Views of a Farm Boy--Dedicated to promote Iowa agriculture and Iowa values--Robert Vaughn--Urbandale, Iowa  EMAIL:   vaughnrobert@me.com

Fear not, for I am with you: be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (ESV) (Isaiah 41: 10)

On my first page I took you on a walk on the trail around the pond by the West Des Moines Library. From there I discovered a trail extension took me to a tunnel under Mills Civic Pkwy. This led me to Ashawa Park. WHAT'S ASHAWA? Ashawa was an Iowa railroad town established in 1857. It was annexed by the City of West Des Moines exactly 100 years later (1957). This beautiful little park is now part of that historic area.

Left: An outdoor basketball Court in Ashawa Park with the West Des Moines Stadium in the background. Right: I was happy to see this play area was equipped with a ramp to be more accessible to young children with special needs.

Wild grass was  such an important part of Iowa history and here we see it in Ashawa Park. I am thankful I took this optional trail trip through the tunnel today. It was a pleasant walk and to some extent I answered my own question, --WHAT'S ASHAWA?