Iowa Life

Caucus Season is Crazy

- Mel

Caucus craziness has descended upon Des Moines. It’s three months until The Caucus, and today is the Democratic celebration of Liberty & Justice (formerly, and no longer named after a slave owner and that other guy who was horrible about Native Americans), which brings in (almost) all the candidates and their associated entourage… and, apparently, celebrities.

Weezer is doing an outdoor (!) concert at noon, by way of a rally for Andrew Yang. YANGAPALOOZA.

I received an alert that Ben Harper will be joining PETE. Pete and PETE were walking down the street…

I have an event this evening – that is NOT the democratic dinner, sadly – and am disappointed at being unable to hang out downtown to see who else shows. However, this will be the first of many, I’m sure, opportunities for a “Pete Up” at one of my favorite local watering holes or Selfies with Warren.

And thus begins my Caucus Season is Crazy check-in and column.

Also, I’m going to attempt to blog every day in November per NaNoBloMo again this year. See you tomorrow. Yeah, no… this isn’t happening this month. 😆

Fall into Iowa (Because Winter is Coming)

- Mel

Snow is in this week’s forecast! I’ve already seen flurries at least once and it was not of much significance. But with temperatures falling to a possible FIFTEEN DEGREES, there’s a chance this might stick for a bit. At least until it’s 40 again over the weekend. I’ve barely opened my apple cider – and YES, my Halloween lights are still up.

november snow showers

I’m one of those weird people who positively loves the approach of winter (but maybe I don’t have the same fondness for my ugly winter tires). Playing outside in the snow feels like being a kid again. I love trail running in the snow. I miss my snowmobile so much (and always tempted to get another one). Last year I purchased a saucer to use on our back hill. Growing up on Lake Erie, I’m used to getting dumped on in terms of snow accumulation – like, when it snowed in Ashtabula, it would snow 3 feet. Iowa finally gave me a bunch of snow last winter. What Iowa also gives is an unholy wind chill. On New Year’s Day last year, it was negative 30-something. So, as I do every New Year’s Day, I joined my fellow runners. My Garmin died because of the cold. My eyelashes froze into mini icicles. At times, it was painfully cold. But it was one of those things I had never experienced, and I had to know what -34 felt like.

Iowa’s got nothing on Cleveland Lake Effect.

In looking for more ways to enjoy the cold winters in Iowa, I have been on the hunt for clothing items that will resist those sub-zero wind chills. Spoiler alert: Most winter gear is shit and rated to only, like, 20 degrees F. This search also includes what fun outdoor activities I can enjoy. I already enjoy trail running, and I have snow shoeing on my “winter bucket list.” I’ve also been kind of obsessed with fat bikes – especially seeing them out in snowy conditions, so I went to Rassy’s and “test drove” one last week. I’m pretty sure you’re going to find me on two wheels this winter on the Des Moines trails… but you might not recognize me under all the layers.

What outdoor activities do you do in the Iowa winters? SHOW ME YOUR LAYERS!

The Coffee Tour: Intro + Des Moines Metro List

- Mel

When I lived in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, I was always within walking distance (or frequently walked by) coffee shops. Because I’m now living in the suburbs of Des Moines, there is considerably less walk-commuting – and, in fact, I do not even live within a reasonable biking distance (or via direct bike path) of a coffee shop.

Coffee shop header Des Moines blog

I have been more intentional at connecting with people for various meet-ups, which is why I started a coffee shop list on my phone of new places to visit. My goal is to work/unwind at a coffee shop at least once a month and to cross off at least one new place on my list every other month. This thesis ain’t gonna write itself! Coffee helps.

Here is where I have visited so far (with blog posts to come!):

Zanzibar – Ingersoll neighborhood
The Coffeesmith – Waukee
Gong Fu Tea – Downtown DSM
Smokey Row – Help me here, Des Moinesians (Moinians?): what is technically this neighborhood?
Watershed Cold Brew – Downtown Farmer’s Market, where an iced coffee with lemondade nearly put me in an existential crisis (IT WAS SO GOOD!)
Friedrich’s – 86th Street location in Urbandale
Freedom Blend Coffee – Des Moines (Kirkwood? Man, I have a lot of work to do on recognizing neighborhood boundaries.)
Grounds for Celebration – Beaverdale

Here’s what I have on my (ever-growing) list:
Horizon Line
DSM Brew Coffee Co.
Java Joe’s
Ritual Cafe
Rich’s Brew
Pammel Park Coffee Company (in Madison County; yes, I will travel for coffee!)

What other places should I add to my list?

Take me home, gravel roads.

- Mel

With all the love I share about Iowa, I’m going to start this post about the thing I hate about Iowa: Gravel roads. Close second: “B” roads. And if you don’t know what THAT is, then you’re not from Iowa and I strongly advise you to NOT take that scenic route.

level b service road iowa 2
Enter at your own risk, aka: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Also, that car is probably definitely stuck.

