A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures – Iowa

Hello and Welcome to A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures – Iowa.

Bridges, Bridges and bridges

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE Bridges! Traveling the covered Bridges of Madison County had to top my list for Amazing Travel Adventures in Iowa.

1. Madison County is the Covered Bridge Capital of Iowa and has the largest number of covered bridges West of the Mississippi.
2. Originally there had been 19 Covered Bridges, but just six of them remain, five of which have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
3. Madison County’s Welcome Center is located at 73 Jefferson Street in Winterset, Iowa. It has maps, brochures and information for visiting the Covered Bridges.

To visit all 6 bridges by car takes about 1 hour, without stops. I believe in the, drive over the bridge, park the car, walk over the bridge, take a photo, get back into the car, method. I prefer to drive and stop, and drive, and stop.

1. Filming of The Field of Dreams began on May 25, 1988. During a lunch with the Iowa Chamber of Commerce, Robinson broached his idea of a final scene in which headlights could be seen for miles along the horizon. The Chamber folks replied that it could be done and the shooting of the final scene became a community event. The film crew was hidden on the farm to make sure the aerial shots did not reveal them. Dyersville was then blacked out and local extras drove their vehicles to the field. In order to give the illusion of movement, the drivers were instructed to continuously switch between their low and high beams.
2. The Kinsella home is in Dyersville, Iowa and was designated to host a special neutral site baseball game between the Chicago White Socks and the New York Yankees in August 2020
3. Fans can now spend the night in the farmhouse’s one bedroom upstairs and enjoy the “Kinsella Experience.” Guests will be greeted personally by the Movie Site staff and will receive a complimentary gift basket. I highly recommend booking a live guided 30 minutes tour. It takes you inside the farmhouse and shares its history as a home through becoming the movie set. For more information visit there website at www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com of click here.

oddities and curiosities

Sharing some of my favorite new discoveries. I love places that have treasures to be discovered and Iowa did not disappoint.

1. Elwood the Gnome: You can find Elwood in the Verdant Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University, Elwood, a massive garden gnome, stands as a jovial sentry against all others who would dare challenge his title as the tallest concrete gnome in the world.
2. Albert the Bull: Albert, the World’s Largest Bull, has been guarding the peaceful streets of Audubon since 1964. He is 28 feet tall and has a 15-foot span between horns. For more information visit their website at www.auduboncounty.com or click here.
3. Largest Frying Pan: Located in Brandon, Iowa the frying is not the world’s largest, but still an impressive nine feet wide and 14 feet long (with handle). Built in 2004 for the town’s Cowboy Breakfast Festival, the skillet could fry 44 dozen eggs or 88 pounds of bacon

A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures – Iowa

Thank you for joining my Amazing Travel Adventures – Iowa. We discovered Bridges, Movie location and a couple largest items! Have you visited Iowa lately? Where were your favorite go to’s and must see’s? Drop your top Iowa adventures in the comments.

Looking for more Amazing Travel Adventures? Read my blog A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures – Kentucky or click here.

Until Next Time,

Wonder Lesch