The problem with stopping whenever you get tired is that you pretty much are guaranteed to wake up seemingly in the middle of nowhere. You pass that big city thinking, "Yeah, I can definitely make it another two hours to the next city." Only to get an hour down the road fighting a losing battle against the waves of yawns that are never ending. So, what happens? You pull of the road at the first exit that lists any recognizable hotel chain in preparation to crash for a solid 6 hours.
And that, my friends, is how you end up in Grinnell, Iowa.
Aunt Anita and I cruised into the Best Western in Grinnell, praying that that had a room available at 1am. It says something about our state of exhaustion, when we were worried that the hotel would be booked solid. Let's face it, Grinnell isn't a big tourist destination. However, after assuring that they did indeed have a room to rent us, we raided the brochure rack to see what kind of local attractions we could look forward to come morning. Here are some of the sightseeing treats that Grinnell and its surrounding towns has to offer...
Let me tell you a little about the attractions on today's menu. First up is the Madeleine Albright Pin exhibit at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. Now you're probably asking yourself "Why are Madeleine Albright's pins on exhibit at the National Czech and Slovak Museum?" And the answer to this question is that she was born in Czechoslovakia. Now Aunt Anita and I were a bit puzzled as to what made her pins so important that they got their very own exhibit. So, of course we asked the ladies behind the desk what the significance was. Now I can honestly say I am no way informed of politics/politicians, but I can say I've heard of Madeleine Albright, could even identify that she was secretary of state at some point. The two ladies we questioned behind the desk, well one didn't know who she was at all, and the other identified her as a jewelry designer. They were really nice ladies and they brought a smile to my face without even trying.
Brochure #2 is for the self proclaimed "Tourism Attraction of the Year," AKA Matchstick Marvels. Basically it's this dude that builds model houses out of matchsticks. I think that's enough said for that attraction.
Brochure #3 we're back at the National Czech and Slovak Museum.
Brochure #4 is the Zippo Lighter Museum.
I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a trend. You're either going to the National Czech and Slovak Museum, or you better be a smoking enthusiast.
And let's not forget my personal favorite:
Yes, it's the SPAM MUSEUM. My favorite advertisement? "Get a taste of interactive meat." Umm...yeah, I think I'm going to have to pass. I was lucky that this brochure gave me three great postcards for nostalgia's sake. I have a postcard of Bigfoot and spam, the Donner party hiking and spam, and of course Spam in Vietnam.
But these are the kind of things you can't get in the big city.
Unfortunately we didn't have the time to stop and sample some of these wonderful attractions, but the next time I'm driving through Iowa, they're definitely going on my list.
Jumping back on I-80 West we checked my trusty guidebook 1000 Things to See Before You Die: USA and Canada. Aunt Anita and both have a personal goal to see all 50 states. To be able to check a state off the list you have to visit an attraction or taste some of the local cuisine.
We were lucky to find such an attraction right off the highway and off we went into our Iowa adventure. Our journey took us the the small town of Winterset, where we detoured into the charming main square to check in with the chamber of commerce and grab some breakfast.
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| City Hall/The Courthouse |
So, now of course you're all curious about what the big attraction is in Winterset? Well, the unexpected attraction that we learned about in the Chamber of Commerce was that Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne, and there is even a museum in the home in which he grew up.
But the actual reason we stopped in Winterset is because it is the home of the Bridges of Madison County. For those of you that haven't seen the movie or read the book, basically the story goes like this: A Iowan farm wife is left at home while her husband and children go to the Illinois state fair. While they're gone a photographer rolls through town with the hopes of photographing the covered bridges in Madison County. They meet, fall in love, but the woman/wife is torn between her duty to her heart and her duty to her family. To find out the ending of this story I guess you're just going to have to watch the movie. (A Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep classic.)
What I learned from this adventure was that there were originally 19 bridges built in the late 1800s, and now only 6 remain, due to fires and vandalism. Also, that the bridges were named for the people that built them or families that lived close. We only had time to stop at two of the six.
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| The Cutler-Donahoe Bridge |
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| The Famous Corn of Iowa |
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| The more well known Roseman Bridge |
A curiosity of the Roseman Bridge is the aparently acceptable graffiti. The tourist shop on the property actually sells Sharpie markers, although the shopkeeper denies any knowledge of the use of the markers.
And now for some of my favorite commentary, ranging from the sweet to the comedic...
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| "My chick hunts, fishes, and shoots a gun yet is still a beautiful woman and she'll always be mine! So be jealous b******." |
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| "Dave Spitzack was here 5-28-2011, 54 years of age. Originally from Minnesota. Take me back home please. I've had all of Iowa I can stand." |
And of course I had to join in the action, and leave a little piece of this road trip as a memento.
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| I hope I don't get fined/arrested for my destruction of property/graffiti. |
While at Roseman Bridge we met two nice Iowans who noticed my out of town license plate (still DC), and asked us about our travels/plans. When they heard that we were headed to Nebraska next they laughed and said that the sightseeing options were extremely limited. In other words we were going to be bored out of our gourd. Not to be judgmental but Aunt Anita and I agreed that it if people from Iowa were telling us how boring Nebraska is, then were were in for a long ride.
When planning this trip, I had expressed my enthusiasm to do a picture-stop at Carhenge in Alliance, NE. So, with that location plugged into Garmin/Ian, off we went.
Aunt Anita and I soon realized that this leg of the journey was going to be a long one. We left the Bridges of Madison County around 2pm, eating lunch along the way, and soon were looking to 1000 Things to See for some guidance. It just so happens that our route took us through one of the big sightseeing recommendations known as the Sand Hills of Nebraska, which turned out to be a national landmark. Basically the Sand Hills are a bunch of sand dunes covered in prairie grass. I wish it was something more exciting and majestic, but you can make your own opinion and let me know.
The Sand Hills cover about 1/4 of the state of Nebraska. The main road throughout the hills is Nebraska Route 2, in our case NE-2 W. 272 miles on Rt. 2 empties into Alliance, NE. Aunt Anita and I were literally chasing the sunset as it taunted us in its setting over the hills. Knowing that our next stop was an outdoor photo-op, the setting sun was like a an hourglass running at double time, and as a result I felt the need, the need for speed. But alas, the sun beat us. We ended up in Alliance in the pitch black of night, and unfortunately my campy world's-biggest-ball-of-wax-esque sightseeing detour was not what i expected. In fact, it was kind of creepy.
Carhenge is in the middle of nowhere. It's on a street without any streetlights. The parking lot is gravel, and in the pitch black of night there are crows and bats circling the site just seeming to look for their next pray. Even with my high-beams on there were too many little hidey-holes where things that go bump in the night could jump out and get me. It was like being on the set of some campy horror movie and all it needed was a B-roll scream to complete the ambience- oh and some chainsaw-wielding bad guy riding on the back of a John Deere tractor (you know, cause we're in the middle of farm country). We took a couple of pictures and drove out of dodge (or Alliance).
Due to the next day's scheduled activities, we continued driving into the pitch black of night for another 2 hours. I'll admit I may have blinded some drivers going in the opposite direction with my high beams, and for this I apologize, it was not intentional.
We made it to Hot Springs in one piece- although my car was covered in bug guts- I hope they weren't endangered species cause I took out a whole lot more of them.
Today's Destinations:
1. Grinnell, Iowa
2. Winterset, Iowa
3. Alliance, Nebraska
4. Hot Springs, SD
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