfectly since it rained heavily for weeks before we arrived and it rained the day we left, but we had perfect tolerable weather while we were there for 7 days.
The family in front of the dam.
The fish were going crazy.
Cordova Park Observation Tower - The tower features the world's longest and tallest continuous set of fiberglass stairs, ascending from the ground to the observation deck built atop a converted 100-foot-tall (30 m) by 15-foot-diameter (4.6 m) stand-pipe water tower. The structure stands 106 feet (32 m) in the air, making it the largest observation tower in the Midwest. The tower, completed in 1998, offers a breathtaking view of the Des Moines River valley. The structure has been awarded to Iowa for engineering excellence.
A random buffalo in the midwest.
We went to Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne. There are only 4 stoplights in the entire county.
The home he was born in!
And he posed with me.
While in Madison County, we had to see the covered bridges. Imes was built in 1870.
Holliwell, built in 1880 and is the longest bridge.
Roseman bridge, most famous from the movie. Built in 1883.
And we posed with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
We visited the Grotto of the Redemption in northern Iowa, near Minnesota.
Apparently, Alyssa had never seen a phone booth. She had to have her photo in there and feel what the booth felt like. FUNNY. 
What I love about Pella, is the quaint-ness and all the kissing dutch figurines on porches. I love the windmills on the signs too. This little town was settled in the 1800's by about 900 dutch folks and all of Troy's heritage comes from this settlement. 
Alyssa is going to pose by this sign each year. We just decided to do it this year, so bummed we missed 2009. She looks so lean, athletic, and grown up here in 2010 compared to 2 years ago. 
Here she is in 2008.
We had a wonderful visit. Alyssa gets to stay there all month. She is also taking a road trip to Washington DC with her grandparents. What an opportunity for her and for us! Thank you family for the great time.
This is Troy's step-brother and his wife and their baby Henley. They live in Missouri, so we took a quick overnight trip there to spend time with them! Troy's step mother Cindy celebrated her 60th birthday! She was fabulous to us all week long cooking us steller Vegan meals. 
Red Rock Lake was only created about 40 years ago since the Des Moines River kept flooding everything. This is an earth dam. The three biggest floods in recent years, were 1993, 2008 and 2010. We saw 2008 and 2010. The raging water was amazing. We timed our visit perfectly since it rained heavily for weeks before we arrived and it rained the day we left, but we had perfect tolerable weather while we were there for 7 days. 
The family in front of the dam.
The fish were going crazy. 
Cordova Park Observation Tower - The tower features the world's longest and tallest continuous set of fiberglass stairs, ascending from the ground to the observation deck built atop a converted 100-foot-tall (30 m) by 15-foot-diameter (4.6 m) stand-pipe water tower. The structure stands 106 feet (32 m) in the air, making it the largest observation tower in the Midwest. The tower, completed in 1998, offers a breathtaking view of the Des Moines River valley. The structure has been awarded to Iowa for engineering excellence.
A random buffalo in the midwest.
We went to Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne. There are only 4 stoplights in the entire county. 
The home he was born in!
And he posed with me.
While in Madison County, we had to see the covered bridges. Imes was built in 1870.
Holliwell, built in 1880 and is the longest bridge.
Roseman bridge, most famous from the movie. Built in 1883.
And we posed with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
We visited the Grotto of the Redemption in northern Iowa, near Minnesota. Apparently, Alyssa had never seen a phone booth. She had to have her photo in there and feel what the booth felt like. FUNNY. What I love about Pella, is the quaint-ness and all the kissing dutch figurines on porches. I love the windmills on the signs too. This little town was settled in the 1800's by about 900 dutch folks and all of Troy's heritage comes from this settlement. Alyssa is going to pose by this sign each year. We just decided to do it this year, so bummed we missed 2009. She looks so lean, athletic, and grown up here in 2010 compared to 2 years ago. 
Here she is in 2008. We had a wonderful visit. Alyssa gets to stay there all month. She is also taking a road trip to Washington DC with her grandparents. What an opportunity for her and for us! Thank you family for the great time. 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.