SO MUCH HISTORY, SO LITTLE TIME!

MONDAY, AUGUST 26

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., I posted Blog #5.  I then spend some time catching up on my emails and followed that with a walk over to the catch-and-release fishing pond [at the KOA in Newton, IA].

The plan for tomorrow is to drive to Winterset, just south of Des Moines, and stay for two nights at a city park --- no reservations were made for that.  Where to stay on Thursday, and, more importantly, from Friday evening to Monday morning – the Labor Day Weekend – remains to be determined.  I spent all evening researching and trying to narrow down my options.

I found a state park and submitted an online reservation for Thursday night.  I also found an RV Park, located west of Des Moines, for the weekend and submitted an online reservation for three nights there.  But, unlike the state park, whose reservation system included a payment process and confirmation of that payment, the RV Park requested my phone number in order to contact me regarding confirmation and my credit card number to hold the reservation.  PIA!  Since it was already past business hours it was moot to try to call them via the VRS so I sent an email instead, asking that they confirm my reservation via email or my text number.  The credit card information will have to be figured out later, somehow...

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27

As soon as I got on I-80W for the drive to Winterset, I felt, and not for the first time, as if there was something off with one of my six tires.  It’s been a bit of a concern for a little while now and I didn’t know if there had been a problem that may have been further exacerbated by some of the rough rural roads I’d been driving on.  After less than five minutes on I-80 I saw “Ford” on the other side of the interstate and made a quick decision to take the next exit, turn around, and go there.

I tried to explain – hard to do when you’re not only mechanically-challenged but unable to offer descriptions of sounds – what I was feeling while on the road.  Nick, the fellow assisting me, took the truck out for a test drive on the interstate, with me, probably for only the third time ever, as a passenger in my 2006 truck.  Back at Ford, Nick said that he didn’t hear or feel anything amiss, and after taking about 45 minutes to check things out anyway, he assured me everything was fine.  I thanked him with a hug and inquired about the paperwork.  No paperwork, he said.  Oh, but I gotta pay for this, I said.  No charge, he said.  He got another hug from me!  Nice guy…cute, too!

Back on I-80 it occurred to me that the “Labor Day Weekend” RV Park that I want to stay at is somewhere around here.  “Eyes open, Mappie.”  Sure enough!  Soon as I saw the sign, a mile before the exit to Waukee, for the Timberline Campground, I made another quick decision – “Go there NOW, and confirm the reservation IN PERSON!”  The lady in the office, as soon as I said “Last night, I sent an email that…” pulled out the printout of my reservation request without even asking me for my name.  My Deaf voice/speech give me away, ya think?  I’m good to go for the long weekend!

I soon got on Rt. 169S and, despite my two impromptu stops along I-80, I made good time to the Winterset City Park Campground, getting myself a self-pick-self-pay site for tonight and tomorrow.  Right after that I went to the Visitors Center in town and picked up information about this area’s main attraction – covered bridges.  This is Madison County, now known worldwide from the 1992 novel by Robert James Waller, The Bridges of Madison County, and the movie of the same name, filmed here, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.  I’m here to see those covered bridges along the 82-mile “Covered Bridges Scenic Byway.”  To quote from one of the publications I picked up –

“Madison County is part of the Southern Iowa Drift Plain, and its abundant natural resources made it highly desirable for early settlers, farmers, innovators, and builders.  The landscape is characterized by rolling hills and valleys formed by hundreds of thousands of years of erosion and stream development, as well as timber, limestone bluffs, rivers, and streams.  Of course, the highlights of the county are the six remaining covered bridges which tell of our history, industry, and culture, inspiring artists, writers, photographers and even movie makers.”

“Madison County is the Covered Bridge Capital of Iowa, home to the largest group of covered bridges that exists in one area to the west of the Mississippi Valley.  With an abundance of rivers, creeks, and streams, crossings were critical for farmers.  Originally, nineteen covered bridges dotted the county, built during a sixteen-year span from 1868 to 1884.  Covering bridges helped to preserve the interior wooden trusses and floor boards, which deteriorated quickly in the severe weather of the plains.”

“County supervisors ordered modern steel bridges after 1884 as farming equipment and other transportation grew larger and heavier.  Over the years, most of the covered bridges were lost to floods, ice jams, fires, progress, or willful destruction.  In 1933, the Madison County Historical Society began a campaign to save the surviving bridges.  In 1950, the Board of Supervisors finally agreed to maintain the seven remaining covered bridges as tourist attractions.  One by one, the bridges were moved or bypassed over the next several decades, but the county upheld its commitment to preserve them.  The McBride Bridge and Cedar Bridge were both lost to arson, though the Cedar Bridge has been replaced with a replica, reopening in 2019.”