I hate driving on gravel roads.

I hate the dust that lingers after someone nearby has driven down a gravel road. Or the dust that’s flown in your direction when someone speeds past you.

I hate when my GPS thinks it’s a shortcut.

I hate that the speed limit on them is an ungodly 50+ mph.

Vinton Iowa trail race gravel

And I 100% HATE running on gravel roads.

And gravel shoulders. And gravel trails.

Fuck me, why would I sign up for a race that includes gravel roads on its course?

Iowa, that’s why.

Or because I didn’t look at the course map beforehand. Choose your own adventure.

Iowa gravel trail race

For what it’s worth, the view at the top was amazing in Vinton, Iowa. Word of advice: Look up race info should you ever get the motivation to run here. Swear at the dust and rocks a little. Wear a buff as a mask. And then look around you. Marvel at its quieted landscapes.

And then swear at yourself because you signed up for a race, dumbfounded, thinking that Iowa was flat. LOLZ, RIP YOUR QUADS. I’ve lived here three years and I still make up swear words at these hills.

Iowa trail race doggone tired ultra runner blog
Choose your races wisely. And also run in magical Christmas tree forests because those are THE BEST.

Road trip to Dubuque. To the Mines!

- Mel

Is their motto, like, “all we need is u” because TRUST me, they have enough. Somewhat intuitively, however, I am able to spell “Dubuque” without the help of Google. I think…

Ahem.

Aside from passing over state lines on a drive to Wisconsin last summer and my initial entry into Iowa as a permanent resident, I never stopped to hang in Dubuque. That changed last weekend when a friend and I found a fun trail race located in the Mines of Spain park… recreation area. We decided to make a little overnight adventure out of it.

Mines of Spain trail race iowa runner blog

Dubuque is about a 3-hour drive from Des Moines. Much corn. Very Iowa Scenic. We got into town in the evening and had already settled on where we would have dinner: L.May Eatery.

Cutely and appropriately situated on Main Street, the restaurant was buzzing when we arrived. It was fairly busy for a Friday night and despite not having reservations, we were seated quickly. There was so much available for me in the way of gluten-free menu options: I started with a yogurt curry cauliflower appetizer, ate nearly a whole gluten-free pizza by myself titled “You’re in Dubuque” (natch), and a CHEESECAKE (yes, also gluten-free!) that I happily shared with my friends because it was a GIANT slice.

Dubuque L May Eatery restaurant blog review

L.May also had a great wine list and an adorable outdoor dining arrangement (which was full on the evening we visited). Service was top notch – our server even entertained me by wanting to take pictures of all my food because ALL THE GLUTEN FREE FOODS! I would make a trip back to Dubuque purposely to eat here again.

Saturday morning was an early rise for the Mines of Spain trail races. We opted to drive to the start location (the race also offered a shuttle from a nearby hotel). Packet pick-up was available on race morning at EB Lyons Interpretive Center at the recreation area, and we found the parking to be plentiful.

Mines of Spain trail race blog bib runner recap

Initially I had signed up for the half marathon distance, but since my training has been… well, total POOP, I dropped down to the 7-mile race. That was great foresight because while the Mines of Spain was beautiful, OMG there were so many steps. The elevation changes made for a fun and challenging race and I finished in 1:38 (my slow ass is merely enjoying the view and the glute burn these days).

Mines of Spain trail race run blogger

The race had a super fun after party immediately afterward with free Zevia cans (yay!), free pizza (no gluten-free, far as I knew) and grapes (GRAPES! SO AMAZING!), and beer provided by 7 Hills Brewing (definitely not gluten-free, though that coffee beer smelled amazing). For some reason I opted out of the shirt again – and of COURSE I loved it (same thing happened to me at NewBo last year). Happily, I was able to pick up a MoSTR branded shirt from the “freebies” table post-race to commemorate my run. There were quite a few door prizes given away, too – no winner-winner brewery dinner for me. All runners also got a pair of free socks and a magnetic koozie!

Mines of Spain runner trails iowa river view

We hung out for about an hour before a quick shower (and late check-out) at the hotel. On our drive home, we initially considered driving up to Dyersville to see Field of Dreams (something on my Iowa Bucket List!) but ultimately decided it was too much for our time-crunched and burning-glutes weekend. We opted for burgers in North Liberty at BeerBurger on the drive back to Des Moines. YES MORE GLUTEN-FREE NOMS. Not only did they have gluten-free buns for the burgers, let us not bypass the most amazing side dish: sweet potato waffle fries that is served with marshmallow fluff dipping sauce. If you know me, you know how important marshmallows are in my diet.

BeerBurger North Liberty sweet potato fries marshmallow gluten free

Shhhhhh, I was hungry. As immortalized in this “Yes, I am basically always eating” selfie.

Mines of Spain selfie trail runner woods dirt blog