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Remember when you were a kid and how you loved to sound off in front of a fan to hear the distortion in your voice? And how you’d giggle with delight?

That’s exactly what I did last night when I rode my bike through this wonderful tunnel with walls of corrugated steel. ‘Whoooooooooo!’ and ‘Wheeeeeeee!’ and ‘AHHHHHHHHHHHH!’ And then: GIGGLE!

Husband and I have rediscovered the joy and exhilaration of bicycling again. The pleasure – and freedom – of flying along the many beautiful bike trails here in the Des Moines metro area brings out the kid in me. Life is good.

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There is a special time of day where the light is so luscious, so perfect, so golden and it sometimes takes my breath away. These wildflowers help to form a frame of sorts and, looking beyond these purple beauties, the late day sun has taken hold of the greenery. Bathed in subtle sunlight, the leaves seem to almost shimmer.

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An abandoned church or maybe a school where classes have long since been dismissed? Such a shame these old relics are left to battle the elements – and time – on their own and, as such, lose every battle. Still, I think there is a certain kind of beauty here yet for those of us who are willing to look for it.

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So. I thought this was a cool image but until this moment, had not really given much thought to the sign over the door, silhouetted here in this photo taken at dusk. This is the sign announcing the presence of the Iowa Distilling Company, the existence of which I was totally unaware.

Cumming is a teeny, tiny Iowa town near the Des Moines metro and its local claim to fame – for the bicycling crowd, anyway – is that it sports a parking lot / trailhead for the Great Western Trail. Oh, and it’s home as well to the Cumming Tap, a small bar that caters to area bicyclists.

At one point, Cumming – considered one of the smallest incorporated suburbs of the metro area – was apparently more of a bustling metropolis with the likes of other local businesses such as Sweeney’s Shamrock Oil service station but apparently those days are behind her…

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…but this tiny burg sure packs a photo op wallop!

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I don’t much indulge in hard liquor, the apparent mainstay of the Iowa Distilling Company – not much of a drinker, period – but I do think it’s kind of cool, all things considered, that such a small town (population: 383) would have so much to offer.