It took a lot longer to finish up Iowa than I thought.  Part of it is the quantity of road construction everywhere I go — repaving.  Which means one lane of traffic and pilot cars.  Or worse, long roundabout detours.  So I finally got to Missouri around 5pm.  Which is sort of a relief since I’m officially at the halfway point timewise.  I should be able to really dig in to these two states now (KS & MO) with the time remaining.  Then if need be, blow off the southern IN, IL, OH & KY stuff. Though it will hurt.

Lots of running and swimming for the dogs today.  Nik had to work hard against the current of the Mississippi — but I think he really likes the additional challenge.  Not to worry — I’m not doing anything, anywhere unsafe.   Oh, except for one near catastrophe this afternoon.  Regular followers of this blog know how Grem likes to ride shotgun from my side.  Between my arm and the window.  And of course, I’m always careful with the amount that that window is open.  Especially since she bounces around when she sees dogs, motorcycles, suspicious people.  But somehow, I guess I’d been taking a photo from the van (something I rarely do) and not rolled the window back up.  So, I’m going around a corner from a main street at about 5mph and plop — Grem falls out the window and lands half on her feet, half on her side.  I stop immediately and she stood there looking shocked.  I immediately opened the door and called her.  And she got that look that I know all too well:  “I’m FREE!”.  Which usually means bolting into the distance at about 40mph in random, runaway fashion.  Luckily, I’ve been working SO hard at recalls for years with her that this time — as she ran through the options in her mind — she elected to jump back in the van.  Sheesh!  She would’ve been flattened for sure if she’d run into that main street.  So, yes, I will forever be extra careful — as I’m sure she will be — regarding that window.

The day started out gloomy and cloudy with some sprinkles here and there.  But got sunny by afternoon.  I’ve been really lucky for most of this trip.  Nothing else noteworthy and I’ve got a bunch of photos for you — so let’s roll ’em.

The day started in Cedar Rapids — here are a couple photos from there.  A spiffy sign and note the  odd plastic bubble on the mini canopy.

This very intact old A&W looks like it’s been closed for a long time:

A nice embossed Sherwin-Williams sign from Olin.  Where we got stuck in this tiny town’s weird Western parade.  I think every horse in town was in it.  People even marched around with their less-than-a-year old horses in halter.  There was an announcer and since I was following the parade right behind the cop, he even said “and some folks from New York are with us today” and everybody clapped.  And I waved.  Weird. 

A cutie from Davenport:

More  from Davenport.  This business had some fun pedal cars in the window.  They’ve been around since 1906 — wow!
http://www.emeisautomotive.com/

This rusty one is from LeClaire.  I believe it was a coffee shop below now:

Responding to a special request for bridge photos — here’s one. Sorry about the bugs and glare.  I ventured across the Mississippi briefly today to grab a couple things in Nauvoo, IL from Fort Madison, IA.  Evidently, this is the world’s longest, double-decker swing span bridge.  Lost some time here, too, as we waited for the “swinging” action.  A big chunk of the bridge turns sideways so that ships below can pass underneath.  Here are some other photos & info about it — but, oddly enough, no photos of the bridge rotated:
http://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pagesB/umissB11.html

This page has an animated illustration that gives you the idea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_bridge

Some Nauvoo, IL shots. Who can resist these colorful, embossed product signs?

I’m not sure if this is an old sign touched up — or just a nostalgic piece.  I really like the bull’s crazy eyes:

Back in Iowa — this from Fort Madison.  I found it really kind of creepy to have this mini golf right at the foot of the Iowa State Penitentiary.  The prison was a really foreboding place.  Almost like a haunted castle — which made me feel more uncomfortable than a more modern-looking prison.

A couple other shots from Fort Madison.  Stainless steel letters / sign on white vitrolite (glass tiles).  Looks like a jewelry store — but it’s actually a hunting store — and apparently always has been:

And this one with black vitrolite — combined with the remainder of a classic red Woolworth department store sign:

And lastly — sure to give you nightmares if you’re reading this as late as I’m typing it.  This eyeball sign is perched on top of a more mundane box sign for an “eye care specialist” sign in Keokuk:

End of week two — three more weeks to go.  I’m going to need a week off when this is all over.  But alas, I’ll be returning to work the very next day I return home.  A bit of a zombie for a few days.  This is not how anyone else I know would spend their vacation.

