Iowa State Fair PIREP

Today promised to be the quality weather day to attend the (usually
blisteringly hot) Iowa State Fair, held annually in Des Moines, Iowa. The
weather was in the 80s, but the humidity was low and a broken cloud cover
promised to keep the UV exposure down -- so it was off the fair for the
Honeck tribe.

As many of you know, this is one of THE best state fairs to attend, with
literally thousands of participants, displaying everything from monster
trucks to champion rabbits. (I'm not kidding!) It's a veritable
smorgasbord of events, concerts, rides, and animals, and the kids absolutely
love it.

We started our day with a quick stop at the inn, to pick up the Mighty Grape
so that we could refuel Atlas before the 55 minute flight over to DSM. As
we pulled in the drive, however, we both immediately spotted two squad cars,
and our night manager out talking to them.

Strolling over to see what was happening, the first squad car pulled away
with a woman in the back seat, clearly unhappy. Turned out this woman --
who was mentally unstable and known to the local gendarmes as a nut case --
had actually *attacked* her mother while they were both staying at the inn
last night.

Of all the crazy things, they were both in one of our HONEYMOON suites (we
don't ask *why* people want what they want at check-in...perhaps that's a
question I need to ask to the check-in procedure?), and for reasons known
only to the nut-case, she decided to punch out her mom this morning -- or
something like that.

Shrugging our shoulders at the bizarre nature of the hotel business (and of
humans in general), we headed off to the airport, wondering what could
possibly possess someone to attack their own mother...

Luckily, that was the only crazy occurrence of the day, and the flight to
Des Moines was bumpy (under a 4000 foot broken layer of cumulus clouds) but
uneventful. Mary pulled off a nice squeaker on Rwy 23, and we rolled into
Elliott Aviation right at noon.

The personnel at Elliott were very friendly and welcoming, our rental car
was ready for us, and we were soon on our way to the fair....

.....where we discovered that the rest of Iowa was *also* in attendance.
With all public parking lots full, we allowed ourselves to be directed onto
the front lawn of a nearby home, where the owner/entrepreneur was realizing
a tidy profit from his proximity to the State Fair Park.

The fair itself was outstanding, as always, with fantastic food (a pork
tenderloin -- what else, in Iowa? -- the size of a hub-cap was to die for),
vendors, displays, music, and (of course) animals. Lots of animals.

Our 11-year-old daughter is just nuts about farm animals, for some reason
(our family got out of farming over 125 years ago, so she knows zip about
how hard raising those animals really is), and the high point of her year is
when she gets to drag us through the giant exhibition halls to gaze in
wonder at pigs that weigh over 1000 pounds.

Now, personally, I think one bull looks pretty much like any other, and
miniature horses don't carry a lot of thrill for me, but she is just in
heaven, so we dutifully walk for hours amongst the sweet-smelling stables
and dusty barns.

The competitive riding competitions are one of her favorite things, and we
always try to catch some of them. It really is amazing how those riders
can make a gigantic horse prance sideways, or backwards, or rear, just with
a few subtle physical commands.

After seeing rabbits the size of pigs, and horses the size of dogs, and
ostriches that you could ride, it was time to start snacking our way through
the grounds, and we hit the food vendors with a vengeance.

Chocolate praline fudge? Check. Cotton candy? Check. Deep fried
Twinkies? Got 'em. Corn dogs and deep-fried cheese? You betcha. It was
a gastronomic catastrophe, with a coronary occlusion on the side, but, wow,
you've just got to do that once a year!

Finally, our feet felt like two days at Oshkosh, and even our daughter
admitted that champion boars were pretty dull (they never, *ever* move.
They just lay there like they've been tranquilized, which, I suppose, is all
they CAN do at their weight...), and the sun was heading West, so we decided
to head back to the car.

Meanwhile, in the grandstand area the "Unlimited tractor pulls" were
underway, which meant that tractors with Allison V-1710 engines (like on a
P-38 lighting) were running 3000 horsepower through straight pipes in order
to pull an increasing weight as far as possible. The noise was
paralyzingly loud, and (being gearheads at heart) we just loved it!
Although we were too cheap to pay to see them, the sound was thrill
enough....

At last, we were back at the airport, where the overcast that had settled
over Des Moines was rapidly retreating eastward. Arcing into the
diminishing daylight, into a sky as thick and calm as a bowl of melted
butter, we contentedly droned back to Iowa City, fat, dumb and happy. It
was a marvelous day.

The fair runs through (I think) Sunday. If you want to experience a real
piece of old-fashioned Americana, make a day trip to see it. You won't
regret it!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Just a quick note/question regarding the UV comment and clouds. Is it
actually true that cloud cover reduces UV exposure? I've heard that you
need as much sun screen when its overcast as any other day. Does anyone
know the real answer?

