On Day 7 of our RV trip to Des Moines, Iowa, we finally made it to our primary destination, Des Moines. To be completely accurate, our destination was Altoona, a suburb of Des Moines. Altoona is the location of Pack Enterprises, a company that builds and installs weight distribution tag trailers. Picking up our new tag trailer was the primary purpose for our trip.
Sights along the way
The weather was extremely cooperative as we made our way to Des Moines. We had mostly blue skies as we drove past many cornfields, soybean crops and windmill farms between Souix City and Winterset. Tom and I enjoyed most of the day in and around the city of Winterset, Iowa where we toured the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, ate lunch under the trees at Middle River Park, hiked to Clark Tower from Winterset City Park and visited the covered bridges of Madison County.
John Wayne Birthplace Museum
The John Wayne Birthplace Museum is a must-see for any John Wayne fan. Tom is a big John Wayne fan with a big John Wayne coffee mug that he's had for as long as I known him. It's his favorite camping mug and travels with us across the country. Today it accompanied us to the place where it all started.
John Wayne was born in 1907 in the town of Winterset, Iowa. He was born in a small home that his family rented. The house is one of the few historic homes in the area that was never enlarged or demolished. The museum was built next to the home and admission to the museum includes a tour of the home.
The John Wayne Birthplace Museum is very well organized with a giftshop in the center. From the giftshop you can access a small theater room where you can watch an introductory movie in an old-style theater atmosphere. Two exhibit rooms, also accessible from the gift shop, display various memorabilia from John Wayne's life and movie career. A door and small walkway in the back of the museum lead to the 4-room home where John Wayne was born.
The home still has the original construction including the interior molding and flooring. However, the furniture and household items inside the home are only there to demonstrate how the modest home may have looked at the time of John Wayne's birth.
While the highlight of Tom's day was touring the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, mine was visiting the covered bridges of Madison County.
Bridges of Madison County
At one time there may have been as many as 100 covered bridges in Iowa. Many were destroyed for a variety of reasons including floods and fires. None of these bridges are more famous than the Bridges of Madison County... thanks to the movie.
Currently there are six covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa. Scenic Byway signs along the 35+ miles of county roads help lead the way to each of the bridges.
Placards at each of the bridges describe some of the history and other interesting facts about the bridges. Several of the bridges, including the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge, are located in parks. The Cutler-Donahoe Bridge is in Winterset City Park which has other attactions including a hedge maze and Clark Tower.
Slideshow - Day 7
Here are some photos of our drive from Souix City to Des Moines, Iowa with stops to visit the John Wayne Birthplace Museum and the historic covered Bridges of Madison County along the way.
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