On our way to and from Wisconsin, we drove through Iowa. For such a small, cornfield filled state, we really found a lot of interesting places to stop along the way! Looking at the Roadside America page for Iowa, there actually are a lot of these weird little places! Here is what we saw on the road in Iowa.
The Field Of Dreams Movie Site, Dyersville IA (link)
Although none of us have seen the movie, we like baseball and weren’t far from this location, so we decided to check it out. It’s basically a baseball field and a corn field, along with the house from the movie. We hung out awhile, looked for and found a geocache, and got a bit muddy!
Fenelon Place Elevator, Dubuque, IA (link)
The world’s shortest, steepest elevator ride is actually an incline (funicular) railroad that was built by a man who lived at the top and worked at the bottom! We parked at the top, took a ride to the bottom, walked around a little bit, and then rode back up.
The Amana Colonies / Iowa’s Largest Rocking Chair, West Amana, IA (link)
Villages originally built by German Pietists who were persecuted in their homeland, they ran an almost completely self-sufficient local economy and lived a communal life until the 1930s. Now, their villages are made up of many small shops and are considered a National Historic Landmark. The colonies are also the home of Amana Refrigeration, owned by Whirlpool. We visited a few stores, a pond full of lilies and the largest rocking chair in Iowa. The huge rocking chair is located along side a store called the Broom and Basket shop – an interesting shop to visit as well!
Largest Dutch Windmill in the U.S., Pella, IA (link)
Pella, Iowa is a Dutch town complete with a Tulip Festival in the spring, Dutch architecture, Dutch bakeries, a musical clock with moving figures, and the tallest working windmill in the U.S.,the Vermeer Mill. Pella is also the home of the Pella Corporation, which makes windows and doors.
Random stops like these are part of why I enjoy road trips! How about you?