Robert M. Gary wrote in message
. com...
Just a quick note/question regarding the UV comment and clouds. Is it
actually true that cloud cover reduces UV exposure? I've heard that you
need as much sun screen when its overcast as any other day. Does anyone
know the real answer?

Funny you should ask. I'm interested in some more information on that, as I
try to get some regular but moderate UV exposure for my psoriasis. I know
that cloud cover attenuates UVA and UVB somewhat, but I don't know how
proportional it is to visible light attenuation. It still is possible to get
sunburned on a cloudy day, but people can sometimes exaggerate a genuine
concern.

- Rick

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
ups.com...
Just a quick note/question regarding the UV comment and clouds. Is it
actually true that cloud cover reduces UV exposure? I've heard that you
need as much sun screen when its overcast as any other day.

UV gets through, but it is reduced. You certainly don't "need as much sun
screen when it's overcast as any other day".

Does anyone know the real answer?

Pretty much anyone who has spent long hours outside in the middle of the
day, under clouds and not under clouds.

Pete

Jay Honeck wrote in message ...

Jay, I've really enjoyed your reports here, as well as the many others. I've
been lurking for a while, and have taken special note of your posts, having
spent about 25 years growing up in the environs of one of the best places to
live. I envy you, and sometimes wonder why I ever left. The first home I
remember was almost literally in the shadow of Kinnick stadium, post WW2
student/faculty Quonset huts that were eliminated to built the Dental
building. I've never flown, and probably won't ever, except for the MS
Flightsim, but I can appreciate the passion you and everyone else here
shares. I know you'll understand when I say one of my favorite ideas for a
great time here in Chicago is to park by Ohare - or is that O'Hara? - and
just watch the miracle of Bernoulli battling Newton.

Today promised to be the quality weather day to attend the (usually
blisteringly hot) Iowa State Fair, held annually in Des Moines, Iowa. The
weather was in the 80s, but the humidity was low and a broken cloud cover
promised to keep the UV exposure down -- so it was off the fair for the
Honeck tribe.

As many of you know, this is one of THE best state fairs to attend, with
literally thousands of participants, displaying everything from monster
trucks to champion rabbits. (I'm not kidding!) It's a veritable
smorgasbord of events, concerts, rides, and animals, and the kids
absolutely
love it.

In all those years of living in Iowa I never made it to the fair.

[snip wonderful adventure]
At last, we were back at the airport, where the overcast that had settled
over Des Moines was rapidly retreating eastward. Arcing into the
diminishing daylight, into a sky as thick and calm as a bowl of melted
butter, we contentedly droned back to Iowa City, fat, dumb and happy. It
was a marvelous day.

Did the tailwind compensate for increased weight?

- Rick

Jay, I've really enjoyed your reports here, as well as the many others.
I've
been lurking for a while, and have taken special note of your posts,
having
spent about 25 years growing up in the environs of one of the best places
to
live. I envy you, and sometimes wonder why I ever left. The first home I
remember was almost literally in the shadow of Kinnick stadium, post WW2
student/faculty Quonset huts that were eliminated to built the Dental
building.

Iowa City is, indeed, a terrific place to live. All of the advantages of a
big city (cosmopolitan, diverse population; world class entertainment; high
quality sports; etc) with none of the downsides (traffic; crime; sprawl;
etc). Although there are certain aspects of a college town that can drive
us nuts, most days we thank our lucky stars for having left the Rust Belt
back in '97...

I've never flown, and probably won't ever, except for the MS
Flightsim, but I can appreciate the passion you and everyone else here
shares. I know you'll understand when I say one of my favorite ideas for a
great time here in Chicago is to park by Ohare - or is that O'Hara? - and
just watch the miracle of Bernoulli battling Newton.

It's never, ever too late! I was 35 when I earned my wings, and that was at
least 19 years too late.

But just keep me off of I-294, going around Chicago's O'Hare International
Airport. I've almost killed myself (and others) a dozen times, gazing at
the jet-liners when I should have been watching traffic!

Did the tailwind compensate for increased weight?

Actually, we had a bit of an easterly headwind at 3500 feet. We climbed to
5500, where the winds were much lighter, but had to descend when we started
getting into a broken layer.

The layer broke up completely just as we came into the landing pattern over
Iowa City, and a huge harvest moon was rising over the millions of acres of
corn and soybeans that surround Iowa City. The winds were completely calm,
and all the farm lights had already winked on as we arched over the city,
with its thousands of headlights, streetlights and neon signs. Touching
down on Rwy 12, with the sky a blaze orange behind us, everything looked on
fire as we rolled silently off the runway.

Rick, it's a wondrous experience, this flying thing. I highly recommend it!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"