The Inner Life Settings of Des Moines Waterways
Raccoon River Park
"As you drive away, you reflect on your time at the river. It's hard to imagine this cold, littered river as a place that once provided for life. It's even harder to imagine what this river is projected to become. The families that once relied on the river will have to find a new place to sustain themselves, as the Raccoon River gets smaller and smaller until it is nothing but a hollow dirt filled ditch." - Zoe Mcwell
Gray's Lake
"Time seems to stand still as we walk around the lake, taking in the sights. Two minutes before, we were on a busy street, but it feels as though we’ve left all that behind to come to this oasis in the South Side of Des Moines. . . . This isn’t a lake in the middle of nowhere, and it certainly isn’t wilderness, but there is a remote feel to it, like as soon as you step out of your car you are outside of the city and all it’s pressures." - Kate, Drake Community Press.
Walnut Street Bridge, Downtown Des Moines
"We walk down a set of stairs to get closer to the river and we are surrounded by two large concrete walls on either side of us, separating us from the city. The walls on the left side of the path are crumbling, like they haven’t been tended to for years. It feels almost post-apocalyptic being here, without another soul in sight, with the eerie quiet of the city. In just a few hours, the city would wake and fill with the hustle bustle of corporate employees and young adults going about their days. It's crazy to think that in just four short years, this would be transformed into a hub for recreational water activities. Soon enough, this place will be filled with families and their children on a Saturday morning, splashing in the water, and maybe even going for a nice boat ride." - Swapna
Saylorville Lake Mile Long Bridge & Dam
"The wind was harsh and the cold air stung my cheeks leaving a red mark. In the distance there were trees of all varying heights and colors. As I spun around to take in the scenery, violent crashing waves at a nearby dock drew me in. My legs led me out to the end of the dock and the abyss swallowed me whole. Dark blue oscillate swells swallowed the end of the dock to once again spit it out revealing it time after time. Just decades before I was brought onto this earth this body of water did not exist and I can not picture the land without it. The way the trees and sand have been adapted to the shore makes it seem as if the lake was always meant to be here, but the droughts of the midwest plains did not allow for such an event to happen. I am left with the questions of all the what’s and who’s of used to be’s. What animals roamed the land before, who used to live here, how on earth did the fish get there. The question of who used to live here resonates with whose land was this, and the simple answer is the Native’s. Once, long before this land was colonized by America's western expansion, it was home to the Native tribes of the Iowa, Sauk and Meskwaki, and Očhéthi Šakówin. History of these tribes, languages, cultures, and many more things have been lost and forgotten, but there is a notion of good faith with the everyday changes in society in recognizing that this land that we reside on today was stolen from the Natives." -Lissa
Raccoon River Park
"As you drive away, you reflect on your time at the river. It's hard to imagine this cold, littered river as a place that once provided for life. It's even harder to imagine what this river is projected to become. The families that once relied on the river will have to find a new place to sustain themselves, as the Raccoon River gets smaller and smaller until it is nothing but a hollow dirt filled ditch." - Zoe Mcwell
Gray's Lake
"Time seems to stand still as we walk around the lake, taking in the sights. Two minutes before, we were on a busy street, but it feels as though we’ve left all that behind to come to this oasis in the South Side of Des Moines. . . . This isn’t a lake in the middle of nowhere, and it certainly isn’t wilderness, but there is a remote feel to it, like as soon as you step out of your car you are outside of the city and all it’s pressures." - Kate, Drake Community Press.
Walnut Street Bridge, Downtown Des Moines
"We walk down a set of stairs to get closer to the river and we are surrounded by two large concrete walls on either side of us, separating us from the city. The walls on the left side of the path are crumbling, like they haven’t been tended to for years. It feels almost post-apocalyptic being here, without another soul in sight, with the eerie quiet of the city. In just a few hours, the city would wake and fill with the hustle bustle of corporate employees and young adults going about their days. It's crazy to think that in just four short years, this would be transformed into a hub for recreational water activities. Soon enough, this place will be filled with families and their children on a Saturday morning, splashing in the water, and maybe even going for a nice boat ride." - Swapna
Saylorville Lake Mile Long Bridge & Dam
"The wind was harsh and the cold air stung my cheeks leaving a red mark. In the distance there were trees of all varying heights and colors. As I spun around to take in the scenery, violent crashing waves at a nearby dock drew me in. My legs led me out to the end of the dock and the abyss swallowed me whole. Dark blue oscillate swells swallowed the end of the dock to once again spit it out revealing it time after time. Just decades before I was brought onto this earth this body of water did not exist and I can not picture the land without it. The way the trees and sand have been adapted to the shore makes it seem as if the lake was always meant to be here, but the droughts of the midwest plains did not allow for such an event to happen. I am left with the questions of all the what’s and who’s of used to be’s. What animals roamed the land before, who used to live here, how on earth did the fish get there. The question of who used to live here resonates with whose land was this, and the simple answer is the Native’s. Once, long before this land was colonized by America's western expansion, it was home to the Native tribes of the Iowa, Sauk and Meskwaki, and Očhéthi Šakówin. History of these tribes, languages, cultures, and many more things have been lost and forgotten, but there is a notion of good faith with the everyday changes in society in recognizing that this land that we reside on today was stolen from the Natives." -Lissa