This is such an awesome company and they have a ton of amazing fireworks to light up your 4th! They…read moreare all fairly reasonably priced and the staff is amazing! They have great recommendations and really know their products. They have multiple pop up locations, so check their website or Facebook to see where they will be.

Decent lake for watersports in Ames, IA area. Water isn't the clearest, but a lot of fun…read morenonetheless. Unlimited engines allowed so great for canoes to jet skis.

This is a great multi-use park located near Valley Junction. They have a family friendly beach…read morearea, a newly installed accessible playground, dog park (permit required), walking/bike path, and boat house where you can rent kayaks and stand up paddle boards. There are also soccer fields and baseball/softball diamonds close by. Lots of parking lots near various areas.

I am an Arizona Desert Rat who grew up in Iowa. I am visiting the beautiful small town of Norwalk,…read moreIowa and we have been fishing at Blue Heron Lake in Raccoon River Park. What an incredible job you've done West Des Moines! This place has it all! Swimming beach, boat launch, kayak and canoe rentals and a very nice wheelchair accessible fishing pier! We have been enjoying this place so much! Ok the kids and the girls are catching all the fish (I am Worm Boy and take the fish off the hook haha) Catch and release! I cannot say enough nice things about Raccoon River Park!

Fun AAA ballpark WHERE I CAUGHT MY FIRST BALL EVER!!! Beyond that, we had a 250 person event and it…read morewent flawlessly. We had the entire right field bleachers to ourselves. Shade for those who wanted it, sit anywhere to watch the game. Food was in good supply pregame. Supposedly pulled with first pitch but they did what I would hope: put all the remaining food out so we can take from it. (But seriously guys, if you read this? Keep serving through the first inning or so. Please.) Also a second note: Audio didn't really carry to the outfield. No secondary video screen to supplement the one directly behind us. For that fifth star, please beef that up a bit!

2 weeks ago I was visiting Des Moines, IA for 4 days visiting a friend. When planning the trip,…read moreshe wanted me to look for things I wanted to do. I did some searching and found out Des Moines was home to Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate, of Chicago Cubs. My friend somehow got a coupon for a buy 1 ticket get 1 ticket free. I think total was $20. It was on 3rd baseline on second tier level of seats. They don't accept cash at concession stands. You have fo get a card to load or you can use a credit card. I tried to load the card my friend had but it didn't work. So we got a new card and loaded that up. I went to one stand to get beer for myself. I also got an order of steak fries. It seemed like a small portion for the price but whatever. The stadium is definitely smaller than major league ball parks. Worcester Red Sox were playing the Iowa Cubs. 6 hits Final Score 0-1 Cubs Winning. The stadium was clean, signs easy to follow.

Gayle and I returned to the Iowa State fair yesterday. It was a hot Tuesday (even in the morning)…read moreand we spend maybe 3 hours on the grounds. I'm sure I've been here since my last review was posted, but the years do seem to flow and run together. High Points: - The Butter Cow! - Chair Lift ride over part of the Fair Grounds. - Varied Industry, Walnut Center, and Arts Building Exhibits - Seeing Governor Reynolds walk down the main thoroughfare. - Visiting the University of Iowa Booth and touching the trophies. - Watching Families Groom Their Steers for Competition in the Barn. - Enjoying the Pig competition in one of the arenas. - Having a nice Lunch at Stockman's. We also walked around a lot and just watched the diversity of our fellow attendees. There were also a lot of huge baby strollers on one end life's spectrum and many senior scooters on the other. We also appreciated the DART park-and-ride option from the State Capital. It was only $1 each for folks like us that are over 65.

Always a fun time when the weather is behaving itself. Got an early start to avoid long lines and…read moregiant crowds. It was a little sprinkly at first but that stopped and it was decent most of the day. Little clouds and a light breeze. Had a decent breakfast at the Methodist Church. Nothing to write home about. Just a start to our day. Then off to the Beer Tent for hydration. Lots of new sips to be sipping. Nerds beer. Cotton candy beer. Lots of ciders and my all time favorite the spiked fair lemonade. Tried the 3 Little Pigs from Whatcha Smokin and was very let down. Little flavor other than the sauce and super dense for a meatball. The jalapeno dog on a stick was much better but it had the Waukee meat. Tried the bacon chicken ranch egg roll and it was great. One of the best new foods in the history of new foods. We even had a group cut in line lol Enjoyed seeing the doll houses and various crafts. The paintings. The photography. The livestock. Going back a 2nd time because you can't see everything in one day. Recommend for anyone to go at least once a year.