Road Trip 2013 - Day 2 - June 12 - Indiana, Illinois, Iowa - Stop 3 (Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies)

The third and final stop for the day was midway through Iowa, in today's Iowa capital Des Moines. Timing worked great for us and we arrived as the sun was ready to set behind and just off to the side of the Iowa State Capitol. The sky looked great with all of the sunlight from below and the golden dome stood out clearly. Being late in the day, the whole Capitol area with all of the monuments surrounding it was empty with no people around. After a long drive the area provided a great opportunity to walk around, stretch our legs, and take a quick peak into history.

Iowa became the 29th state to join the United States on December 28, 1846. The capital city is Des Moines. The highest point is Hawkeye Point at 1,670 feet.

The State Capitol, built in a modified Renaissance style, was completed in 1886 and is unique with its five domes, four on corner towers and one golden dome in the center. The original state Capitol was in Iowa City but was moved to today's Des Moines.

The Supreme Court building is new a five story facility, completed in 2002, separated into a formal wing and an office wing. It incorporates a dome-capped rotunda and other classical elements to keep it in harmony with the Capitol, yet, has a simplified modern look.

The last photo here was actually photographed first. The setting sun was shining beautiful light on the Lucas Building and the blue cloud-filled sky was a great back-drop. Despite the Capitol building being right behind me and the Liberty Bell replica to my right, this building was just asking ot be photographed.

Compliments of the very low sun, shadows were long, giving me an interesting opportunity for a self-portrait in front of the building. Even though the foreground was mostly in a shadow the gap between the two shadows was just enough to get myself into it.

The Lucas State Office Building was completed in 1952 and got its name in 1966 after Robert Lucas, Iowa's first territorial governor.

Day over, hotel, rest, and Day #3 awaits!

Enjoy your summer vacation, wherever your plans take you!

• Iowa on 50States.Com
• Iowa State Capitol on Wikipedia
• Iowa Supreme Court on Wikipedia
• Iowa Judicial Branch Building Visitor Guide

Equipment used:

• Nikon D600
• Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
• Promaster 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter
• Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
• Nikon Capture NX2

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