Iowa - Winterset - 4/22/2013

We took a driving trip to Iowa last month with our friend, Edel DeMaria.  Our primary purpose was to visit the Amana Colonies.  There were a number of interesting places to stop along the way.  Not the kind of places that would be a destination in and of themselves but certainly worth doing a little extra driving to see as we head towards the main objective.

The first of these places was Winterset, IA.  Winterset is just south and west of Des Moines a short ways off of I-35.  It was about a three hour drive from Lee's Summit, MO.  Winterset is famous as the childhood home of John Wayne and their covered bridges.  Winterset is in Madison County and I am sure that most of you have seen the 1995 movie "Bridges of Madison County" starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.  Well...this is where the bridges are as well as other location shots in the movie.

The first bridge that we visited was actually in St. Charles, IA as we headed towards Winterset.  The photo below is of the Imes Bridge built in 1870.

Edel and Sigrid.

 In St. Charles, we stopped at a little church that has been turned into a tourist center and souvenir shop.  The town's United Methodist Church was built in 1855.

The stained glass windows were very nice.

The Holliwell bridge was located between St. Charles and Winterset.  It was built in 1880.

 Edel waiting in the car.  It was drizzling a little as we toured.  I used the HDR capability of my camera to take somewhat more interesting photos given the drab weather.

The Cutler-Donahoe Bridge was located in the Winterset City Park.  It was built in 1870.  Not all the bridges are in their original locations.

Downtown Winterset.

This is the Madison County Court House on the square in Winterset.

John Wayne Drive runs through downtown.

 About a block south of the square, there is a nice bronze stature of John Wayne.

 We took lots of photos of this house thinking it was John Wayne's....it wasn't.  It was one of the most historical houses in town so I don't feel bad about keeping the photos.

This is John Wayne's childhood home.  Sigrid and Edel toured the home....that took a couple of minutes and $6 each.

 The Duke

Our last stop was  the Cedar Covered Bridge on the north side of town.

 We are now on our way to Pella, IA for the next posting.