February 2021

Who likes road trips?If we were all sitting in a classroom together–or even connected via a ridiculous CoVid-era zoom meeting–I believe we would see everyone’s hand shoot to the sky and frantically wave, “Pick Me! Pick Me!” Perhaps we can even add some gorilla “ooh ooh” sound effects to increase the intensity of the answer. (“Ooh Ooh! Pick Me! Ooh Ooh! Pick Me!”)So I repeat my question…Who likes road trips?Ooh Ooh! Pick Me! I know the answer to this one. Ooh Ooh!The answer is WE ALL DO….or at least dive bar-seeking Iowa Roadie readers do. (All two or three of you.)So when loyal Iowa Roadie reader Joel recommended I take a trip across the border to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin…AND provided me three pages of dive bar notes…I felt it my DUTY to follow his suggestion. It’s all about making connections with readers. And if we had some Spotted Cow…

Can you keep a secret?The Iowa Roadie can’t. Forget any pinkie swears or “cross my heart” promises. Simply put, no secret is safe with me. So I apologize in advance for spilling the beans about the Cottontail, whose sign proclaims it Urbandale’s “best kept secret.”To put the situation in context…The Iowa Roadie & husband had just finished a morning of furniture shopping. Tell me…is there an occasion that screams “I need a drink” more than selecting a couch within one’s color scene AND price range? So when we drove past a sign for “The Cottontail,” we did not hesitate to pull our beat-up plow truck and dented trailer (carrying our new couch in a lovely neutral shade of gray) into its spacious parking lot. (Admittedly the ample parking space was part of this establishment’s initial lure. Try parallel parking a snowplow in downtown Des Moines’ East Village.)Time for a little…

Pudding Shots & Pinkie Fingers…Destination: Prairie du Chien, WI

Where Everyone Knows Your Name…Destination: The Cottontail (Urbandale)