Since it was around 2:00 p.m. by the time I secured and paid for my camping site, I had the rest of the afternoon to drive around.  Following the detailed map I got from the Visitors Center I made my way to see two covered bridges today.  All pictures are mine and the descriptive excerpts are from the publications I picked up.

Roseman Covered Bridge – Featured prominently in the movie, Roseman Bridge was built in 1883 over Middle River in Winterset; the bridge is still in its original location.

The road to the Roseman Covered Bridge.

My truck camper – proof I was there…

Hogback Covered Bridge – Built in 1884, Hogback spans 97 feet over the North River, still in its original location.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28

Placing my orange traffic cone in the middle of my site, I left at 10:30 a.m. to see the remaining covered bridges along the byway.  I followed the byway map and posted road signs and stopped at these three:

Holliwell Covered Bridge – Located across Middle River, Holliwell is the longest, spanning 110 feet.  Built in 1880, it was featured in the movie; the bridge is still in its original site in Winterset.

Imes Covered Bridge – The oldest of the remaining bridges, Imes (1871) was relocated from Middle River in Patterson to St. Charles.

Cedar Covered Bridge - Built in 1883, Cedar Bridge was featured on the book cover of The Bridges of Madison County; the bridge was the last one still open to vehicles; it is currently being rebuilt after a 2017 arson.  [Note: The replica of the bridge is now open.]

From the paved roads, with Winterset as my starting point, the signs to the five covered bridges I saw directed me to their locations by way of gravel roads through miles of hilly farmland.  I’ve had perfect blue-sky weather here, yesterday and today, which truly enhanced the colors of this region’s natural and beautiful scenery.  I haven’t driven, during my all-too-brief one month here in Iowa, on all of Iowa’s counties, but Madison County is exceptionally gorgeous and it ranks right up there as the most beautiful county I’ve been to.

As I was walking around the Imes Covered Bridge in St. Charles I noticed, near a pathway, a wood marker with a plaque and a sketch of a handsome young boy.  According to the plaque the boy, whose name was David, had died as a result of a farming accident.  At that precise moment, this fellow who had been mowing the grass around the bridge stopped his work and started to look around for his lost coffee cup.  I stopped him from his search and asked if he knew anything about this boy.  He most certainly did!

Larry explained that nine-year old David was riding with his father in a tractor on a hilly part of their farm when the tractor flipped on its side, causing injury to David.  The injury was so severe that David had to live in care centers for the remainder of his life.  After he passed away, in 2006, his family dedicated this path in his memory.  Larry went on to say that David’s older brother happens to be his neighbor and one of his two sons looks just like David.  Larry and I continued to chat for a good ten minutes or so, talking about farming, Iowa, the hot summers and bitter cold winters, and about my camper.  Larry said he’d like to get one someday.  And, oh yes, he did find his lost coffee cup!

The memorial to David…

Farming.  A noble profession.  And so is teaching.  And so is serving in the military.  Inasmuch as I appreciate everyone who works hard, in the USA and elsewhere, I have exceptional respect and admiration for those who work the fields, enrich the young minds, and risk their lives to protect ours.

Their dedication to the work they do benefits me…all of us.  I read somewhere a quote that said the soldier wearing a helmet deserves to earn more than the athlete wearing a helmet.  My sentiments exactly!  Our farmers, teachers, and enlisted men and women should be our millionaires.  Exactly how, pray tell, do professional athletes and entertainers benefit me?

Okay, getting off my soapbox and back on track here!  From St. Charles I had planned to take a long loop road back to Winterset.  I got on that road…and that drive lasted for maybe two minutes.  There’s a sign, what does it say?  12’3” with an arrow pointing up and an arrow pointing down.  Uh, oh…there’s something up ahead, a bridge or whatever, with a max height of 12 feet and 3 inches.  My truck camper, as a combined unit, measures a little under 12 feet – which is cutting it juuuuuust a tad too close.  Then a second sign appeared which proclaimed “Rough Road.”  That does it!  Nope, nope, nope, not going that way!  I turned into the first gravel driveway I spotted, backed up, turned around, and went back to Winterset the way I came.

I had also planned to get lunch at the Northside Café in Winterset – the same café that’s featured in the movie.  They were closed…some kind of construction going on…dang it!  The Visitors Center was nearby so I went there to inquire, since I’d already parked my truck, about other restaurants I could walk to.  The lady suggested the Fountain at Montross Pharmacy, to which I said, with images of my local Walgreens flashing through my mind, “A pharmacy?  They serve food at a pharmacy?”  She said yes, that one has a soda fountain and they serve burgers and other menu items.  She pointed it out to me through the window, I walked over there, ordered a basket of chicken strips, after which I sadly discovered that I was too full to top it off with a Root Beer Float.