As if the dogs weren’t making me fully aware of every single river and lake we pass here in Iowa (which is about every five minutes), I’ve been noticing that they all seem extremely high.  Some bridges closed that are too close to the water.  Fields that are flooded.  And this is the middle of summer — it must’ve been a hell of a spring.  I also saw places selling concrete igloo like storm shelters.  Flooding, tornados, crazy snow storms with giant hail, mosquitos the size of Monarch butterflies…  I love you Iowa, but I won’t be moving here.

1am — let’s get on with the show.  Lest anyone forget, I’m traveling with four wild animals.  The cast, left to right:  Gremlin, Gripper, Fix & Sputnik.  From Belle Plaine:

For my rusty sign fans — this one from Ladora. I can’t explain the muffler looking thing on the upper left:

A really nice Masonic Temple in Grinnell.  I feel a new category at my website coming on… but no!

This still-operating five and dime is real step back in time – from Chariton:

This building from Corydon.  I’m wondering if that tall structure wasn’t originally a faux windmill.  I went looking for a building in Albia that must be gone now.  There was a chain of windmill gas stations in south Iowa.  I believe they were built in the 1920s for Harry Gholson and called “Dutch Service” stations.  There were also motel cottages built in conjunction with this station/restaurant (a gas/food/lodging tourist complex).  No sign of motel rooms near this building now.

Also from Corydon — one of what seems to be only a handful of these old neon Hy-Vee signs left:

These statues / sculptures also from Corydon.  I shot with the lawnmower guy for scale.   Now I regret it — kind of messes up the shot.

A close-up of the tin man:

An unusual FOE (Fraternal Order of Eagles) sign in Ottumwa.  The gold metal eagle was really glistening in the sun.  Just doesn’t look that way in this photo:

From Riverside — for you Star Trek fans:

And lastly, a welcome sign from Lone Tree.  I imagine the sign was neon originally and then replaced with these plastic letters.  I’m glad they kept the original steel shape at least.  Most cities would have gone the backlit plastic box route:

Tomorrow, still a few more hours in Iowa and then finally into Missouri.  Kansas will interrupt the northern and southern chunks of Missouri.  I’ll probably spend about 12 days in these two states.

So where were we?  Normally, I try to get settled around 9pm and then spend about an hour replying to various emails and to Flickr & blog comments.  Then it’s usually 10pm and I start picking out photos, cropping & tweaking.  Around 11, on a good night, I start uploading to Flickr.  Then around midnight, start the blog post.  Which explains why they are so disjointed and dry sometimes.  Not much sense of humor left in me.  But last night, I didn’t get settled til 11pm and then.. the usual schedule.. and no way was there time for the blog.  So that’s my excuse.

Let’s move right into the  photos then — since I have today’s pictures still to play with and it’s 10pm.  This is hard work — but I’m happy when it’s done and I can finally turn the computer off.

The day started in Sioux City.  This cute sign is right downtown.  A sign in the window indicated that the business has moved elsewhere.  So this one’s days are probably numbered.  Probably neon before it was patched & painted maybe 400 times, right?

Dashboard treat time.  Desperate for stamina boosters at a gas station c-store, I came across this new-to-me snack.  Very spicy which helps when you’re fading at the wheel.  Three of the dogs didn’t mind the intensity. But Fixie, who’s the only one that usually chews her snacks, gave me a “that was a dirty trick!” look.  I give them a B- and wouldn’t buy again.  Note this is a small bag — it just looks huge in this photo.  And the little Ritz sandwiches are about the size of a quarter.

The former Mister Donut sign in Des Moines.  Now Donut King but they let the sign live.  Sort of.  You can still make out the “Mister” at the top of the sign if you stare at it long enough.

