My ex-wife is from Iowa, but I don’t hold that against the state. I only mentioned that my ex-wife is from there as it explains what I was doing in Iowa. Iowa, indeed, is a lot like my native Arkansas in one respect -- you won’t find just a whole lot of people going out of their way to visit. That’s not saying it’s a bad place to be, but it’s certainly not as popular a destination as, say, Florida, California, Texas or New York.
One of the things about Iowa that’s noticeable immediately is that a lot of the original settlers were dutch. That means that, in towns like Pella, tulips are all the rage and festivals celebrating Dutch heritage are thrown here and there. Coming from a state with roots in the cultures of Scotland and Ireland, the Dutch trappings common in Iowa are a bit unique.
Another thing worth mentioning is that Iowa has some of the most severe weather you’re likely to find. What I mean by severe is that you get both blisteringly-hot summers and winters that are downright miserable. While I’m used to temperatures in the 90s and enough humidity to make it feel much hotter in the summer, I enjoy relatively mild winters in Arkansas. Iowa has both the humid heat in the summer and miserable winters.
To give you an example of how bad the winters are there, I should mention a week I spent in Iowa a few years ago visiting my ex-wife’s family for Christmas. During that entire week, the high temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit. That sub-freezing temperature, combined with a constant wind, left me darn cold in my thick, wool coat. However, people in Iowa seem used to that type of thing. Once conversation I had with an Iowan that week went a little something like this:
HawgWyld: It’s damn cold up here, huh?
Iowan: Why, this isn’t cold. I’ll tell you all about cold. Why, I remember once when there was two feet of snow and blah, blah, blah...
HawgWyld: Why the hell do you people live up here?
At any rate, Iowa is where you want to visit in the winter if you just love the cold. I happen to hate cold weather, but some folks just love it.
One thing that’s fascinating about the state is that snow and ice is on the ground constantly during the winter months. Now, where I grew up in Central Arkansas, an inch of snow would absolutely shut down the town. In Iowa, an army of people simply wake up early, plow the streets and everyone drives around as usual. This means you’ve got some of the best winter-weather drivers to be found there, and people have learned to just cope with snow and stubbornly go on about their routines.
Geographically, there’s not much to talk about as Iowa is flat as a board. While you’ll find some areas with hills, the parts of the state I’ve scene are amazingly flat. That, however, is great for the state’s economy because Iowa also has some very fertile land. So, you’ve got a flat landscape and rich land -- think about acres and acres of row crops. The agricultural industry has thrived in Iowa over the years, and there’s a pretty good pork industry there, too.
In terms of population, there aren’t just a whole lot of folks living in Iowa when compared to larger states. The place is fairly rural in nature, so that’s no surprise. There is some industry to mention there, and perhaps the most famous exports are Pella Windows, which are about the best-made residential and industrial windows you’re going to find.
The pace in Iowa is fairly relaxed, and folks around there are generally friendly and willing to go out of there way to help lost travelers when asked for directions. That’s a great thing if you’re visiting the state. There’s nothing worse than visiting a spot where everyone is in a hurry and rather gruff (although playing ’’let’s make eye contact’’ is fun in cities such as Chicago -- irritates the hell ouf of people), and Iowa’s friendly atmosphere is one of the best things about the state.
While I hate the freezing temperatures in Iowa, I hope to visit again. I’ll avoid my former in-laws, of course, but there’s a lot there worth seeing and people in that state have a way of making you feel right at home. And, you’re not likely to find hotels and restaurants just overflowing with people, so prices are reasonable and you can easily find somewhere to sleep for the night. I’d advise going in the spring or fall, though, if you hate the bone-chilling cold of winter or blisteringly-hot summer days.