The World's Largest Bull

Sorry for the sparse postings, I've been on the road for a few weeks (and have also begun writing a new photo book), but I'm back at the computer and I've had some fun adventures to write about. Not the least of which was meeting Albert the Bull...

You've probably never heard of Albert the Bull, and you may not have even heard of Audubon, Iowa, the town where he lives (and the hometown of John James Audubon). But if you're ever traveling through the Des Moines, Iowa area and you have a few hours to kill (he's about a 70-minute drive, almost due west), Albert is worth the visit. He is, after all, the world's largest bull--and that's no bull. 

Standing a good 30 feet above the ground (with a 15-foot horn span) and weighing every bit of 45 tons, Albert is quite the handsome (not to mention unexpected) roadside attraction. Of course, it didn't take much effort to get me to go looking for him since I was in Des Moines already and any time you label something "the world's largest" (or "the world's oldest" or "the world's weirdest") you're bound to see me there sooner or later. And while it was dusk when we arrived there and there was hardly any light left for photography (I boosted the ISO on my Nikon D70s up to 1600 and used fill flash to light up my companion), I still had fun getting off a few snapshots as the dusk-blue sky quickly faded. (more...)

Albert was first conceived in 1961 but work didn't start on him until the Jaycees in Audubon decided to take up the challenge in 1963--and they put up the $30,000 it took to create him.  Albert's "skeleton" was created from a steel I-Beam structure and his "hide" was fabricated using quarter-inch steel rods and wire mesh that were then coated in several layers of concrete. It took 65 gallons of paint to get him to look like the Hereford breed after which he's designed.

The statue is situated at the entrance to a small park and there is camping just in case you want to say you spent the night next to the world's largest bull--and he's lit up all night, so you can fall asleep watching him in all of his brightly-painted glory. Oh, by the way, the bull is anatomically correct. (How could he not be?)

You'll find Albert just off of I-71 a few minutes south of the pretty little town of Audubon, Iowa--about 16 miles north of I-80, exit 60. Or you can drive there from Des Moines, via state route 44 and enjoy the beautiful rolling Iowa countryside--which is how I got there. I'll post photos from that jaunt in a few days. Iowa is a beautiful state and I can see why singer Greg Brown has written so many beautiful songs about it.

Comments

[kEN BROWN]

It strikes me as weird how they built a huge bull in a town named after the world's famous ornithologist. Field of Bull Durham Dreams, I guess, is for the birds

[Sailor]

Ken Brown is a man of multi-layered wit! And the bull has a nice blue eye against the blue twilight.