Some fun stuff from the public sculpture garden in downtown Des Moines:

From Story City.  Yes, these Kum & Go gas stations are all over the place in Iowa.  There are also Git N Go.  And Casey’s gas stations.   I think I’ve been to 50 Casey’s in the last three days.  I sure miss Sheetz and Wawa though — which are way huger and have much great snack selection (even healthy stuff).  Anyhow, I don’t know what the original gas station brand was here, but evidently it was part of a chain.  In the past couple days, I’ve seen remnants of these “Food” towers at other gas station combo restaurant locations.  I’m assuming the food sign must’ve been neon and visible for 20 miles — and outer space:

The remaining photos are from Marshalltown where I wound up staying the night.  Mostly just so I could shoot the Stone’s Restaurant sign after dark.

6:27 and as bright as noon it seems. 

Another reason I’ve been getting such a late start on my email/postings is that it doesn’t get dark til after 8pm (or 9pm by my watch since I’m not changing for the difference between CST and EST).  The sun is up extra early it seems, too.  And also, since Iowa is so flat, there are no trees or mountains to cut into shooting time.  Which is great — but exhausting since I shoot from practically dawn to dusk.

Here’s another candidate for the world’s tallest, or top 10 tallest, blade sign.  Most likely a hotel-y name before it became the Tall Corn Towers (apartments).  The neon now substituted with plastic letters.  But still fun.

Last subject for the night — before I head off to work on today’s photos.  Admire the humor, cleverness, and tilework of the Totem Bowl:

Many, many miles and stops today.  Had a late rendez-vous with a sign for a night shot. But turned out not to be lit.  Lots of emails and Flickr comments to reply to and suddenly, it’s nearly 2am.  I have some photos ready to post here but I’ve just run out of steam.  I can barely type right now.  The cumulative effect of all those 3-4 hrs. per night of sleep.  I’ll post to Flickr in the morning.  Otherwise, I promise a double blog & photo batch tomorrow night.  Sorry for the disappointment.

[Update 8/6 Friday at 7:30am CST – at least I got the Flickr stuff up this morning.  Sun’s up and we’re off!  Hopefully, we’ll finish up Iowa today and start on Missouri]

I was all psyched to finish up Chicago this morning.  But it was pouring rain and dark as night in every direction.  I sat at my first destination for about 20 minutes waiting.  And then I made the painful decision to just head on to Iowa.  And quite the journey it was — from coast to coast.  Except Iowa doesn’t really have coasts unless maybe you count rivers as coasts.  In which case there probably are rivers at every border.  Iowa has tons of rivers.  Ask my dogs — who got to splash around in lots of them today.  It was another scorcher — 90-something and humid as hell.  But not as bad from what I heard on the radio about Tennessee, Georgia and elsewhere where it was 100 degrees and with heat index a feels-like of 115 or so.  Wow — my sympathies for any of my readers that are dealing with that!

So anyhow, Dubuque to Sioux City, plus the stretch from Chicago and some jimmy-jags north and south of Highway 20.  I haven’t done the math but that’s a ton of driving.  Plus the local driving in cities to take photos of stuff.  Google says it’s 537 miles from Chicago to Sioux City. 

******

OK — I’m Back from 5 hours sleep and feel like a million bucks!  Let’s see if I can finish this post now while the sun is coming up.  There weren’t many photos today since it was mostly farmland and dinky towns.  Many miles between destinations and hardly any unplanned surprises.  But it was awfully pretty.  And stinky (tons of chicken production & cows). 

Cornfields and clouds:

and crashed-out dogs:

This is from East Dubuque, IL — just before (finally) crossing the Mississippi River.  There are actually two identical scaffold signs like this on either side of this hill:

This sweet one from Dubuque, IA:

I shot a number of these Dairy Sweets today.  Their buildings are nothing special but I love the plastic signs.  This chain seems entirely or mostly confined to Iowa.  This one, now named Dairy Treat, is from Nashua, IA:

This butterfly-roofed building is from Mason City.  My first guess is former gas station since it’s on a big enough lot.  But it might have been a drive-in restaurant, ice cream stand or something else:

Britt, IA is home to the Hobo Museum and the National Hobo Convention.  This link gives some info about this character on their sign:
http://www.brittiowa.com/hobo/logo-symbols.htm

