Trip 4: Day 4

Although the cold, gray drive from Omaha brought fall and impending first winter storm into perspective, it did not make for an experience that was conducive to exploration outside of the car. The winds whip up constantly on the rolling hills east of the Missouri River, and the now empty fields mean that there is no shelter or break from the cold wind. Hands in your pockets and face turned away, you just want to go back to the car.
The only section of US 6 I had previous driven in Iowa was between Council Bluffs and Atlantic. About 30 miles. At Atlantic, the route turns north to go toward Interstate 80, which it follows east for several miles before going north, back to its original routing, just before Des Moines. I took the original routing, which is a state highway at first, but then goes into a county road. This part of the White Pole Road, the original road from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, marked by, literally, white poles along its side as it followed the railroad line. The poles are still painted white, and there were several "Historic US 6" button copy signs east of Atlantic.
In Council Bluffs, I drove down Broadway, the original US 6, through the Downtown area. In the early morning, it was very quiet. A fancy new bridge, with colorful decorations, spans a railroad yard. In Atlantic, I got a cup of coffee from a cute place, and tried to buy an air filter, but the store did not have one for my car (they often do not). Onto Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter, Redfield, and Adel. Not the most inspiring town names, and many of them blended together. Adair is where I saw the button copy signs, as well as a very nicely-maintained pull-off and landmark for the location of the first train robbery by Jesse James. Casey had apparently had a short-lived antique store association. Maybe it still does. It was a sad, run-down town with just a gas station and a library. Dexter featured a very interesting Methodist church, and a 60's-era sign pointing to its business district, where there was a bar and a couple of other small shops. In Redfield, I came across a rail-to-trail and another 60's-era sign. Adel has obviously found a place as a suburban community for Des Moines, looking at its new, vinyl-sided, two-storied homes, but the brick factory and intimidating courthouse were its main features. The Downtown square was also quaint and seemed to be very healthy. East of Adel, US 6 widened to 4-lane divided with a 65mph speed limit.
US 6's route through Des Moines started in Waukee, which is slightly suburban but, for the most part, still a farming town. Entering into Clive, the low hills were full of sprawl, and neat, new suburban communities lined the highway. As you continued through Windsor Heights and Urbandale, the sprawl continued, though the area seemed to be less wealthy and older. As you entered Des Moines, it was a more modest neighborhood, Beaverdale. Beaverdale's main street, Beaver Avenue, served as "City US 6" up until the 1970's, and this is what I drove into town. It turns east on Forest Avenue, in a pretty, hilly neighborhood and cuts right through the campus of Drake University. Just past the Drake campus, the neighborhood quickly declines, and "City US 6" turns south on MLK, Jr. Drive for two blocks, before going east on Carpenter Avenue for two more blocks, then south on Keosauqua ("Keo") Parkway, which is pseudo-expressway. The MLK/Carpenter configuration appears to have been some sort of town square at one point. According to the Shell maps, "City US 6" then went south on 9th Street, then left on Grand Avenue to go right through Downtown Des Moines.
The interesting thing about the 9th Street and Grand Avenue configuration is that those streets are both now one-way, but were apparently not in the 1960's, as they're the only streets shown as being the route for "City US 6." Grand Avenue crosses the Des Moines River and passes the state capitol on its north side.