Places in Iowa & Nebraska?

[matt_kime]

I'm going to be driving from Wisconsin to Colorado in early july. any suggestions on

where to go between those two places? (scenic places or just good places to eat)

 

I've decided that i'm bringing my 4x5, but i'm not sure where i should go "hunting"

for photographs.

[larry_mendenhall1]

Not sure of your route, but here's some ideas.

 

Try Effigy Mound and Pike's Peak State Park near McGregor, IA. Pike's Peak has a nice overlook of the Mississippi although it might be better in the fall.

 

Dunning's Spring Park in Decorah Iowa http://decorah.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={9D56DF92-B1E7-45D9-95FA-87B9E35FB544}&DE={E5D47431-CA0D-4D43-8EFD-9CE4A791FA26} has a fairly nice waterfall if waterfalls trip your triggers.

 

North of Dubuque along Highway 52 there's some good possibilities of some farmscapes that you can overlook from the road. It's a very "Grant Woodish" look with rolling hills etc.

 

Backbone State Park near Strawberry Point, IA, also has some possibilities. Take the backbone trail -- there'll be some interesting rock formations (for Iowa) with some fairly gnarly pines.

 

Further south along Interstate 80, MacBride Lake near Iowa City has some possibilities but I haven't had a lot of luck there. Further west near Des Moines/Ames is Ledges State Park. That's pretty nice.

 

Further west there's the Loess Hills area. I haven't been there but it's on the list.

 

That should at least give you some starting points. Good luck!

[michael_kadillak6]

I have driven across Nebraska and Iowa more times than I care to think of from and back to Colorado in the last five to eight years and have yet been inspired to exposed film although I am sure that they can be found. The roads seem to continue on a straight line forever in each direction. There were a couple of times when I was 90 miles away from the interstate pheasant hunting and I found an abandoned farm that had some possibilities. But I never found it worthy of a return trip with the equipment.

 

Now that you said you will be in Colorado, that is where you could find something to shoot. If you are going to spend some time in the state, let me know. Besides myself, I know about five others that could give you all kinds of places to shoot a short distance from the city. Safe Travels.

[ward]

Nebraska is an amazingly rich state on many levels for photographing. You have to shift your eye and don't look for mountains and vistas; this is flat country. But therein lies the gift. The Platt River is half mile wide and six inches deep; I always wanted to walk out in the middle of the river with a view camera and shoot looking upstream. The Sandhills region in the western part of the state are beautiful. There are old original sod houses, if you search them out. The weathering of the old farmhouses, standing in the praerie wind for 150 years, is amazing. The old dudes aren't as tough as they seem; sit and talk for a few minutes and you will likely get a picture. 4x5 portraits of those old faces would be really nice.

 

I strongly advise just getting off the highway and wandering the dirt roads. They usually follow the boundaries between the quartersections of farmland, so straight north-south or east-west. Dawn and sunset are obviously prime time.

 

One other handy fact: Nebraska has the best steaks I have ever tasted, better than Texas by far. Cheap truck stops will sell you a steak that will melt your heart for 6 bucks. Worry about the heart attack later.

[donald_miller1]

If you would consider coming south of Nebraska, Kansas has several scenic areas: Coming south west from Kansas City on I 35 you will travel through the Flint Hills which is a very large open prairie with undulating hills and quiet understated beauty. Early or late light is the order here. Travel to Wichita, then south to highway 160 and westward to the Gyp Hills west of Medicine Lodge (the site of a Indian Peace Treaty signing) The Gyp Hills are rugged and beautiful. I just spent the afternoon there today myself and will return again this week. This region reminds me of a muted Utah. I don't know much about Nebraska, it undoubtedly has beauty as well. I just happen to know this region and it is on your way as well. Good luck.

[stephen hazelton]

Check out Scottsbluff (or maybe it's Scotts Bluff, I forget)- anyway, some neat landscape material there. Also, somewhere up in that area were some places where you can see the old wagon train ruts in the rock, along with 100-year-old graffiti. Along Hwy 80, try to catch a coal train or two- lots of trains, and easy access. With LF, beware of wind- rumor is, the wind quit blowing in NE one time and a house fell over. In CO, check out Pawnee Buttes (in addition to the mountains, of course!)

[jim_ryder5]

To find inspiration about Iowa, do a google search for David Plowden and visit his web site.

[bruce_barlow]

If you can afford the time, stay off the Interstate and seek the smallest roads you can find. When more footloose than now, I used to follow a rule that if a road was narrower than the one I was on, I had to turn on it (ended up on a sheep path in the Cotswolds in England that way, and on single-lane dirt roads in NW Illinois). When you find yourself on a road not on the atlas, you've really made it, in my book. It's on those back roads that I think you'll find many rich things to photograph. "Being lost" is relative, and for me, desirable.

