Living the dream
Iowa conjures the rural America that exists in our imaginations. The Des Moines scene is its vibrant heart.
Ididn’t go to Des Moines, Iowa, expecting cornfields, but I didn’t want to miss them, either. One night in the capital city this summer, I drove 30 minutes northeast of Des Moines and joined a weekly bike ride in the small rural city of Maxwell. Our small group pedaled along quiet farm roads, past corn and soybean fields and over idyllic rolling hills, just as I had pictured. A small plane buzzed overhead, playfully looping and rolling, and I slowed to see grazing cows and a small cemetery. We finished our ride as the sun set. Only then was I ready for the big city.
Des Moines, or DSM to locals, is a laid-back, easily navigable city with an impressive network of bike trails, one of the most beautiful and interesting capitol buildings I’ve toured and an emerging food and cocktail scene. Locals I met were kind and welcoming, probably more informed about presidential candidates than many of my Washington, D.C., neighbors and proud to host the country’s first caucuses during election season. Next year, the city will unveil the largest skate park in the country (with an 80-foot-long, totally skatable “WOW” sculpture) and host its first Ironman competition. It also plans to create a whitewater destination on the river with a surfing simulator for extreme paddlers.
Des Moines is on the move. Go now, while it still enjoys the charms and convenience of a small town. Go before winter hits. Go while there’s still corn.
Go
The colder the winter in a city, the more joyful the summer market-goers. I haven’t substantiated this claim, but in Des Moines, folks are downright gleeful about the Downtown Farmers Market, which attracts 25,000 to 40,000 people each weekend through October, with 300 vendors, live music, street performers and a bike valet. The Saturday market, criticized by some for selling too much nonlocal produce and Wisconsin cheeses, still sells plenty of Iowa sweet corn, local jam and hot sauce. But the scene itself is the biggest draw. Go for people-watching, and eat your way through the market (pupusas, juices) or hit a nearby brunch spot.
Driving into town with the majestic five-domed Iowa State Capitol on the horizon, I thought I was approaching a kingdom. Come to find out, this kingdom is magical, with free parking and free temporary tattoos. On a tour, I learned that the ornate building was completed in 1886, constructed over 15 years by day laborers. It originally housed all three branches of government and was built without electricity — which was thought to be a fad. The gold leaf on the dome, the guide told us, is as thin as ash. The highlight was a marble-walled, five-level law library with white wrought-iron railings, spiral staircases and a spectacular view of downtown. It houses more than 100,000 books, including titles on the state’s railroad, prairie plants and baseball. When the secretary of state is in town, he invites visitors into his office to see his model car collection and the Iowa Constitution.
“You might hear people say, ‘Des Moines punches above its weight,’” a local told me. “The Des Moines Art Center is a big example of how.” For starters, the museum — a complex of three designer buildings (Eliel Saarinen, 1948; I.M. Pei, 1968; Richard Meir, 1985) — is showing “Queer Abstraction” (until Sept. 8), the first exhibition in the center’s 70-year history to focus exclusively on queer sexuality and gender identity. The permanent collection includes masterpieces by Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol and the “New Shelton Wet/Dry Triple Decker” from Jeff Koons’ hermetically sealed vacuum series. Stop at the restaurant, Tangerine, and the museum’s fantastic 4-acre sculpture garden park downtown. Museum and park admission are free.
Stay
Going first class was never so affordable. Des Lux Hotel, a downtown boutique property in a centuryold building a block from the sculpture park, is a local favorite because of the martinis and a guest favorite because, well, who doesn’t like a little class? Along with a grand piano and a wall of mismatched mirrors, the common area features a gorgeous lounge with blue velvet bar chairs and a repurposed stained-glass communal table. In the lobby bathrooms, you’ll find gold swan faucet handles and gold peacock wallpaper. Amenities include a sauna, steam room and hot tub, a 3,000-square foot gym and 51 uniquely decorated rooms. Complementary made-to-order breakfast and a free airport/East Village shuttle are also available. All this, starting at $189. Guests often dine nearby at some of the city’s most upscale restaurants, including 801 Chophouse, one of Iowa’s top steak houses, and Proof, considered the foodiest restaurant in town.
Explore
Bike, run, walk or skip across the High Trestle Trail Bridge, about 30 minutes north of downtown. At 13 stories above the Des Moines River, the half-mile, award-winning bridge is one of the tallest trail bridges in the world. But the main attraction is the display of 41 artistic steel frames rising over the path, lit a brilliant blue starting at sunset. The 25-mile trail runs through five towns; rent bikes at Pingora Outdoors, 50 feet off the trail in Ankeny, or Trailside Rentals in Madrid (pronounced MADrid), a block from the trail and a few miles from the bridge. Also in Madrid, hit the Filling Station for shakes and malts and Flat Tire Lounge in a Quonset hut for beer; Firetrucker Brewery is a cyclist-friendly spot in Ankeny. Iowa’s bike trail system is robust, and social cycling is legendary here, thanks in part to RAGBRAI, the weeklong summer ride across the state. Join the masses on a smaller scale, pedaling eight miles south of Des Moines on the Great Western Trail to Cumming Tap for Taco Tuesday.