Some odd and/or notable snapshots from the first three stops of our long journey through the inky Iowa night with John Edwards:

I saw Madeleine Stowe, female star of Last of the Mohicans and an apparent Edwards supporter, at a union hall in Des Moines at 8:00pm on a Tuesday. Something tells me she doesn't come here often.

I saw Jean Smart of Designing Women at the same event. I know this because someone told me afterwards.

At the Edwards campaign headquarters in Council Bluffs, supporters stood outside in what must have been subzero temperatures starting at about 9:30 for the candidate's scheduled 10:00 stop. When Edwards finally arrived at 10:40, they were still outdoors. There was no room inside. Can you say dedication? I would've written down some of their names--there were about 30--but the ink in my pen was already frozen.

There are two MORE reporters on the bus now, at 2:00 a.m. than when we started at 8:30. Not what I expected.

Edwards talks a lot about being a "fighter," but one attendee at the Council Bluffs event took it literally. A black guy in lily white western Iowa, he shouted about the "Mexicans" who have taken his job and the politicians who won't acknowledge "what really happened" in New Orleans during Katrina while Edwards wrapped it up inside. The throng of supporters mostly ignored him--until he claimed that local bars "won't serve" him because of the color of the skin, at which point a burly fellow took offense. Fingers were pointed and shoves were exchanged, all while the rest of the crowd chanted "we love Elizabeth, we love John; we want to see them on the White House lawn" and the cameras filmed every uncomfortable moment of it.

Speaking of chants, that's the only elaborate, old-timey one I've heard so far on the trail. Makes me wish I were covering, like, the Adlai Stevenson campaign or something. Memo to Clinton: fewer computer-generated slogans, more sing-songy rhymes. I hear they're likable.

A cameraman jostling for position on the ice outside the Council Bluffs HQ almost knocked Elizabeth Edwards to the ground. Bad move. Not because she's battling cancer--which is horrible enough--but because she quickly demanded "positive coverage." Further evidence that she's the brains behind the operation.

Two different Edwards fans compared the candidate to Bobby Kennedy after his fiery Council Bluffs speech. One of them said he saw RFK speak the day he was shot. Edwards, for the record, emerged unscathed.

If you couldn't tell what sort of Iowan Denise O'Brien is from her resume--she once ran for Agriculture Secretary--or her choice of candidate--she hosted tonight's (or, rather, this morning's) “Midnight GOTC Party” with core supporters and volunteers at her Cass County farm house--you could just take a look at the magnets on her fridge: Think Globally, Act Locally; Fair Trade; Ethanol, Biodiesel, Made in Iowa, Clean, Renewable; War Is a Racket. I know because I was pressed up against that particular appliance with a sea of bodies between me and the star attraction. They'd come and crammed themselves between tables and countertops to see the former North Carolina senator at 12:30 am on a Wednesday. Most of them looked at least 55. If that isn't odd, I don't know what is.

For good luck, Southerners on New Years Day eat cornbread and Hoppin' John, a black-eyed-pea soup. I know this because Edwards and his wife requested and received the meal, flashbulbs flashing, as they were leaving the O'Briens'. Technically, though, it was Jan. 2 when they chowed down--about 12:45 a.m. We'll know soon enough if Lady Luck grants extensions.

The cornbread, by the way, was delicious.