Des Moines was the first city I froze my butt off in. It was 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill down to -17 degrees. Needless to say my butt was not used to subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures and I was glad whenever I got somewhere warmer. The capitol itself was pretty cute and they had tea inside to help warm me up. I got to travel to near the top of the dome which was super amounts of fun. Although, climbing the 1,400+ steps to get to the top was not so great. I ended up being in a group with 3 kids from random schools in Iowa. They seemed fairly cool although I think they were weirded out that I was gay. Or at least that's what I assume. When I mentioned I was from San Francisco one of them turned to the other and said "I retract my previous statement". Don't know exactly what that meant, but considering my flamboyancy I assume it had something to do with my homosexuality. Either way they treated me well and didn't do anything dumb so I was happy for that. The building was spectacular and I was glad to be there.