And what of the sixth covered bridge?  The Cutler-Donahoe Covered Bridge was built over North River in Bevington in 1870.  It’s been situated since 1970 in Winterset’s city park, right next to where my campground is.  When I returned to my site after lunch I strolled over to the city park and visited that bridge.  I gotta see the movie again!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29

Lightning woke me up – dark clouds – some drizzle.  My first thought was how fortunate it was that I had two beautiful days, Tuesday and Wednesday (yesterday) to see all six of Madison County’s cherished covered bridges and take satisfactory (I’d say good but I’m being humble here) pictures of them.  But, what about today and my plan to drive on another nearby scenic byway?  I already have reservations for tonight at a state park so there’s no concern with that.

Looking out the windows and thinking about today, I also thought about how I’d been without internet the last couple of days – and will be without again today when I get to the state park.  There’s emails to read and reply to…and there’s all those pictures to download and select for my next blog.  I will interject here that Larry, my friend in Hawaii, following up on my Blog #5, emailed me a link on “how to transfer pictures from iPhone to PC” – which I hope my tech-challenged brain will be able to understand – but I need the internet to open the link!  I’ll have to stick to my system for now.

An idea came to mind.  Go to the Winterset Public Library and use their internet to do everything I need to do.  Then go to the state park directly from here and drive on that other scenic byway tomorrow.  A quick look at my Iowa map confirmed that the byway will end in the general area where my weekend RV Park is located.  Excellent plan!  And by the time I got going, the sun came out!

The library opened at 10:00 a.m. and by 10:15 I had my laptop plugged in and ready to go.  I worked on the pictures first, which took about an hour (“Yes, Larry, I will study the link!”), then I checked emails and sent replies.  I also viewed a Glide video message from a friend and sent a message back, and, finally, I had an opportunity, with the assistance of the lady who greeted me this morning, to invest ten cents in the printing of a document.  This was one very productive morning!

I thought, but changed my mind, about having lunch again at the pharmacy.  I took Rts. 92W and 148N, again through a lovely rolling landscape of farms and fields, to the Lake Anita State Park in Anita, IA.  As soon as I got there all I wanted to do at that point was get settled, sit outside, gaze at the lake while eating a plum, and start reading my third book of the trip, Once We Were Brothers.  I soon got to work on the pictures I had downloaded this morning and, noticing that the lake had changed color, I went outside to take a picture of the setting sun.

The setting sun at Lake Anita, IA.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30

I’m noticing now the nearly daily occurrence of cloudy and cool mornings which soon give way to sunny skies and 80 degree temps.  A typical Iowa sign of the approaching fall, perhaps?  Shortly after 10:00 a.m. I pulled out of my camp site and as I slowly drove past all the other sites I glanced at the numbered posts and noted the bold “9/2” written on the reservation slips.  Not only is today the first day of the coming weekend, it is the first day of the coming Labor Day Weekend and the folks at those sites will not be leaving until Monday, September 2^nd.  Which is why, ever mindful of summer’s “last hurrah,” I wanted to make and confirm my Timberline Campground reservation last Tuesday.

Heading over to the nearby town of Adair, just north of I-80, I got on the 26-mile, five-town “White Pole Road Scenic Byway.”  The name “…was selected as a tribute to the early 1900s dirt road that began here and went on to become Iowa’s first certified route under the Iowa State Highway Commission.”  Painted poles have lined this road since 1913 and, with mostly newer poles now along the way, remnants of the older poles still remain.  I didn’t make any stops but the history of this stretch of road is noteworthy – the first robbery of a moving train by the Jesse James Gang occurred in Adair, Bonnie and Clyde robbed a bank in Stuart, and the Bonnie and Clyde shootout site is in Dexter.

From Dexter I took I-80E to the exit to Waukee, IA.  After making a grocery run first I then arrived at the Timberline Campground and got settled at my reserved site.  Into the afternoon and evening I watched other people arrive, including a large motorhome that pulled into the site next to me.  I’d already gone to bed when, not long after, I started seeing flashlight beams through the cabover windows.  I looked out and saw that a family had pulled into the other site next to me in their pop-up trailer.  It was around 10:15 p.m. and after about an hour of watching them fiddle around with the pop-up (gosh, the steps required to open it up!) I gave up and went to sleep.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31

It doesn’t look like the sun will come out today.  But that’s okay – I’m inside my camper and getting this blog ready to post.  I’ll do laundry tomorrow and start looking ahead to my next destinations.  I’ll be crossing into Kansas…soon.

Today marks the first anniversary of Bummy Burstein’s passing.  I think of this dear friend very often…and I miss him.