Roadside Iowa

Recently, I was notified that I was receiving a Mark of Excellence Award in photography from the Society of Professional Journalists. I was entirely unaware that I was even nominated, so that I won an award was a huge surprise. The award is for my photo essay from the Spring '08 issue of the Drake Magazine.

Here are the photos from the photo essay:

Adair: The site of the world's first robbery of a moving train -- Jesse James and his gang pulled the rail from the track and sent the train crashing.






Audubon: Meet Albert, the world's largest bull, standing 33 feet and weighing in at 24 tons.







Avoca: Humans = 1,623. Mutant Volkswagon spider: 1















Eldon: Create your own American Gothic in front of the house Grant Wood painted over 75 years ago.













Riverside: March 22, 2228 - the date Captain James T. Kirk will be born in this cozy town. Get a vial of "Kirk Dirt" from the actual site for only $3.





Riverside (again): the Enterprise










Cedar Falls: One of the surprise finds of the trip, a four-legged tree.












Clear Lake: Be prepared to jump a fence and walk a mile through a field to find the Buddy Holly crash site.












Britt: Home of the world's only Hobo Museum. Arrive in August for the convention and witness the hobo committee's selection for king and queen.







West Bend: Containing more than 100 carloads of semi-precious stones, it took two men over 40 years to build the spectacular Grotto of Redemption












West Bend (again): Looking up in one of the towers.








Pocahontas: This town's claim to fame is a 30-foot tall statue of its namesake












And so concludes our road trip. Total distace covered = 903 mi.