WINTERSET, IOWA

MADISON COUNTY COVERED BRIDGES

SATURDAY 10/13/12 & SUNDAY 10/14/12

As we were driving to Winterset our plan was to set up and then maybe go out in the Terrain to check out some of the bridges.  We had seen a few signs along the way with arrows directing us to different ones.  However, after the fiasco of finding a place to camp and set up we were both too tired to do anything else exciting.  We hunkered down and watched of all things, an “Alfred Hitchcock” movie.  Bill has this DVD set that had never been opened so we brought that along for some light entertainment.  Too funny!! The first one was rather long and really dated but we enjoyed it none-the-less.

Our first night here it bucketed the rain (as Nina would say) along with lightning and thunder.  Some of it was a little too close for comfort and it was definitely extremely noisy.  It didn’t make for a very restful sleep but we were glad to wake up to the skies trying to clear.  We took our time over breakfast and getting ready for the day to let the weather continue to clear and then headed for the “Winterset Covered Bridges Festival”.

There was a luncheon at the Methodist Church fellowship hall, which was highly recommended.  The food was very good with every kind of homemade pie you could think of.  Bill took his dessert but fell in love with this coleslaw/peas/honey roasted peanuts/sesame seed dressing concoction.  He made sure to get the recipe from one of the ladies before we left.  Okay, small group, be prepared for the next time we host.  LOL

We met some nice people from around Omaha who advised us to take time out to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo, said it was maybe the best zoo around but was definitely rated in the top 10 of the country.  Well I love my zoos so it is on the list   Nice people.  Suzanne gave me her business card to e-mail her once we have seen it and let her know what we thought. 

John Deere Ice Cream Maker.  It was actually working throughout the whole day providing ice cream for sale.  Bill and I did resist the temptation but did stop to watch it a couple times.

Some of you know that the physical side of life has been hard for me for a long time but since starting my new treatment I am not allowed to get tired (not sure what to do about waking up tired….LOL) or do any physical exercise.  Not supposed to get my heart rate up (that can happen walking across the room some days) and it takes medicine and rest to overcome this pesky virus.  SO…..going to the zoo, Greenfield Village, shopping, or any activity that takes more than getting in and out of the car is not possible.  In lieu of this problem and our desire to go and do and see, Bill found an electric cart on Craig’s list for an amazing price, took it in for two new batteries and Voila!  I don’t particularly like using it, I like to walk, but it’s the only way I am going to get to go anywhere and have some fun even though it’s not on my terms.  The grandchildren love taking turns riding with me, beats the stroller or wagon I guess.  It is scarlet and gray (anyone thinking OH IO?), we have named it “Ruby”. 

One of the groups that provided continual live musical entertainment throughout the day.

Because of “Ruby” we were able to be out and about the town of Winterset to enjoy the festival.  The weather was very obliging.  I always thought it would be nice if God decided to have it rain between the hours of midnight and 6AM (kind of like the dew-thing, you know) and that is pretty much what happened during our stay in Winterset.  The sun wasn’t exactly shining the whole day, more in and out, but the rain held out, the temperature was 70 degrees and we had a great time.  There were many booths selling food (yummy junk food mostly), crafts, jewelry, woodworking, weaving and the like.  There was live music playing throughout the area the whole day.  We sat and enjoyed some good gospel music and later a little Johnny Cash.  Beautiful fun day.

Hogback Covered Bridge --- It was really windy ... the little girl in the picture was on our bus tour.  She was a cutie!

Roseman Covered Bridge, 1st stop on our tour.

Well this is the county and the festival for the “covered bridges” so we had to take advantage of the bus tour.  A school bus that was very bumpy and jerky.  The lady was probably in her 70’s (I thought she looked a lot older than me anyway, LOL), and was originally from the area.  She had so many stories to tell. I kid you not, she did not take a breath (or a drink of water either that I remember) the whole 2 hours.  She was delightful and very proud of her heritage and hometown.  At first I was disappointed that we were only going to see 4 bridges (I had heard that there were 20) but after all the jostling and the distance between each one and the similarity of them, I was happy that was it.  Only one of the 4 we saw actually allowed traffic through and there was a weight limit on that one.  2 of the ones we saw had been moved off main routes and placed elsewhere.  Madison County was one of the few that made their bridges with a flat roof.   I find I prefer the peaked roofs but we thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Cedar Bridge -- the only one we saw that could be driven through although there was a weight limit!

This was an old one room schoolhouse for all ages.  We got there too late to go in but we could see pretty well through the windows.  The thing that surprised us was that it was open from the mid 1800's through the 1950's.  Hard to believe people born just a little before us attended school this way.  (Are we getting old or what?)

Saturday night was another night of heavy rainfall but the thunder and lightning were held at bay…..it was another rather noisy night but we woke up to some sunshine.  Blessings!  Sunday morning we attended the Winterset Community Church.  Nice service, good lesson …. But boy did we miss our Bristol Road Family!! 

They already have over $2million worth of memorabilia from John Wayne's movies donated by just one person.  They plan to have the museum open next spring and are very optimistic of the success and variety of items that will be on display.

After church we stopped by to take a picture of the “John Wayne” statue.  Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne and they have a tour of his home there.  We opted out of that but took a drive to Clark’s Tower.  Beautiful, beautiful drive through the trees with all the fall colors and the sun peaking through. The tour bus lady had told us that last week the colors were so brilliant but the reds had pretty much disappeared this week.  That must have been breath-taking because I found this little side trip a highlight of our stop over.  

The Clark Tower!

The home of the Delicious Apple!

Should I come up there????  It was worth the steps, the view was gorgeous!

Cutler Dunahoe Bridge - the only one we saw with a peaked roof.  I think I like this one best!

Sightseeing over, headed back to the motorhome to pack up, hook up and head down the road.  Still heading west, Rt 80 towards the Grand Canyon. 

Late start so we didn’t make it too far and guess what we came upon?  Yes, Omaha, Nebraska, home of the Doorly Zoo.  We are going tomorrow --- weather forecast high of 73 and no chance of rain.  Should be a quiet night here at the KOA Campground and a perfect day for the Zoo tomorrow.  Bill has “Ruby” all charged up and ready to roll.