Iowa Capitol Building

I am still going through pictures from vacation.  Unfortunately my camera was not feeling well during the trip and in return most of the pictures were blurry.  I cleaned the lens and it helped a bit but I think a new camera is in my NEAR future.



After we left our hotel we drove the three blocks to the Capitol building.  This may seem odd but we had to pay for parking at the hotel and since we were leaving right after our tour, the free parking at the capitol seemed a wise choice. 


On the way there we saw this statue.  I had to snap a picture of it.  It spoke to me...lol.


The picklets in front of the capitol.  This statue had no plate to tell me what it was.  I have a map of the monuments and memorials and I *think* it is called "Pioneer Statuary Group/Buffalo Fountain".  I was more interested in knowing who was depicted for historical purposes but oh well.


This is the view from where the picklets were standing.


This is a sundial and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the whole thing in my picture.  I must have 20 of these...lol.


After walking through the metal detectors and having Chip's pocket knife confiscated, we walked to the steps and looked up.  WOW!  Looking from the basement up it is still huge.  This is the Grand Army of the Republic emblem.  A replica of the original pained by Joseph Czizek.  It is there as a reminder of Iowa's efforts to preserve the Union during the Civil War.


On the first floor we saw a replica of the USS Iowa.  It is about 18 feet long and weighs over 1300 pounds. 


Into the Iowa Secretary of State's office.  Inside the office is the original Iowa Constitution.


Down the hall was the Capitol Supreme Court Chamber.  It is no longer being used as the Supreme Court but meetings are held in there.  It is gorgeous with hand carved benches.


This is a collection of first lady dolls.  Iowa First Lady's that is.  The outfits some of the dolls had on were gorgeous.


This is a picture that hangs above the First Lady Dolls.  It is of the 42nd Rainbow Division, 168th Infantry in 1919.


Dill liked this mural so much he bought a replica of it in the gift shop.  It is called Westward, painted by Edward H. Blashfield in 1904.  It is 40 feet wide and 14 feet high.


These mosaics, made in Italy, hang above the Westward mural.  They were made in Italy and represent different branches of the government; defense, charity, executive, legislative, judiciary and education.


The House of Representatives Chamber and the Senate took up most of the room on the 2nd floor.  This is the House of Rep Chamber.  The Senate is very similar to it.


This is the State Library is also on the 2nd floor.  Sweet really wanted to climb these steps but the signs said only library staff were allowed to climb them.



The picklets were somewhat fascinated by this phone booth.  They had never seen one before.


As we were leaving I snapped this shot.  It says, "Where Law Ends Tyranny Begins."

We opted for the self led tour instead of the guided tour.  We were told we could join any of the groups of 50 5th graders going through.  Now you know why we chose self led.  I'm glad we did though.  It gave us time to thoroughly enjoy and learn. 

Chinese Pagoda

We visited a The Chinese Cultural Center while we were in Des Moines earlier this month. We were told that this is part of Des Moines's plan for the Riverfront Gardens. After it was designed and the fundraising was completed, a group from China actually came over and assembled it. This is really meant for warmer weather visiting. I think there are fountains and flowers etc...but the weather was cold and rainy so we didn't stay long. I would like to visit again in the spring/summer/fall as I'm sure it would be really pretty...and warmer.
It was magnificent to look at.


Looking toward the Character Building Stones.

Walking toward the Pagoda.


Looking toward the Circle of Diversity from the street.


The Circle of Diversity.  On each granite block is an animal from the Chinese Zodiac. 


Looking toward the pagoda.  We had a hard time getting Chip to leave.  He loves all things Chinese.

It is an odd thing to find along the Des Moines river but it is also quite an experience to visit. 

(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

Des Moines Botanical Center

Down the street, 7 blocks from our hotel, was the Des Moines Botanical Center. We utilized the free shuttle service provided by the hotel because we didn't know where we were going. We soon realized the center was a straight 7 block shot. Oh well.

 
The greenhouse area was pretty darned warm and very humid, as all greenhouses are I guess.


The picklets loved the large coi fish as well as the families of turtles that lived in the stream that flowed throughout the building.
 
 
Sweet was trying desperately to touch a fish as it went by. That was until it actually went by, then she backed off.


I have absolutely no luck in growing aloe plants. These leaves were as long as my arm.

Chip loves bonsai trees and has decided, after looking at this, that he once again wants one. Maybe for his birthday!

One room was dedicated to bonsai trees.

 
I have no idea what this is called but I really love the colors.

 
The water fall was such a nice sound to listen to as well as a beautiful site to look at..

 
This frawn just called my name.

 
This is a banana tree bloom that Sweet pointed out to me.
 
We were wishing these were ripe. We love bananas.

 
I loved this use of the rubber boots. It was gorgeous.

 
The theme around the center was rainbows. There were little facts about them all over. They even had a garden dedicated to rainbows.

 
Dill took this picture of a rainbow sculpture as we were leaving. Depending on the angle you looked at it it either looked like this or 1 dementional. It was pretty neat.

 
Sitting under the unbrella tree before leaving.

We did walk back to the hotel since it was so close. It started raining but we enjoyed that too. :)

 

(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines