Winterset

What a day. When it takes till one pm to drive by the turn off to the place you were supposed to stay the night before you know something has to give. In our case it was church history mostly and an early start the next morning.

We slept in the city park campground in Winterset. It was a nicer place than I would have expected. We saw fireflies which was great. Louisa woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me it was raining. It didn't rain too hard but enough it would have got us wet had she not put on the rainflap.

Then we cooked a hot breakfast packed up and went to see the other bridges in the county. First there was the one in the park, the only one not over a river. We discovered a hedge maze that we had to try.

Then there was John Wayne's birthplace and the statue of him in another park and then there was the farmers market. And then finally we could head out.

Well it just took time and it was so much fun to wonder around the hills and dales of Madison county looking for the last three bridges. They don't pave most of the roads in Iowa but they are straight and graded. The car got very dusty, there are so many fun places to stop and see. We were able to drive across Cedar Bridge. Hogback was next to a field of Black eyed Susans. We ate lunch at romantic and beautiful Roseman bridge and then headed south.

We ran right into Mt Pisgah on the Mormon pioneer trail. I was happy to see it as it had been one of the places that first stirred my interest in the trail way back in seminary. We weren't able to stop at Garden Grove, but that was ok.

Then we were on the interstate. We didn't have time for Adam ondi Ahman, let alone Ketesville where the Ingalls had stopped for a short time before heading south to Kansas. We stopped for a quick look at the new temple. Louisa guided me through Kansas City and then we drove straight through Kansas sacrificing the capitol in Topeka so that we could get to the Little House before dark.

We listened to our audio books of Laura. I drove and Louisa slept. She has been great. She has packed our trunk and been a good navigator. I knew this was a jampacked itinerary and after Council Bluffs I told Louisa to "just say NO" when I say "Oh, lets see this". We are getting our sense of timing and priorities down.

We finally got to Independence KS. It is still hard for me to understand when there is a little Podunk town that no one has heard of how it can be so big. Little Podunk towns in Utah that no one has heard of do not have a huge courthouse, tons of people, lots of old homes etc.