American Pickers

Hillsdale, Missouri           High 85 Low 64

We drove across the Mississippi River to the town of Le Claire, Iowa. It is the home of the store Antique Archaeology. The Show name "American Pickers" belongs to the History Channel and the owner of the store, Mike Wolfe, has his store name, Antique Archaeology, on the van they drive around the country.

Mike decided it would be better to have his friend, Frank with him in the driving shots, so they travel together for the show.

On “American Pickers” (and in “American Pickers Guide to Picking,” a book out next month from Hyperion), Mr. Wolfe and his childhood friend, Frank Fritz, 47, show a similar enthusiasm for wheeling and dealing with eccentric collectors or, more often, “freestyling,” their word for driving around in search of homes with lawns that look like junkyards and may contain treasures. As pickers, they are middlemen in the antiques food chain, buying items they can sell quickly, at a markup, to dealers and collectors.

When we were there the store was very busy and they attribute their success to the TV show. The show is actually two buildings that used to be an auto repair shop. They have recently opened a new location near Nashville. I read that they couldn't possibly but enough to stock their store, so they have a lot of custom made souvenirs for sale in their store.  

Through the glass you can see some of the many people in the store.

 We saw the episode where they found this old motorcycle.

I bought an old license plate for one of my friends back in Utah that collects them. He told me he is a fan of the show and the price was right.

Before we went to the store we did a little sightseeing and found a nice view which is the picture below.

We also found and old fence that is rock but instead of mortar, welded steel was used to hold the stones together. It was interesting to see.

The Town of Le Claire is a small town that sits on the Mississippi River a little north of Interstate 80. It is worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

We found this old barn on one of the back roads in the areas.

Thanks for visiting.