 

I also prohibited myself from staying or eating at chain motels or restaurants. I was also driving a Miata.

 

With the decline of the family farm, I would bet that there are many old, deserted homesteads to be found in the backroad areas that would make stunning subjects. Certainly enough for a trip, and probably enough for a major photographic project, if you're moved by that subject.

 

I envy you. Have a great trip!

 

Bruce

[jeff_buckels]

I want to second the prior response. Just get off the main roads. Go into the bigger little towns and find your way to their old business districts -- the closer to the railroad tracks the better. You'll find interesting old buildings and series of buildings and, on the fringes of such areas, interesting old residences and parks. If the town is too totally dinky, it will be harder. For instance, as you go through central Iowa along I-80, east to west, you'll come upon a series of "big" little towns originally built along the Chicago and Northwestern Railway and its companion Highway 30 ("the Lincoln Highway"). Interstate 80 pretty much supplanted Highway 30. Get off I-80 and on Highway 30 and stay there. You'll hit towns like Marshalltown, Newton, Ames, Boone, Jefferson, Carroll (populations between about 10,000 and 30,000). These are good bets. -jeff buckels

[ken c oshkosh, wi]

Chimney and Courthouse Rocks in Nebraska. I saw them at sunrise but nature was calling even more than to shoot them as well as the fact that the gate was closed to get in by them. :-( The morning light on them was amazing. This was on a 3 week camping trip to CO from WI.

[dave schlick]

i think there is a very large grotto in westrn iowa if you get to snooping around, its unusual glued together religous monument, maybe hard to photograpph but a stop to make anyway.. dave

[john_bailey1]

Dear Matt

 

I am amazed nobody mentioned the covered bridges in Iowa...yes, those bridges!

 

Actually, if you are still in Iowa between July 20 and July 26, Ragbrai is being staged along a southern route this year. Get the current issue of Saveur magazine-the one with watermelons on the cover. They have a feature story on Ragbrai and some great photos of it and Iowa. By the way, that particular magazine is often a wealth of good photography and interesting food, venues and places around the world.

 

Regards,

 

John

[scott_killian1]

I'm an Iowa native and have traveled over nearly every square inch of the state. If

you're actually serious about making images there, you will need to resist the

temptation to drive 75 mph across Interstate 80 to get to the other side because you

won?t see much and even if you did, there would be little chance to do anything about

it. Like most places, Iowa has many charming and intimate areas, but they're on the

side roads and two-lane highways. Great old barns, really interesting rolling fields,

tree lines, rows of crops, silos, etc..

 

If you looking for a quick stop, spend some time in the Quad Cities which straddles

both sides of the Mississippi River (Iowa and Illinois). Interstate 80 runs right through

it so you will be going right by it. It?s a very historic and classic "Mark Twain" sort of

river town. If you want the dirt on vittles, email me offline. I know every decent joint

from the Iowa border to Des Moines.

[john_bailey1]

Matt

 

One other thought. If you have a chance buy or check out a book called High Plains Farm by Paula Chamlee. It is an amazing tribute to a farm that was in her family and she managed to make the obvious wonderful and the insignificant a treasure. I was very taken by the images.

 

Regards,

 

John Bailey

[john_bailey1]

Ms Chamlee uses an 8x10 for all her photographs in the book, High Plains Farm. This is a most remarkable book and compilation of photographs.

 

I recommend this to all who want to extend their vision.

 

Regards,

 

John

[triblett_lungre_thurd]

yeah,

 

godforsaken that part of paula's world is... nebraska is a garden paradise in comparison. i grew up thereabouts. makes you move off, lust for foliage. also makes you look a little harder fer subjects.

 

nebraska is ass-backwards though,

 

me

 

p.s. i spent a week in nebraska one night.

[steve_singleton3]

You mention food. There is a book called "Road Food" that will probably be in your local library. Maybe another in that series as well. It's an interesting guide to little out-of-the-way cafes and joints that have interesting and tasty regional comfort food. That's how I found Doe's Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi--a classic if ever there was one.

[sandy_sorlien]

I love Nebraska. Yes, the Sandhills, amazing. No one there. The ranchers let me go on their land when I asked them -- it's all private cattle land pretty much. Find the little ponds near Alliance; the light shimmers off them; lots of cool wading birds too. Rte 2 through the Sandhills is one of the very best driving roads in the country. Wheee!

 

Check out Carhenge near Alliance while you're up there.

 

Broken Bow has an interesting old town square.

 

Toadstool State Park is weird.