Wayzegoose in Iowa- September slightly out of place

It was an ambitious plan. I wanted to drive to the APA Wayzegoose in Iowa. I had only flown, when the Wayzegoose was in Parts East. But I've always wanted to drive across country. First, I had to find a driving buddy; someone whose driving I could trust, who would be good company, and who would enjoy the Wayzegoose. Fortunately, my friend Dave qualifies on all counts. He surprised me by being able to come, day job notwithstanding.

We got from San Jose to Salt Lake City in the first day! When we stopped to think about it, it really wasn't a huge accomplishment-- just 2 drivers doing about the same milage they're used to, switching off as each tired. It felt very good to have that day end, though!  A forgettable hotel in Salt Lake City provided shelter-- on the east side of the City. My theory: a big city draws commuters. We were leaving in the morning. We may as well leave in a direction in which commuters did NOT want to go! We were outgoing as they were incoming. It worked. Day one was a no-photo day. Nevada is boring, and we drove through Utah as the sun was going down.

Day two brought a pleasant surprise in Ft. Bridger, Wyoming. This historic park and reconstruction of Jim Bridger's fort (and a later military fort) was a major and early stop on the Oregon Trail. I got to see some of the wagon ruts (now softened by 100+ years of rain), and we both enjoyed the interpretation about the Trail and

later years. My ancestors must have seen Ft. Bridger in 1852, the year they crossed the plains. Great-grandfather Francis Reasoner drove the oxen, and his father, Rev. John Stout Reasoner, the horse team. This day warrants a photo. After Ft. Bridger, it rained like crazy-- enough to slow us down to about 40 mph. Sheets of rain with lightening to spice it up! Then it went away.

In Laramie, we had a rogue Pearl spotting-- in a just-closed for the day print shop. I noticed the flywheel in the window, alerted Dave, who was driving, and wheeee, around the block we zipped, to park in the lot and peer in at her. It was raining a bit, and as we craned our necks for a better view, the owner came from the back shop and looked quizzically at us. When we gesticulated in the direction of the Pearl, the owner opened the door and we had a nice conversation about the press and where to get supplies for it. The owner told us she'd bought the business to get the Pearl, and hoped to fit her up and use her. Some of the original trim shows in this photo, important to me since I have two Pearls to restore and repaint!

That evening we drove as far as North Platte, Nebraska, arriving late. The Motel 6 did _not_ have wifi; this is less forgivable than, say, no pool.  Guess I'm getting spoiled.

Day 3 was highlighted by our quick stop at the only surviving Pony Express building-- at least, to hear them tell it -- a little log building in Nebraska just east of North Platte. On and on we drove, through Des Moines and almost to Cedar Rapids, arriving in Mt. Pleasant about 8 PM. Met up with my roommate Rachel Scott and had a nice evening visit before retiring.

Denmark, Iowa, is not far from Mt. Pleasant, so after arriving at Old Threshers' museum and unloading our "stuff" for the sale on Saturday we visited Larry Raid's place for a look at where he holds Linotype University. It was a surprise to see it isn't quite as big as I expected. Larry has plans for a small town at his place, if he ever gets enough businesses to move in.  Very ambitious! Lots of fun poking around at all the waiting Linotypes. Dave is one of the few people I know who would find the lone Multigraph in a huge warehouse of Linotype hulks.

I'm trying to determine how to explain Old Threshers. Imagine a huge campus with many very large warehouses on it. Now imagine them all full-- of *restored* farm machinery. One such warehouse has a large print shop inside of it. I think about half a dozen Linotypes, a full size newspaper press, several large proof presses and another several platen presses share the space with type cabinets line up on the walls. A large railed-off walkway describes an L through the exhibit. The amazing thing is that none of this is crowded-- even though the print shop is only a small part of its warehouse!

All the farm equipment runs on steam, as does the newspaper press. Totally awesome. In addition, a steam locomotive pulls a train around the grounds! I'm told that thousands of people attend their annual event. Our group was small-- under 100 for the Wayzegoose, and possibly as many as 200 for the printers' swap meet and sale on Saturday. But what a great time we all had!

Break: Stay tuned :)