This former “pilgrim hat” A&W restaurant (now “Backseat Diner & Drive-in”)  is located in Humboldt.  I’ve never seen the drive-in canopy installed on the side of the building like this.  It usually shoots off one of the ends of the building.  But it looks like a vintage construction:

One more before I hit the highway (sun’s up and not a cloud anywhere in this big Iowa sky).  From Fort Dodge — do you think Dairy Queen knows/cares about this Tom Thumb sign dominating one of their restaurants?  The size and style of this sign make me wonder if there were other Tom Thumb locations.  Nothing comes up from a quick poke at Google though.

The forecast was for rain all day — so I thought I would probably bail at some point and just head for Iowa.  But the prediction was wrong and the weather got better as the day went.  So in Chicago I stayed.  Couldn’t help myself.  I could stop every 10 minutes but had to steel myself and stick mostly to my list.  I must have at last 200 photos just from today.  A nice chunk uploaded to Flickr just now and a similar sized stack ready to go here. 

Sparkle’s been purring along without a hitch.  I’m now way behind schedule.  Lolly-gagging in Chicago plus the mechanical fiasco.  I have a bit more Chicago stuff that I’d like to do — and some other “important” Illinois stuff.  So, if you don’t hear from me tomorrow night — don’t worry — I’m banging out interstate miles en route to Iowa and too beat to crop photos & write something.   I’ll at least drop a hello before I pass out.  Or maybe I’ll come up with another plan.  If the weather’s crummy, I might just high tail it out of here and get where I’m supposed to be.

Let’s get on with the photos then.   Oh yes, the dogs are fine — really hot & humid for all of us and so the runs were fairly short.  I still managed to find huge abandoned lots for them in the heart of the city — even incredibly nicely mowed grass with no sign of ownership.  Tomorrow morning, I’ll give them a very special treat — one of our favorite places:  Montrose Beach.

This inexplicable clown in front of Classic Auto Insurance in Gary, IN:

More from Gary:  a massive and mysterious sign.  Most recently “The Cave” but before that… don’t know:

The “Char-El” must’ve been some other entity originally.  I’m guessing a motel — and probably neon on the metal piece; and a larger metal piece where that hideously boring plastic box is.  Glad they didn’t mess with the ballies:

From Crete, IL — I haven’t seen a Speed Queen sign before though obviously these must have been mass-produced:

An awesomely wonderful, politically incorrect sign from South Chicago Heights:

In Blue Island, IL — Burr-Oak TV has signs in front and on the side of their building.  Lots o’ color here — as a TV shop should have I guess:

Also Blue Island — love the drippie rust and rusty pole:

I know I’ve included Chicago area rock-i-tecture in a post last year — but I can’t help myself — here’s some more:

Chicago — how do I love thee, let me count just some of the ways… Signs everywhere.  Hands-down more vintage signs per square mile than anywhere on the face of the earth.  And maybe 50 of them suspended from these rooftop structures.  I have never been able to determine a more precise name — so I just call them “hangers”.

More rooftop action – lots of wires & chains involved with signs in Chicago/Chicagoland.  Very little of this stuff in any other city.  Love the duplicative effort here:

Even the plastic signs need a little help with chains. Maybe it’s because Chicago’s the “Windy City”?

Just about every corner in Chicago is a visual festival.  Here’s a nice melange of religious art, Art Deco details, and modern signs.  Surely, that plastic sign was once steel and needed that hefty rooftop hanger:

Here are some more random details from various eras:

There’s a former Tastee-Freez entombed in this frenzy of color and signage.  You can just make out that tell-tale lip over the take-out window at the right.  If you don’t know what I mean by “lip”, here are some classic T-F buildings:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/tastee.html

I’ve read that this place “Slow Down, Life’s Too Short” used to be a bar.  It’s been closed for several years now but the funky artwork still remains:

And to close out tonight’s marathon session — a sweet little sign from a motel still hanging on (by a thread I’m sure) on North Lincoln:

I’ll spare you a lot of details since I’ve complained enough over the past few days. But to sum up, for those that are interested in mechanical things, it seems the distributor was the culprit.  The mechanic explained the vibration of a slightly bent stem (or whatever it’s called) as being the speedo, whirring sound.  The bucking was most likely the cam sensor (replaced the day before). It took a couple hours for the distributor to arrive… and then another hour to install… And then the engine wouldn’t start. Say what? I never have starting problems. So the mechanic spent about 2 more hours checking everything, de-corroding connections, replacing wires… and then I was off. With fingers and toes crossed.

