As we drive through the states, the landscape changes immensely. Going north out of San Antonio we took note of the hills with rock covers, anticipating tumbleweeds would appear & roll across our “trail”. Then into Oklahoma the views became a vast open range with hues of light green & pretty prairie flowers. Crossing the border of Kansas the views included more trees & small hills. Side note: Kansas highways are by far the most trash free I have EVER SEEN – maybe because of the toll roads revenue? Then in Iowa the land resembled easy waves & the trees were a beautiful deep green, almost black. At least in the southern part of the state where we landed first. This trip had a few rough spells but it made my heart sing as well. America the Beautiful is an understatement!
The park we choose to spend the week was HUGE (Timberline Campground)! Even though we touched on the southwest corner of DesMoines to get to it, the traffic was no problem & the turns were super easy. The office staff of the campground was right on top of things with check in & we were led to our campsite by a great guy on a 4-wheeler. The campsite was a pull-through, long & level. The full hook-ups worked perfectly. And the bathhouse was extremely well kept. The area around our site was not huge & there was no shade but there was a picnic table & firepit. Unfortunately, the temp was in the low 90s & the ground was more than parched – not conducive to sitting outside. It also created a LOT of dust so the cars & campers were all the same pale cream color & no one could see out the windows that didn’t have wipers.
Our first day adventure took us into Winterset, Iowa in search of info on the Bridges of Madison County, the Iowa Quilt Museum & the birthplace of John Wayne. The Chamber of Commerce was right in the town square & the director was most welcoming, giving us a brochure with a map to find all the bridges (six) throughout the county. That hunt would have to be a dedicated day later in the week.
A leisurely walk around the square was super nice, but hot. The shops had made good use of the old historic buildings & the courthouse in the middle of the square had a lot of restoration going on. I was particularly taken with the flowers everywhere. Potted hanging plants on cast iron street lights – it was so pretty!
One of the storefronts was actually the Iowa Quilt Museum & we just happened to have visited on the day a new quilt display opened. VERY intricate 40 x 40 square wall hangings with gorgeous fabrics & stitching. I wish my friend Jean Murray had been with me – she is a gifted quilter & would have appreciated the art. Here are a few of the quilts that were on display …
Next we stopped in at the John Wayne Museum. Perry loved all this iconic actor’s films & was so excited to see the museum. It was a lovely building with a great statue of John Wayne outside. And the gift shop was big & had lots of “stuff” about John Wayne but also games & decor one could probably find in most gift shops. The actual “museum” was a large, single room with lots of his movie posters, props & personal treasures. A bit of a disappointment with the scope of displays, admittedly, but there was a sizable addition being built outside that will most likely double the space for memorabilia. John Wayne’s Childhood Home was a simple little Victorian just at the back of the museum property. We drove by & took pictures but didn’t go in.
The town was very special but so was the countryside spreading away from the county. We were on the highway back to the campground & drove by a modern, 3 blade windmill that had “Stuart” painted in giant letters on it’s support pole. I asked Perry if they actually named all these energy generating marvels. He laughed at me! Apparently this one is located at the ramp to Stuart, Iowa. Even I laughed at me!
Here are a few pictures of the stunning open planes we saw during our stay in the area.
Later, we drove into west DesMoines to a Farmers Market. Let’s just say their Thursday (4 hour) Farmers Market is bigger, & with as much diversity in products, as a large craft festival in Georgia! Also, “Sweet Tea” was NOT a staple in these parts. They only had unsweetened or flavored. What?!?
On Wednesday we had a mobile RV Wash business come to our site & wash the coach. It needed a little love & they did a good job. Soon after, we were treated to a HUGE dust storm & heavy rain. That’s life! It was a stay at camp day to catch up on life’s necessities – laundry, cleaning, planning, etc. We also had pulled pork sandwiches from the roast I made a couple weeks before. Making big batches & freezing it as individual meals works for me!
We hopped in the car early Thursday morning & drove over an hour to Council Bluff where we had a tour of a rotating jail built in the mid 1800s. The building it was housed in was majestic & very tall – 4 stories plus a basement. But the “oddity” was the jail cells themselves & the story that went along with the mechanics of the building. The cells were pie-wedge shaped as part of the circular structure. This was so only one jailer was needed to keep an eye on the prisoners – hardened criminals who spent anywhere from 1 month to several years for crimes like drunk & disorderly or driving without a license to murder & mayhem. The jailer could turn the cogs to rotate the cells & then could pass food to each cell. The problem was the gears would FREQUENTLY jam & those cells at the back of the turning structure would be stuck, sometimes for days. And the back section had no windows so they would be completely dark. I’m not positive but I think the tour guide said some prisoners starved to death because of the unreliabilty of the turning cells. No matter, the jail stayed in operation for over 100 years! Perry & I served as hosts at the Barrow County Museum several years ago (the original Barrow County Jail) & we both noted the smell was the same. Not smelly/disgusting, just dank – a very unique odor. So weird!
