"We were a bit early for Des Moines..."

I'm quoting Ray Manzarek of The Doors, regarding the 1967 show they played in Iowa's capital city to a paying audience of 34 dumbstruck audience members.  The same can also be said for the crowd at the Iowa Stars hockey game I attended at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Friday night!  Nice building—outstanding, in fact—but a very bland atmosphere, as only 5,000 and change bothered to show up on a Friday.  To be fair, the NCAA Tournament probably factored into the low attendance, plus they had another home game on Saturday night, but I can see why this team has been rumored to be leaving town after just two years in their new digs.  These folks were more like the Larry The Cable Guy crowd than a hockey crowd.  Too bad, because they have a first-class arena, even though they pull that black-curtain-to-close-off-the-upper-deck shtick to make the place look more intimate.  I also wasn't too impressed with the concession stand staff, who acted like it was opening night, rather than the home stretch of the season.  It took them forever to dish me up a freakin' hot dog, and the woman who waited on me had no clue how to pour a freakin' beer...

Next morning, I awoke to stormy skies over Des Moines, and it looked for a bit like I'd get to do some storm chasing, but as I neared Ames, below is the view I had driving up I-35 toward Minnesota:





I haven't the foggiest idea what I drove through Saturday morning, as I charged through northern Iowa. Turns out there's not much to see anyway...