No more whirring or humming or bucking. But. The acceleration still sounds a little different to me. Kind of higher pitched. Which concerns me and which I mentioned to the mechanic after the repairs. He couldn’t hear it. I also have a squeaking sound from the front panels not being put back just-so. He took it out for a test drive to fix and banged on them to fix. Of course, that “fix” didn’t last an hour. I’ve been banging on them myself to no avail. Maybe I’ll get used to it. Four more weeks of it though just might drive me crazy. City driving in Chicago tomorrow should be a real test!

So, we didn’t get moving until early afternoon.  I decided to stick close to Fort Wayne for awhile in case I needed to go back to the shop. But after 5 hours or so of uneventful driving, it’s full speed ahead.  The dogs are happy to get back to a) barking at motorcycles and b) sleeping. Two of their favorite activities in life.

Let’s move on to the photos. I’m sure you’ve missed them!  These first few photos were from before all hell broke loose and I got stranded.

I’d been worried that this one in Lafayette might be gone since I last saw it maybe six years ago.  But the  place is now a thrift shop or something and the sign’s been left to linger.  Sorry about the white background — truly crappy rainy weather that morning:

This building in West Lafayette, now a Chase Bank, was designed by Louis Sullivan.  Pretty small scale compared to the other buildings I’ve seen of his:

Glazed terracotta details:

A nice two-fer from Akron:  a payphone and a vitrolite-fronted drug store:

This photo was taken en route to the mechanics in Fort Wayne — glorious blue skies torturing me since I’d be sitting all day, nearly two days there.

This one from Fort Wayne was taken on a test drive that didn’t go so well… had to go back for another day because the whirring sound came back.  This sign is most likely modern in entirety — but still a fun name and bubbles: 

A couple fun yet sad banks — must’ve been part of the same chain — both abandoned now — both in Fort Wayne:

Kitty corner from the first bank was this sign I’d been wanting to see.  Oddly enough, there’s only a boarded up old baby box 1920s-ish gas station on the lot.  Must’ve been a tiny drive-in with lots of room for the cars.  I assume there was a Humpty Dumpty figure on top of the sign originally:

Still on pins & needles in Fort Wayne… I think this is finally the first Azar’s Big Boy I’ve seen.  This Wikipedia site covers the Big Boy variations & history far better than I ever could:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boy_(restaurant)

Finally moving on with some optimism — from Syracuse:

Also from Syracuse — but alas, this place is no more.  Just concrete slabs where the greens used to be.

Stuck at a long light somewhere, forced to stare at this ahead of me (hence the bug-smeared windshield quality).  I’m sure the owners of this truck find this artwork awesome.  But it looks awfully 8th grade to me.  Those eyes are haunting, aren’t they?

And last one for the day — making progress through Indiana at a rapid clip — the Pang Ford Motel (Google says it’s two words) in Mishawaka.  What an odd assortment of elements:

So — I hope you’re ready for us Chicago!  I’ll see what we can bang through tomorrow.  Technically, I should really be starting Day 1 or Iowa tomorrow.  But I’m going to allow myself one day in the Big City before hitting the interstate.  Maybe a few choice, not-to-be-missed-this-time stops in Illinois on Wednesday.  And then it’ll be time to focus on the big three for this trip:  IA, KS & MO.  If we fall behind, it’ll just be tough for the other states planned for the way home.

I can’t begin to describe how frustrated, angry, and miserable I am. No photos today since I spent the entire day, nearly pacing, at the repair shop. When I finally got handed the keys, it was 3:30 and they closed at 4. Sure enough, I got about 5 miles away, and “the sound” returned. I called them immediately and the desk woman said she’d have the mechanic wait for me (I was 5 minutes away). But he left, dinner reservations. And I’m stuck waiting until tomorrow morning. Sucks, sucks, sucks.

