Since the onset of Americanization during the early 1800s, Iowa’s environment has changed more than any state in the union. Over 98 percent of Iowa’s lands were altered in service of agriculture. Forever spreading fields of corn and soybeans line highway shoulders, stretching out east to west, north to south. The state ranks second to […]
Maquoketa Caves State Park
Posted inEastern Iowa Recreation
Dating, hiking and falling in love with snow at Iowa state parks
Since moving to Iowa City from Athens, Georgia last August, I’ve spent my free time relaxing in Johnson County’s parks and greenspaces, and my weekends hiking state parks and trails. Here’s a tentative ranking of the five state parks I’ve explored throughout the state so far, plus an honorable Wisconsin mention. Lake Macbride State Park, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Beer, caves and medieval fantasy in Maquoketa
“Said Gawain, gay of cheer, ‘Whether fate be foul or fair, Why falter I or fear? What should man do but dare?’” —‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,’ late 14th century poem “The green girdle stays on during sex.” —Sir Gawain (paraphrased), ‘The Green Knight,’ 2021 film When I was a 10-year-old Girl Scout on […]
