According to Forbes magazine, Des Moines, Iowa, got their vote as fourth "Best Place for Business" in '07. That may be the case, but the capital city should be ranked first in having a good time! Having never been to Iowa, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I do know that Goodguys wouldn't be having one of their outstanding shows there if it were a bust.The event was held just east of downtown Des Moines at their fairgrounds, which turned out to be much more than a flat lot with space enough for anyone's favorite carnival rides. The grounds covered what has to be more than half a dozen city blocks and is also home to some neat old historic buildings that continued up the green hills to the east just below the campground. As Friday morning went on, cars, trucks, and hot rods filled all the available roads surrounding the hills, many of which had highly sought after shady spots that came in handy thanks to a bit of heat and humidity and the workout we all got from walking the show. And if walking across the show proved too much or you just needed a break, there were two sky lifts to help out.
This year there were more than 3,300 entries into the Goodguys Heartland Nationals show, and I believe it! I found it necessary to buy a new set of tennis shoes Friday night to help me get around all the vehicles while I hunted for the coolest classic trucks. Inside the more-than-spacious main building were plenty of vendors selling parts, tools, and even turnkey hot rods, which were interesting to look at while soaking up as much of the building's air conditioning as possible.
For information on next year's show as well as area info to make travel and lodging reservations-which should be done now-go to www.good-guys.com or pick up a copy of Goodguys Gazette at any of their nationwide shows. Enjoy!
 |  Who likes red Chevy trucks?...  Who likes red Chevy trucks? Yeah, we do too, and Ron and Mary Scott from Cedar Rapids, IA, brought theirs out to the fairgrounds for the weekend, where they got plenty of thumbs up with their '64 shortbed C-10. |  Being that I always have my...  Being that I always have my Bumpside radar on, I didn't see too many '67-72 F-100s, but maybe Scott Cossolotto's '68 was nice enough to not need any more. Scott and his longbed made the trip from Cincinnati for the weekend and were smart enough to bring some shade that just so happened to match his truck! |