Aaron and I spent four hectic weeks in California; this is just about the only picture I took. We started at Logger Campground north of Lake Tahoe. Aaron was needed for work in Jacksonville, Florida, so he flew out of Reno, and Murphy and I held down the camper while he was gone. I was only an hour north of Lake Tahoe, where Aaron’s cousin Ethan and his wife, Lara, live. Ethan was out of the country for his job, so Lara and I decided to spend a day together. It was just us girls and the dogs. I had a great visit with Lara, and Murphy and her dog, Tango, had a great time playing together.
Aaron returned from Florida just in time to move to our next campground, Anthony Chabot Regional Park, outside of Silicon Valley. He had planned on working at the office there in Fremont for a couple of weeks, but things came up with his job, and he ended up flying to Atlanta. Once again, Murphy and I hung out, took care of the camper, and even made a few new friends. This was about the time the aurora borealis was visible just about everywhere, so I tried to get a picture of it, only to realize that we were too close to San Francisco to get a dark enough sky.
Aaron made it back in time to move the camper to Coyote Lake County Park and take me to the airport. I needed to get to Iowa to take my dad to an unexpected doctor’s appointment. Aaron still needed to go to work at the office in Fremont, so Murphy got to go to a dog sitter and play with other pups. He really enjoyed himself.
I had planned a week in Iowa to spend time with my mom, my brother, and his family. Mom and I decided it would be a great time to go see the Bridges of Madison County. The bridges are historical and famous due to the book Bridges of Madison County, written by Robert James Waller, and the movie based on that book starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
At the height of covered bridges in Iowa, there were an estimated 100 just in Madison County. Most were destroyed due to fire, collisions, flooding, and demolition. We were able to visit five bridges and the really cool town of Winterset, which held a few surprises for us.
Our first stop was the Imes Bridge in St. Charles, Iowa. We were confused by the yellow canisters hanging inside of the bridge until we figured out that they were sprinkler systems in case of fire.
The next bridge we visited, Holliwell, was Clint Eastwood’s favorite and was used in the movie. It is located in Winterset, Iowa. It is also where I was able to catch my favorite picture of the day. A couple was walking the bridge, and I got them silhouetted in the bridge. It hit all the romantic feelings from the book and the movie.
This is also the first bridge we noticed security cameras and bird nests.
The third bridge we drove to was in the middle of the town of Winterset, in a fantastic park! This is the Cutler-Donahue Bridge.
Winterset City Park had more to offer than just the bridge. As we drove through the park, we saw beautiful wood sculptures. I could only get a photo of one of them, as I was driving most of our time in the park.
While driving around the park, I saw a sign that just said “tower” with an arrow pointing the direction. So, Mom and I decided we needed to see this tower. We followed the sign to a one-way road that wound up a steep hill. We finally made it to the tower, and it was awesome!
The views from the top of the tower were great. Sadly, the trees were not in their full fall color. One more week and the pictures would have been filled with yellow, orange, and red leaves.
As we were driving through Winterset, we saw a sign outside of a house that caught our attention. Winterset was the birthplace of one of America’s most famous actors-John Wayne. We decided we should visit the museum and home.
The museum contained movie memorabilia, a brief film introducing you to the museum, and a few personal belongings. One of my favorite pieces was his custom station wagon. He was very tall and did not want to duck his head when he got in and out of his car. So, the car was customized with a raised roof to fit his stature.
The following are shots I took with my cell phone camera of different items in the museum, including an Andy Warhol of John Wayne.
Outside of the museum was another cool thing I had never seen before. It is a Freedom Rock. There is one rock in each of the 99 counties of Iowa. The artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen started painting Freedom Rocks to honor military veterans. The one in Winterset honors veterans, prisoners of war, John Wayne (even though he was not allowed to serve due to having 4 children), and Quilts of Valor. Quilts of Valor was started in Winterset. Volunteers create a quilt and present it to a veteran in honor of his service to our country. My father was fortunate enough to be honored with one of these beautiful quilts. The picture of Dad receiving is the quilt is courtesy of my brother, Chris.
After our detours in Winterset, we continued on to see the last two bridges. The next bridge was a nice surprise. We could actually drive across it! It is the only one available to drive. Of course, we did drive it! This is the Cedar Covered Bridge. It also had a nice gazebo and picnic area. This bridge was rebuilt twice due to arson.
The last bridge and finale of our tour of Madison County was Hogback Bridge. This bridge was situated on some farmland and it made a beautiful setting. It also had a journal for people to sign, share feelings, and experiences.
We had a wonderful day exploring the Bridges of Madison County.
Mom and I had more plans for the week, but they were cut short. Aaron’s job needed him to start heading east to Kansas City, with a stop in Utah and then Colorado on the way. I changed my flight, returned to California on Thursday, and Aaron and I packed everything up and started our drive east on Friday. Next week, back to Utah. We stayed at our first Hipcamp, Hiawatha Hideaway.
Wandering Cindi 