If you head south of Fairfield, through Keosaqua and along rustic Route J40, you’ll find yourself in the heart of Bonaparte, Iowa. I’d be lying if I said I was expecting to be charmed by this tiny, riverfront town.
But at this point, charmed may be an understatement…
Other than Kirsten the American Girl Doll or my love for Pippi Longstocking, I have no real ties to Sweden. And while I do love Swedish meatballs, I don’t have any real Swedish heritage.
So it might seem a little strange that I drove a bit out of my way to visit the Swedish Heritage Museum in Swedesburg, Iowa. But Swedish or not, the trip was definitely worth it…
One of my favorite parts of an Iowa road trip is exploring the small, often forgotten downtowns of the towns I pass through. While exploring the White Pole Road I found myself in the heart of…
I’ve seen the sign off of I-80 countless times—Brooklyn: Community of Flags. But, for whatever reason, I’ve never been curious enough to stop. That is, until recently…
Unless you spend an inordinately large amount of time along Des Moines’ southern riverfront or happen have the same running route as I do, you’ve probably never noticed the tiny log cabin just off the parking lot of Principal Park. I first happened upon it a few years back while taking advantage of the downtown trail systems training for a half marathon, and since then it’s been one of my favorite hidden gems…
A few weekends back on an abnormally warm January Sunday, a friend and I hopped in the car in search of some roadside adventure. We headed northeast of Des Moines to the stretch of the Lincoln Highway that runs through Belle Plaine to check off the first item on my 2015 bucket list…
Since I’m not an Iowa native, I didn’t grow up visiting the State of Iowa Historical Building or the Iowa Capitol on countless school trips, and for one reason or another, I’d never gotten around to going. That is, until recently.
Before the haze of hectic holiday plans hit, I took the afternoon to explore the Historical Building and visit its temporary Hollywood in the Heartland exhibit…
After a morning of wandering around the Amana Colonies, we headed up the street to Millstream Brewing Company for a beer and some early afternoon snacks. Opened in 1985, Millstream is Iowa’s oldest microbrewery and the first to operate in Amana since 1884…
One of the best parts of exploring the Amana Colonies during the holiday season was our visit to the Tannenbaum Forest. Located inside the Festhalle Barn across from the Amana Visitors’ Bureau, it’s pretty hard not to feel jolly when you step inside the forest lit with hundreds of warmly growing Christmas lights…
A few weeks ago, after heading south in search of pie, a rainy afternoon miraculously turned into a sunny one just as we found ourselves nearing Lake Red Rock. Wanting to get out of the car to enjoy the now significantly sunnier day, we happened upon the Cordova Park Observation Tower…
