NEWTON, Iowa - Texas Gov. Rick Perry wrapped up the first leg of his Iowa bus tour Thursday with an employee town hall at TPI Iowa, which manufactures components for wind turbines.

On the first leg of his bus tour, the Texas governor traveled just over 1,000 miles over eight days, making 30 stops in 25 cities.

Before he scurried off to catch his plane home for the holidays, Perry signed a giant wind turbine blade with his name and the message "Keep the energy coming!" and turned to the press to ask, "Did I spell all the words right? Yeah."

Perry returns to Iowa on  Dec 27  to launch the second half of his bus tour in Council Bluffs.