Bridges of Madison County

Many of us have heard of the book and movie The Bridges of Madison County. After visiting some covered bridges on our trip to the northeast last fall, seeing the sign for Covered Bridges of Madison County made my heart happy. We saw one of the bridges on our first drive to Winterset because it was the location of a geocache. We agreed we would explore a few others when we came back the next morning. I kiddingly told Hubby, we did not have to see more than two if they all looked alike. We saw three of the six and honestly, unlike the ones in Vermont, these look very much alike. (An architectural engineer would disagree.)

There may have been a hundred covered bridges built between 1850 and 1900. Almost all have been destroyed by flooding, collisions, demolition or vandalism. Madison County originally had 19 covered bridges. Only 6 remain. 

Hogback Bridge

named after a nearby limestone ridge

built in 1884 by Harvey P. Jones & George K. Foster

106' with a Town lattice truss system

wide plank flooring

supported by iron cylinder piers

carried vehicle traffic into the 1990s

rehabilitated in 1992 at a cost of $118,810

National Register of Historic Places in 1976

interesting wall graffiti

quite an interesting story

the North River and the modern traffic bridge

nearby chicory

Cedar Bridge

moved from its original location in 1921

restored in 1998 at cost of $128,073

"Cedar Bridge became world famous in 1992, when it played a prominent role in Robert James Waller's novel The Bridges of Madison County. In the book, Cedar Bridge is where Francesca Johnson goes to meet Robert Kincaid to help him take photographs. A photograph of Cedar Bridge adorns the cover of this world-wide bestseller."

"In 1993, Oprah Winfrey broadcast one of her shows from Cedar Bridge. Calling The Bridges of Madison County her 'favorite book of the year,' Oprah brought author Robert Waller and her entire crew on location. The wooden stairway built next to the bridge for the show are affectionately known locally as the Oprah steps."

There is a small park and picnic area near this Cedar Bridge.

the bridges were covered in order to preserve the large flooring timbers,

which were more expensive to replace than the lumber 

used to cover the bridge sides and roof

the original Cedar Bridge was destroyed by an arsonist in 2002

Cedar Bridge is the last covered bridge open to vehicles

built in 1883 by H.P. Jones

78' long

graffiti wall

Cedar Bridge was destroyed a second time by arson in 2017

and rebuilt at a cost of $719, 663

re-dedicated in 2019

but no longer on the National Register of Historical Places

chicory and wild carrot flowers nearby

Cutler-Donahue Bridge

two families claimed 'ownership' of the bridge

built in 1870 by Eli Cox

moved from its original location over the North River in 1979

now located in Winterset City Park

79' long

has a peak roof and only one main beam

making it a much lighter bridge

and a stone bridge also in the city park

The Duke

We spent four nights on the west side of Des Moines during our camping and caching week. After three days of serious geocaching, we had completed what we had intended to do in that area. On the fourth day we decided to do a road trip through seven of the nearby counties to collect at least one geocache in each and to see the sites. As we headed south of I 80 we saw two signs that made our hearts beat a bit faster...Birthplace of John Wayne and Bridges of Madison County. We spent a bit of time investigating both, but chose to complete the road trip and come back the next morning before moving to the east side of Des Moines for the next camping and caching adventure.

We are both fans of John Wayne. Hubby has added the western channels to any cable package we order. We have not seen ALL his movies, but we have seen most of them, so an opportunity to go through a John Wayne Museum was a must do.

Winterset, Iowa

John Wayne Birthplace Museum

some of his movies we have seen

granite tiles donated by fans

The museum houses "the largest diversified exhibit of John Wayne artifacts in existence including original movie posters, film wardrobe, scripts, contracts, letters, artwork, and sculpture...

one of my favorites

his personal bookcase

wardrobe from The Sons of Katie Elder

True Grit

Fort Apache

...and even one of his last customized automobiles!" 

1972 Pontiac Grand Safari

photos of his three weddings

#1-Josephine Alicia Saenz

#2-Esperanza Baur

#3-Pilar Pallete

and his seven children

Michael, Mary, Patrick & Melinda with Josephine

Aissa. John and Marisa with Pilar

four-room house where Marion Robert Morrison was born

his father, Clyde, was a registered pharmacist

mother, Mary was a clerk at a pharmacy

the woman doctor who delivered 13 pound

Marion Robert

the health of his father brought about the move

to California in 1914

Marion (John Wayne), brother Robert, mother Mary, 

 father Clyde and dog Duke

The story of how Marion became John Wayne was new to us, and very interesting. He went to USC, pre-law, and played football until an injury curtailed his athletic career. He lost his athletic scholarship and had to drop out. Actor Tom Mix was a huge USC football fan and often hired the football players for odd jobs around the movie set. Because of his 6'4" frame, Marion was noticed by producers, especially John Ford, while being a prop boy. He was given bit parts and eventually the name John Wayne. He had two film roles in 1926, another in 1927,  a fourth in 1929, and a fifth in 1930 before starring in The Big Trail.

the cannon from the movie Alamo Artillery

You might wonder how this large collection of John Wayne artifacts are located in a small town in the middle of Iowa. Winterset has always been proud of this native son. In 1982 when his birthplace house was for sale, it was purchased and the John Wayne Birthplace Society was formed. The house was decorated in 1900's decor with photos and memorabilia. Every year on May 26, Winterset celebrated their native son's birthday. On his 100th birthday in 2007 his family joined the celebration and donated the statue that now stands in front of the museum. Also at the 100th birthday was a collector of all things John Wayne. He, Joseph Zuckschwerdt, was invited to join the board of directors and the idea of a museum became a priority for the town of Winterset with the blessing of John Wayne's family. The John Wayne Birthplace Museum grand opening occurred on May 26, 2015. It is the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to the American icon ~ John Wayne.

our purchases from our visit

Better to be Lucky than to be Good

Hubby does most of the initial investigating for a geocaching excursion like the 11 day one we just enjoyed in NE and IA. He finds the area for geocaching, the geocaches, and a place to stay. I tweak the plan once we get to the location and add the fine-tuning and details we probably should have known before we started. We use the same computer programs, but look at those programs in a different way, giving us different information.

