I'd like to give a brief tribute to Des Moines 360. No other person has driven as much traffic to Froggie as she. It seems that every time I turn around to check my sitemeter stats and find a new visitor, the referring link was from Des Moines 360. I hereby give Des Moines 360 the one finger salute--and that finger would be my thumb. Thank you! I don't know what you're doing at your end, but people are clicking on that link and landing on Froggie to take a gander.

All I can do it try to keep the joint mildly interesting. Thanks for visiting, folks.

Truth be told, I know Dubuque like the back of my hand, right down to the Fourth St. elevator, but I really don't know Des Moines very well. I sort of know my way around Quad Cities, and have driven through Sioux City, but that doesn't really count, does it?

My dad grew up on a farm in Dubuque, and his parents retired to Epworth, ~ 18 miles West. Centralia is about halfway between the two towns on the old highway. The old highway's not the most efficient way to get from Dubuque to Epworth, but it's scenic. Route 20's the more efficient way to get there, but in the summer, you need to shut the car windows or else be immune to pig shit. If you let the pig shit smell infiltrate your sinuses, the stench will linger for days.

And you thought New Jersey smelled bad. It does, but only for the industrial stretch of I-95 around the Meadowlands and the Lincoln tunnel exit. Yes, I live in the armpit of the U.S., and can report that I've seen not just deer, but foxes and a coyote trot through my back yard. Fortunately, the coyote wasn't too hungry at the time. We also have black bears. I live across the street from woods and a farm, so NJ isn't all industrial wasteland. Horse farms are five miles away. At least horse dung doesn't smell that bad.