This time there are 32 photographs, and
they are taken in subzero weather at Wright and Hancock counties. The
general idea is to illustrate what Iowa really looks like in these
conditions, and what is going on out there at such times. Truly, most
people here just shut themselves up in their islands during January,
February and March of each year. However, on the hard-top roads I did
see some traffic happening all day long; even though I was seldom on
those roads myself, I could see them in the distance. 'Some traffic'
is about one car in sight every fifteen minutes; for a radius of
fifteen miles.
I stayed with the county roads, the
dirt and gravel roads; because I wanted to see the non-tourist views
of Iowa with fast winds and a wind chill of around -30 degrees. The
wind cannot be seen in these pictures, and has been blowing here for
so many days that there is no longer any free snow to be blown about
and drifted. Thus, you cannot see the wind which was whipping all
around the Cashmere whenever I stopped to take a picture. For Iowa
this is somewhat rare, because wind with such a velocity is usually
accompanied by clouds of drifting snow.
The effects of the cold can be seen in
the pictures themselves. The first dozen or so pictures were shot
with the Nikon as cold as the wind itself; and that turned the
pictures blue along the windward side -- the left side. Later, I put
the Nikon up on the dashboard by the defroster vents (between shots)
and let it heat up; then the pictures started to look more evenly
colored.
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I am finding that as of today (it seems to change) you can get the best copies of these photographs using Firefox; left click on a picture, when the picture viewer appears expand the picture and save the picture to your computer.
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This sight is what usually stops most
people from proceeding any further. It is a Siberian-like expanse of
endless snow, already drifted, with very cold linear winds from the
northeast. This, however, is where you have to start.
The expanses of snow look foreboding,
but the roads have been plowed -- which hints at a reason for that.
Why would the counties be plowing roads way out here?
This is a 'set piece' shot, showing the
only lifeforms that are naturally suited to stand in these
conditions. The pictures that you see are usually one out of five,
because the conditions are so cold that any shot has to be taken five
times in the hopes that at least one will work right. Any more than
five is hazardous to your health, because to prevent photo distortion
due to heat waves I had to turn off the heater and open all of the
windows of the Impala each time I stopped to take a picture. The
interior was immediately vacated of all warm air. So, the interior
began to freeze immediately, and you can only take that for about
five minutes before you have to shut the windows again and turn the
heater back on. Therefore, your operations window is five minutes
flat. As you can see in these beginning pictures, the Nikon started
to freeze up and discolor the pictures towards blue.
This picture is taken at the same
position as the last one, in the opposite direction. Now, we are
seeing some activity. Four trucks passed in view here before I could
get a picture. Work is being done, even out here in these cold
extremes.
A classic road sign off R33 (a hard
top).
On the dirt roads again, and heading
east. I took a counterclockwise route this day, and now I am at the
bottom of the clock. I take pictures like this, because this is what
it really is. This is what is really out here. The groups of trees
that you see in the backgrounds of these shots, almost always contain
a house or farm buildings.
A patchwork of irrigation pipes. Can
you see the farm in the background, inside an island of trees?
On an ordinary winter's day out here
the snow would be blowing so thick, in a wind like this, that you
would not see a grain hauler like this until it was right on you. It
would suddenly appear out of the clouds of snow. Today, however, all
of the loose snow has been blown eastwards to the DemoCrap sewer
called DePuke.
Visibility today is about four miles,
once you get out into it. Of course, maintenance crews are working
out here also. What stops most people from coming out here on days
like this ...
if I got out of the Impala and poured a
cup of water on the hood none of it would escape from being instantly
frozen. I would have a frozen splash pattern on the hood formed in
the direction that the freezing wind is moving ...
is the shock of leaving the warmer
island temperatures and being instantly battered by the freezing
winds. Small trips from island to island are okay, if the roads are
clear and it is daylight; but after sunset only people who have to
travel to work are out in their cars, and always on the hard tops. On
a winter night the county dirt roads are empty, even though many farm
houses can only be reached by those roads.
A typical farm example of what I mean.
This is the warm time of the day, so the cows are out. I hope you can
get large versions of these photographs; the backgrounds are
sometimes informative. For instance, the road that I am on runs
east-west, but behind the cows you can see another road next to the
farm running north-south. There must be an intersection just to the
right of this picture. Is there a plow
in the picture?
This is one of many small lakes here in
Iowa, which become more plentiful as you travel further north towards
Minnesota. There is someone out there pulling a sled. He is either
going ice fishing, or looking for a place to get rid of his
mother-in-law.
The lake we just saw is to the right of
this picture. The houses along the lakes here are not necessarily
abandoned and empty during the winter months. Snowmobiling and ice
fishing are popular activities in the coldest temperatures. And,
since the houses are occupied the support systems must be maintained.
Wright county and Hancock county share
the rollings hills region that comes down from the Crystal Rim and
tracks southeastwards; like everything in Iowa that is east of the
divide tracks to the southeast, including the clouds of migrating
birds. All throughout the rolling hills the amount of wetlands,
ponds, lakes and wildlife is increased. The lake you just saw is part
of the rolling hills watershed.
How many branches can you see in this
picture?
Don't answer that.
How many footprints can you see in this
picture?
The RR crossings are not the same. I
took these last three photos for completion, and because these are
typical scenes out here. Remember the first picture? Did you know
this was beyond it? The town in the background is Belmond.
More pictures of the rolling hills
region. We are traveling northwards now. Notice the grazing cattle in
the background of one picture. Like I said, this is the warm time of
the day out here.
I take pictures of intersections.
A grain hauler parked next to a farm on
a north-south road.
Another road intersection shot.
Two islands close together.
That is the town of Britt in the
background. This was the coldest time of the entire day, -40 degrees
at least and blowing ice. I spent about fifteen minutes trying to get
this photo, with the windows down and the engine off to reduce
vibrations. The wind was shaking the Impala bad enough as it was.
On the opposite side (west) of Britt
now, near hard top 18. Once again, I am showing typical structures
that exist out here. It is not as cold on this side of Britt (-20);
that happens.
Another grain storage facility, just
west of the last one and on the same rail spur. From here, I turn
south towards Corwith and food.
In the summertime this canal will be
green and filled with reeds, water, and blackbirds. Can you see the
bunny rabbit tracks?
Yes, I take pictures of bridges. Not
the grandiose kind, but rather the small and neglected working
bridges.
Corwith. One small grocery store. Food.
End of photo journey.
The next day the wind was gone and the
skies were clear, and the temperatures were well above freezing +32.
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Markel Peters