In the Adel IA area, he found a bike/walking trail of challenge geocaches along an old railroad bed. His initial thought was I would 'drop him off' at one location and be in the next town waiting for him. Hmmm. That plan needed some tweaking. 

Had we looked carefully at the permit flap, we may have been a bit more informed, but not us! Jump in with both feet in summer, in Iowa corn country...we can do this! I left Curt near the trail head in Waukee.

This cute and appropriate signage was at our first 'frog leaping' stop where I left the truck. No large parking areas, but enough room to get the truck off the county road and NOT on the bike trail. We were prepared with plenty of water, hats, walking sticks (someone who shall remain nameless forgot his on the first trek), the camera, snacks, bug spray (after the first day), cell phones and a GPS.

"The Raccoon River Valley Trail is an 89-mile paved trail beginning at the trailhead in Waukee, winding through 14 other communities and looping back to Waukee. The Waukee Trailhead is located on the north side of Hickman Road near 10th Street. The trail was built on a former railroad right-of-way. While the railroad used to connect these communities, now the Raccoon River Valley Trail serves that purpose."

We never intended to walk the 89 miles, but I will admit neither of us had any idea of the distance we needed to walk for those challenge geocaches. We started walking about 9 in the morning, each walking a segment on the trail. The first morning we each walked two segments, getting to Dallas Center. We had cell phone service along the trail each day.

sumac

Asiatic dayflower

commelina communis

I only saw these little beauties once 

eggplant rootstock

solanum aethiopicum

butterfly weed

asclepias tuberosa

still holding the raindrops from the earlier morning rain

denseflower mullein

verbascum densiflorum

The Waukee to Dallas Center had many bicyclists in the morning; sometimes groups of two or three, some on a very serious ride and others chatting while pedaling. Sometimes the trail was in shade, and sometimes, NOT. After the first morning, we each only walked one segment (around 3 miles each) as it was just too warm with long pants and long sleeves. The geocaches were easy to find, but required walking off the cement trail into the plants (poison ivy? thistles, and other possible poisonous plants) and the trees. The trail itself was flat and in excellent condition. The old railroad bed sides were another matter; sometimes steep and deep. Often vines and tall grass tangled our feet and hindered our steps. Tree branches slapped our faces. (Oh what we go through to find a geocache!!! LOL) 

Actually, other than getting very warm by the end of my section walking, I really enjoyed the trail. I had my camera and phone and took photos (Surprise. Surprise.) and was able to identify plants so I would know what I had seen and photographed. I rarely had sections of steep ditches, and always found the geocache container.

pretty yellow mushrooms

sometimes there were bird houses

almost always we were between fields of corn and beans

The first time I noticed these leaves, I thought how pretty. I wonder what plant produces such a delicate, lacy leaf. Then I noticed...

the bugs that were eating the leaves and creating the artistic designs. Disgusting creatures creating something beautiful. And they weren't small bugs. They weren't too particular about the type of leaves as they also attacked the milkweed plants, too.

soapwort

saponaria officinalis

as a kid on the farm I rode a dump rake 

similar to this one during haying season

Bigfoot? Daryl?

he was dressed for the Fourth of July

no name

I only saw this color once, on our last morning when I was walking the trail with Hubby. He was not taking the time to smell the roses, so I got my one or two photos and no opportunity to use PlantSnap for identification. It must be a type of morning glory, the wild kind that grows along the roads. Most of the ones I saw where pale pink or white.

Seeing this sign our last morning was when I realized how far we initially planned to walk. Thankfully, we had adjusted our thinking and became rather selective on the geocaches we would find and sign. We walked three mornings (We don't ride bikes anymore. Besides, riding bike was never that much fun in my opinion.) and rode in the AC in the afternoons and climbed steep, deep ditches to complete the Jackalope geo art pictured in the previous blog.

The town of Minburn does not have many businesses, but this one is a life saver! Nineteen 14 is a former railroad depot now bar with food options, right along the RRVT with real bathrooms open to those using the trail. Flushing toilets, running water, clean and spacious. I do not know if the restrooms are open 24-7, I doubt it, but they were a welcome relief for the group of bicyclists traveling along the highway and for us coming off the RRVT.

bottom right is Waukee to Dallas Center

first section we walked of the geo challenges

bottom right is Dallas Center to Minburn

second day and the sections we walked

and the 3 miles we did NOT cover

Hubby and I did most of those yellow circles on two mornings. On the third morning we did a few around Minburn (top left) before driving to Ames for another geocaching excursion that I posted earlier. On the fourth day we took a road trip to drive through IA counties, collecting county geo points. And once again, that little road trip yielded benefits neither of us expected. Stay tuned...