Boone is the county seat of Boone County, and a small city of 12,661 with 26,255 in the Boone micropolitan area. Located 46 miles northwest of Des Moines and 18 miles west of Ames, Boone is a town that is steeped in railroad history. Several railroads have historical ties to this community, and Boone still houses major operations for the Union Pacific Railroad. An electric interurban railway is still functional for tourist purposes and there is a museum and many artifacts from the high point of the community's railroad years. Originally named Montana, Boone changed names and incorporated the nearby city of Boonesboro to become the county seat in 1892. The prosperity of this town is evident, with the community having entire neighborhoods of well-kept larger homes, a very extensive municipal parks system and an infrastructure built into downtown that is uncommon for a city of 12,000 people. Today, Boone is still an economically healthy community that is nearby to the Ames and Des Moines MSA's and some of the most scenic river valley parks in the state.

The following photos were taken on a very cold Sunday morning in May. This explains the lack of activity in what is otherwise the quintessential all-American small town/city.