GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in Iowa
*For the top yearly events of Iowa, click here.
Des Moines
This is the yearly site of the Iowa State Fair, which is one of the largest state fairs in the country and attracts more than one million people per year. Also, just outside of town in Altoona, there's a family fun amusement park, Adventureland, that is filled with hundreds of rides, shows, and attractions.
Dyersville
We couldn't find a lot in Iowa to do that specifically said "Iowa"...until I found out that the "Field of Dreams" still exists there! That says "Iowa" for sure. Of course the field has been known to say a number of things, but it definitely says "Iowa". So, we took the boys there, and I was able to play catch on THE FIELD OF DREAMS with my two sons! Amazing. As the movie said, "Is this heaven?" "It's Iowa."
Eldon
Everyone is familiar with the painting called "American Gothic" with the older couple standing in front of a house, side-by-side, him holding a pitchfork. Well, that painting was inspired by a house in Eldon, Iowa, and the house is still there for you to pose for your own "American Gothic" knockoff. The painting itself is currently in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Riverside
This is the "future birthplace of Captain James Tiberius Kirk". While Star Trek had mentioned Kirk was from Iowa, it hadn't named a town. So, this town got creative and claimed Kirk for themselves.
