It was time for my quarterly visit to Iowa to spend time with my mom, my brother and his family, and my dad. Aaron and Murphy stayed with the Airstream in Utah in Provo at Utah Lake.
Even though this is not the best picture of Dad, I am happy I actually remembered to take one this time. We stopped for pizza, at his request, before his doctor appointment. He suffers from dementia and other health issues and resides in a nursing home in Illinois, so any trip away from his residence is exciting for him. He is very content and well taken care of there, but just like anyone else, he enjoys getting out and about every now and again. It was good to see him doing well and happy. We sang to 50’s music in the car, which brings him lots of joy. After saying goodbye to Dad, I went back to Mom’s house in Iowa to enjoy another week exploring Iowa and spending time with family.
One of my all-time favorite movies, Field of Dreams, was filmed in Dyersville, Iowa. The farmhouse, the ballfield, and the corn fields are all still there and open for visiting. It was about a three hour drive from my mom’s house, so we decided to make a day of it. It was pretty cool to see where most of the movie was filmed.
This is the farm house from the movie. They offer tours, but we decided that we did not need to see the inside. It was kind of strange that there was a sign that said “If you build it” but, there was no sign that said “They will come.”
The bleachers James Earl Jones and Kevin Costner sat on during the movie.
One ting that was really great-anyone could play on the ball field. There was an older gentleman and his son playing catch, a younger father pitching to his kids while they took turns batting and running the bases. The have a supply of gloves, bats and balls for everyone to use if they want to play. There was one little guy who would hit the ball off of a tee, go get the ball with his bat in hand and then proceed to run the bases with bat and ball in tow.
Centerfield corn where the ghost players appeared in the movie. I also grabbed a few pictures of the ballfield.
When we were leaving, we saw this plaque, so of course we had to her face as well. As you can see in the next picture, her nose is the most popular spot to rub for good luck.
Denise Miarecki Stillman and her husband purchased the movie site property in 2012, adding a youth baseball complex and preserving the movie site as well. She also worked towards a Major League ball game to be played there, but passed away from cancer before it happened. But, it did happen, and there are youth tournaments on the property every year.
Our second stop in Dyersville was to the only basilica in Iowa, Basilica of St. Francis Xavier . There are only 93 basilicas in the entire US. Neither my mom or myself are Catholic, but the chance to see a basilica is rare, so we decided it would be a great stop.
The basilica was very ornate, had beautiful stained glass, a very pretty pipe organ, and tons of detail and symbolism everywhere you looked.
We spent 30-45 minutes just wandering and looking at all the sculptures and art work.
I enjoyed my time visiting with my brother’s family. We had dinner together a few times, and as usual, I did not get any pictures. We were busy running our mouths and enjoying each other’s company. My mom and my niece and myself were able to go play some indoor mini-golf. We had a great time, kept score, were terrible players, and threw away the score sheet before we tallied it. My niece, Tori, and myself know that Mom kicked our butts. It was great fun!
While I was enjoying Iowa, Aaron and Murphy were settled in at Utah Lake State Park in Provo, Utah.
On Saturday, Aaron and Murphy picked me up from the Salt Lake City Airport, and I settled into the camper for the night. Sunday was moving day, and we were headed out of Utah up into Idaho. Our next stop was planned for Castle Rock State Park, just over the Idaho State Line. Next week, our journey continues there,
Wandering Cindi 
Very beautiful place and enjoy your time with family.
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