Yes, there's still lots of corn, and soybeans, but it's pretty hilly. Come to think of it, Nebraska wasn't as flat as we thought it would be.
We didn't find a place to eat in downtown Winterset, but I had found an article on roadfood.com from the Des Moines Register about the "100 Foods to Eat in Iowa Before You Die." Our first option, a steakhouse (surprise!) in Anita, Iowa with amazing onion rings, was a bust because they only opened for dinner. But as we turned onto the road to take us to the covered bridge, I saw another place mentioned in the article: Maid-Rite. It's famous for its loose meat sandwiches, which are best described as sloppy joes without the slop. It was founded in the 1920's. Instead of being packed like a burger, the meat is loose. We figured while in Iowa, we might as well eat like an Iowan. I had one with cheese, onion and ketchup, and Henry had one with ketchup only. Jeff had a big one with ketchup, mustard and onion. Ruth, being the rebel, went with chicken fingers. Each sandwich was served with a spoon, and I could see why because if you didn't keep the sandwich wrapped at the bottom, some of the meat fell out. But it was really good - Henry especially enjoyed his.
Ruth asked me to read "Bridges of Madison County" to her, but I told her it can wait for a few years.
In my research for the trip, I read that Iowa beats other states in corn and cattle, and probably hogs too. Lots of rolling, green farmland with red or white barns - many of them worthy of a picture book.
Because I didn't have a Fodor's book for Iowa and hadn't researched much of this leg of the trip, we stopped at the Iowa Welcome Center to get some materials. I also checked the Iowa section of the "1,000 Places in the US and Canada to See Before You Die" book, and found two things in our area: a Living History Farm and the Bridges of Madison County. I also found out that John Wayne's childhood home was in Winterset, Iowa, in Madison County near the bridges.
I read the Bridges of Madison County when it came out and loved it. I remember reading it on a plane and trying not to cry in public as I got to the end. On the map, the bridges were about 13 miles off I-80, so we decided to go find one, and on the way we could pass by John Wayne's house. It was a little past lunchtime, so we hoped to find a lunch spot as well.
Winterset, Iowa has a quaint downtown, and a just a few blocks away is the house where John Wayne grew up. They'll give you a tour for a small fee, and you can look at the Duke's memorabilia or read letters from friends like Jimmy Stewart or Maureen O'Hara if you want.
We opted out of the tour and instead headed to find a covered bridge. There were originally 20 covered bridges in Madison County built in the 1870's and 1880's, but only six are left. Some gave out and others fell victim to arson. Even the house that served as Francesca's house in the movie version of the book was burned by an arsonist in 2002, so you can't tour it anymore. So sad.
We didn't find a place to eat in downtown Winterset, but I had found an article on roadfood.com from the Des Moines Register about the "100 Foods to Eat in Iowa Before You Die." Our first option, a steakhouse (surprise!) in Anita, Iowa with amazing onion rings, was a bust because they only opened for dinner. But as we turned onto the road to take us to the covered bridge, I saw another place mentioned in the article: Maid-Rite. It's famous for its loose meat sandwiches, which are best described as sloppy joes without the slop. It was founded in the 1920's. Instead of being packed like a burger, the meat is loose. We figured while in Iowa, we might as well eat like an Iowan. I had one with cheese, onion and ketchup, and Henry had one with ketchup only. Jeff had a big one with ketchup, mustard and onion. Ruth, being the rebel, went with chicken fingers. Each sandwich was served with a spoon, and I could see why because if you didn't keep the sandwich wrapped at the bottom, some of the meat fell out. But it was really good - Henry especially enjoyed his.
The challenge of getting to the covered bridges is that you have to get off the paved road to get there. The road was gravel, but compressed enough that it wasn't too bad. We drove through lots of cornfields and past quite a few cows, which looked fabulous under a blue sky filled with puffy white clouds.
We drove to the Roseman Covered Bridge, built by Benton Jones in 1883. This bridge played a prominent role in both the book and the movie. Jeff, ever the detail-oriented movie person, said he remembered the part of the movie that this bridge was in.
We walked over the bridge, and the thing that struck me was the large timbers that make up the flooring of the bridge. They're very wide and many are not totally flat but have knots or other natural features of the wood. I read that they're the most expensive parts of the bridges to preserve and/or restore. All of the six remaining bridges have been put on the National Register of Historic Places, and this one is now closed to vehicle traffic. All of the remaining bridges now have heat sensors and surveillance cameras to deter arsonists.
Ruth asked me to read "Bridges of Madison County" to her, but I told her it can wait for a few years.
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