Adel, IA (near Des Moines)

Hogback Covered Bridge

We left Campus RV Park in Independence, MO this morning around 8:15 am in hopes of avoiding excess traffic on narrow streets.  As we negotiated those very narrow streets, low-hanging trees, and having a close encounter with 13'4" bridge, we decided that students obviously do not get to class until later in the day.  This worked well for us and produced an early arrival (noon) at our KOA in Adel, IA.  We quickly plugged in, hooked up, set up our coach, then programmed the GPS for the town of Winterset, located in Madison County Iowa.

Clint Eastwood at the Northside Cafe

Northside Cafe Entrance

Our first priority was lunch and we agreed the only logical lunch location was the iconic Northside Cafe from the movie "The Bridges of Madison County".   The town was easy to find as well as the cafe.

Lunch was good ole home cooking.  The cafe looked much like it did in the movie.


After lunch we walked past the courthouse to the Iowa Quilt Museum.

Madison County Courthouse

A glimpse of town

The quilt museum was filled with many Quilts of Valor that were so very beautiful!  Truly works of art.

From the quilt museum we walked to the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum.  Here we watched a short video, put together with many clips from his movies, in chairs from the Chinese theater in Hollywood.



Did you know John Wayne, born Marion Morrison, was in 142 movies and that 83 of those were westerns?  My favorites were the westerns.  My favorite of all his westerns was "Rio Bravo" with Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.  I could literally watch this movie all day long!




Behind the museum was the home where John Wayne (Marion Morrison) was born.  He didn't get the name "Duke" until the family moved to California and local firefighters tagged him Duke after his dog, Duke, who was a constant companion.

The home was small, 4 rooms, 2 of which were parlors, 1 bedroom, and 1 kitchen.  There was a washroom attached to the kitchen.  We were told that there had also been an outhouse and outdoor water pump.

The Morrison Home

Cedar Bridge

After the quick tour of the home we headed back to our car and decided to drive to two of the Madison County covered bridges.   The first one we visited was the Cedar Bridge, completed in 1883, and is the one featured on the book cover "The Bridges of Madison County".  Unfortunately, we discovered that the bridge was set on fire about a month ago and was badly charred.


The other bridge we visited was the Hogback Bridge.  It was built in 1884 and stretches across the North River.

Hogback Bridge

There were 4 more bridges in the area that we will save for another time.  We had rain, mist, and lots of muddy roads throughout the day.  We also had safe travels from Independence to Adel, many good roads, good food, excellent companionship, love and laughter!  What a great day!