Howdy all,
Again today I was pleasantly surprised by the weather. I awoke to a heavy thunderstorm passing through the area. Weatherman on TV said it was the first of many that would be rolling through and pretty much predicting a wash out. So after breakfast I headed out expecting to get wet. By the time I got to Winterset, Iowa the sun was breaking through the clouds. Below is the Madison County Courthouse in Winterset. I assume all the flags were around because it is Memorial Day.
Winterset's most notable resident was John Wayne. He was born here on May 26, 1907. Below is his museum here in town.
Below is the modest house he was born in. He was born as Marion Mitchell Morrison.
The town is also known for the numerous covered bridges in the area. The first bridge I visited was the Hogback Bridge.
The Cutler�Donahoe Bridge which is seen below is 79-feet long and was built in 1870 by Eli Cox. It originally crossed the North River near Bevington, Iowa. In 1979, the bridge was moved to its current location at the entrance to the Winterset City Park.
The 1995 movie, The Bridges of Madison County, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep was filmed here. Below is the Holliwell Bridge. It started to rain while I was at this bridge. It only lasted a few minutes and I didn't see another drop of rain all day.
The last bridge I visited was the Roseman Bridge. All these bridges look alike. I probably didn't need to visit four of the six surviving bridges. There were originally 19 of them.
Next I passed through neighboring Adair County. Below is the courthouse on the Public Square in the town of Greenfield, Iowa.
I continued westward on Iowa Highway 92 out of Greenfield. I stopped briefly to snap a photo of the area.
Next I got back on Interstate 80 and proceeded to Omaha, Nebraska. Here I "walked" across the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Below is a picture of the bridge from Omaha.
The bridge is 3000 feet long and crosses the Missouri River. Below is the Omaha skyline as seen from the bridge.
And below is another picture of the bridge taken from the Council Bluffs, Iowa side. A lot of folks were enjoying their day off work by walking across the bridge.
After leaving the bridge I drove 55 miles to Lincoln, where I am spending the night. I visited the State Capitol before heading to my hotel. No pretty grounds or monuments around this capitol. Just an ugly skyscraper. So I just snapped a picture and went on my way. Last time I was here, about 30 years ago, I visited the top of the building, but the observation deck was closed today.
I'm spending the night at the Sleep Inn on Folkways Blvd. I had dinner at Freddy's Steakburgers. The place is almost identical to Steak'n'Shake.
I have my longest scheduled driving day tomorrow. Over 400 miles across Nebraska. Speed limit is 75 here so that will help a bit.
More to come,
Tim
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