Heading back toward DesMoines we came across signs to an old Dutch immigrant town called Elkhorn. The information said the oldest Dutch Windmill in the USA was located there so it deserved a look-see. And it was a treasure! We looked around the gift shop of the Windmill Museum & spoke with the historian running the place. She set us in a side room with a wonderful short film about the windmill, explaining how it was acquired from Denmark in 1976 (it was 127 years old at the time of purchase) & then reassembled in the lovely little community of Elkhorn, mostly by volunteers. Then we went into the base of the windmill to see where & how grain from nearby farms was ground for many years. We were directed up the stairs & ladders to investigate the different levels on our own, step out onto the circular balcony & look out the windows way above. I was NOT thrilled to step out on that balcony. Perry did explore further & I took his picture high above from my safe vantage point on the ground outside. This place made me giddy with excitement with the story, history & community commitment that it took to bring this windmill to this town. It’s not used as a mill any longer but is definitely looked after by the descendants of those who preserved it so many years before.
Friday was overcast with the promise of a day of rain which made us think staying “home” would be a good choice. However, the rain only lasted a half hour or so. And the ground was still parched – it would take a virtual monsoon to change that cracked mess. Getting a little closed in feeling, we ventured out to a large antique mall in a neighboring city & had a wonderful time poking around, remembering the treasures we had accumulated over the years. Although we loved our things, freeing ourselves of “stuff” was liberating. It’s been over a year since we purged our home of 34 years in preparation for our nomadic life & we can honestly say we miss NOTHING materially. We miss our family, friends & community terribly. And we look forward to visits back to Statham & Barrow County in the future.
Later, we stopped at a large Steakhouse we had noticed near the campground. It was an “experience” eatery – a virtual DIY dinner! Seriously, you pick out the raw steak that catches your eye in their glass case. They put it on your plate & then lead you over to a huge open flame grill. You season the steak however you choose with their spices & lay them out over the fire. Then you grab some Texas toast & throw that on the grill, too. If you were so inclined while picking out your steak, you could have gotten a skillet of stuffed jalapeños, red pepper corn, raw asparagus or other veggies & cooked them on the giant grill, too. There was an “already prepared” potato bar near the grill you could spoon out fried potatoes or get a baked potato from after you finished your grilling chores. I must say, the steak was exceptional & it had nothing to do with the grill masters that cooked ours. The price of this DIY project was at least three times what we would normally pay at a nice “regular” steakhouse. No matter – it was fun & very different from the norm. We love all these unique experiences we are having as we make our way across this great country!
On Saturday we went back to Madison County, Iowa in search of their SIX Historic Covered Bridges. We found them all – we did indeed! It took us hours longer than we had anticipated but, by golly, we were NOT giving up. In case anyone is questioning why this was a goal, it was because of a movie – The Bridges of Madison County starring Meryl Streep & Clint Eastwood. The Roseman Bridge was the main bridge featured in the film. Our adventure allowed us to take the dogs with us for the day. They liked the drive at first but by the last stop they were dragging, wanting the cool, quiet of the RV. Our dogs are NOT outside dogs. We also found a stone tower at a beautiful park along the way – a bonus photo op!
It was a hot day but we were thrilled to have had the opportunity to see all of these bridges & learn of the history of each.
On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery to pay our respects. It’s a beautiful, somber place & because we arrived late in the day, there was no one else on the premises. The peacefulness was palpable!
We returned to camp & dropped the pups off & then went to a nearby Farm to Table eatery. Just WOW! This was a lovely family owned homestead serving homemade dishes with ingredients grown only on their property. What a special treat! The place is called LT Organic Farm Restaurant. Be sure to look it up when you are in the DesMoines area!
Lastly, I took a picture of a huge red barn we passed by frequently during our week in the area. For no other reason than it was gorgeous!
That’s a wrap! On to Minnesota!
Not all who wander are lost! #whereswaldocamping