A Trip To Des Moines

My grandmother and I were planning a trip to Sioux Falls, as she wanted to visit a quilt shop and I wanted to visit some record stores. However, because of constant rain showers and storms during the past week, southeastern South Dakota and northwest Iowa have seen some really bad flooding. This flooding caused I-29 to close, the main highway between Sioux City and Sioux Falls. Other routes aren't available, so we decided to go to Des Moines instead. Here's that adventure.

Our trip starts in Arcadia, with a stop at a meat market.

Inside of the meat market. Green tile floor, white and wood walls, and a taxidermy fish on the wall can be seen. Alternate view of the meat market. Taxidermy animals and wood walls are seen.

Afterwards, we went to Boone. She went in a quilt shop, and I went in a collectibles store.

A tile sign reading "Paradox". The somewhat cluttered enterance of Paradox. Lit uranium glass in a display case. The back wall of the store, with a somewhat psychedelic mural. Shelves full of various tiny collectibles. Shelves full of miscellaneous collectibles.

After browsing this store, we stopped to eat at a barbecue restaurant.

An older plastic backlit sign reading "Jimmy's BBQ Pit". Waiting area in the barbeque restaurant. The wall is green and beige-yellow, and logs are used as benches. Seating area in the restaurant, with green and yellow walls and wooden tables and chairs. Various pictures and horseshoes are on the wall. A drawing of a standing pig wearing a bandana and hat. Beside the pig is writing reading "Eat more pork".

Once we were full, it was off to Ames for another quilt shop.

A somewhat faded sign reading "Quilting Connections". Inside the shop. Sewing machines are in the foreground, with fabric and sewing tools in the background. A picture of another room in the store, showing many rows of fabric. A smaller room full of discount fabric. A corridor of stairs leading down, with a fluorescent light overhead. A small closet bathroom, with a corner toilet and small sink.

Finally, off to Des Moines for the last quilt shop.

Text on a door reading "Woodside Quilting". A room with shelves full of fabric. A small nook with sewing utensils. A small nook with sewing patterns.

Now, it's time for some record stores. The first of them is Ratt's Underground in the Merle Hay Mall.

Two signs for Ratt's Underground Records. One to the left features an anthropomorphic rat in a leather jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans, and the other has skeleton hands handling a vinyl record. The clothing secion of the record store. Racks and wall hangers feature shirts from various bands. A view of the recorded music portion of the store, showing the tables full of records and CDs. A wall full of cassette tapes. An empty hallway in the Merle Hay Mall leading to a door.

Now we're off to Zzz Records in downtown Des Moines. I had an incident where I dropped my camera, causing the lens to not be in focus without being pushed in slightly. Oh well, time for more pictures.

Some of the CD shelves in Zzz Records. The vinyl records portion of the store, showing tables full of records. Walls are decorated with band memorabilia.

I tried to go to Southridge Mall in Des Moines, but I wasn't aware the inside is closed on weekends. We also tried Half Price Books, but they closed earlier in the day because of a failed AC unit.

Instead, we went to Valley West Mall. While this mall used to be the place to go in Des Moines, Jordan Creek Town Center opened in 2004 and took over as the go-to shopping mall. Most businesses have moved to Jordan Creek or the Merle Hay Mall, leaving Valley West half empty. This mall's fate was sealed in 2023, when Von Maur moved to Jordan Creek. JCPenny is this mall's only anchor left.

The center court of the Valley West Mall. The ceiling consists of skylights, various trees are shown, and an elevator is off to the left. In the background is the JCPenny's store. A hallway of the Valley West Mall. All stores pictured are empty. An empty corridor of the Valley West Mall. The water fountain of the Valley West Mall. An empty Spencer's storefront. Several empty storefronts in the Valley West Mall. The empty Younkers store in the Valley West Mall. An empty restaurant in the Valley West Mall. Inside are pink and orange fluorescent lights. A picture of the food court seating, showing empty tables and flowing neon on the ceiling. More empty seating and empty stands in the food court. The elevator in the West Valley Mall, with the fountain at its base.

After this, we went to Jordan Creek to get me a new pair of shoes. We ate in Perry at Tin Pig Tavern, and as I'm typing this, we're on our way home.

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