Event: Drive to Gladbrook to visit Matchstick Marvels Museum.

Reason for drive: Pat Acton has just finished his latest creation for the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in New York City – a flying steampunk locomotive standing nearly nine feet tall that required more than 1,000,000 matchsticks and 13 months of work. It is on display at his museum in Gladbrook during July, after which it will be shipped to New York for permanent display.

Date: Saturday, July 11

Departure details: 10:00 a.m. from Smokey D’s, have lunch somewhere along the route, and arrive in Gladbrook shortly after the museum opens at 1:00 p.m. 

Return to Des Moines will be on your own – you can leave the museum when you are through with your visit or you can wander around beautiful downtown Gladbrook until there are others in the group who want to join you for the drive home.

Admission Fee: The museum charges $5.00 admission for adults and $3.00 admission for children between the ages of 5 and 12. There is no senior discount