Today, the computer code came up with Sparkle needing a “cam sensor”. So the mechanic replaced that. Also, he discovered a loose rotor on the distributor which he believed was causing the dash noise. Latest theory, based on the desk woman’s call to the mechanic, is that the bearing on the distributor is bad. Tomorrow, he will replace the distributor first thing in the morning and I should be on my way. I’ll hit a few stops in Fort Wayne and do a little loop of other stops just in case I need to return. Ugh, sure hope not!

The dogs had a great day since there were two girls (the desk woman’s kids) stranded there as well for the day. The girls were all over the dogs all day: giving them Cheetos for tricks, taking them on walks around the building, etc. So the dogs didn’t get naps at all today and are even more exhausted than I am.

It feels like I’ve been stuck here for a week. It’s hard to even remember the fun things I’ve seen and places I’ve been. It’ll take me a few thousand miles to get my mind off the mechanical status of my van and back into the joy of this journey. Here’s hoping tomorrow night, I will have happier stories & interesting photos for you.

A video to cheer us all up. From a few days ago, at a pond in Lake Conneaut, PA, as promised, finally!

Before I get your hopes up, this will be a picture-less post.  I took a few photos today but then pretty much disaster struck.  Of a mechanical nature.  Me and the dogs are fine.  Just frustrated.  Lousy weather this morning:  grey and rain.  My little humming sound didn’t start until after about the first hour.  As I was heading for the next big city to have it checked out, the check engine light came on.  I’ve been told not to panic when it does — it’s usually just an electronic thing and as long as the car is acting normal, not overheating, oil pressure fine, then you shouldn’t worry. 

Found a Chevy dealership and was optimistic.  Although they were closing at noon (and it was 9:30am), they would get me fixed up.  They got me out at 1pm.  The “check engine” thing came up on the computer as an oxygen sensor.  So that’s what was replaced.  I was nervous when I saw the mechanic struggling to get the part out, flabbergasted with the instructions of how to install, etc.  As for the sound, I was told it was my “cluster” (speedometer, etc.) and that it would be $500 plus and that it wouldn’t hurt to leave it be — sometimes the sound just goes away on its own.  Ok.

So, $250 or so later, hit the road and eager to start taking photos, even though it was still pretty grey and miserable.  Then, the sound returned, getting louder and louder.  Like 3 million wasps in your lap.  Loud.  Scary loud.  I was trying to imagine dealing with Chicago chaos with that going on.  Not a good plan.  Considered buying ear plugs.  Even the dogs were annoyed I think.  Then, it went away.  Maybe the guy was right? 

About 20 minutes later, I feel this buck.  Like you hit something.  Dead roadkill or a rubber hose.  Soft buck but noticeable.  Then again.  And then every few miles.  A buck, a surge.  But no sounds, no lights and running perfectly fine otherwise.  Stress!!!  Should I stop, should I drive?  No repair shops open anywhere.  At noon, they all close in northern Indiana, so everyone said.  What could it be?  Must be fuel related?  Then, 20 miles from Fort Wayne, the “check engine” light comes on again.  So did they guy diagnose the problem wrong — or was the part installed wrong — or just some additional thing?  My theory is that this is all related to the teeny humming that I had back in Brooklyn.  Even the speedo sound.  But all this is to be determined.

I may be in Fort Wayne til Monday.  Or longer.  Unfortunately, in a dullsville part of town with only gas stations and fast food places so I can’t even document stuff for you.  Unless.  I found a Sears Auto Center online — it’s supposedly open tomorrow at 9am.  So I’ll limp down the road — just 2.5 miles and give that a shot.  Luckily, this Red Roof Inn is right next to a gigantic field so I can run the dogs if we’re stranded here for more than 24 hours.  Hope not.  I’ll keep you posted.  This is what roadtrips are really all about I guess.  The highs and lows, the unexpected.  A reflection of life in general.  The good thing is, I’m going to sleep a lot tonight.