Country Life: Greene County Iowa Part 1

Here is another installment from the west central Iowa tourism project blog I worked on a couple of years ago. In this post we are visiting Greene County, Iowa, on a cold and windy autumn day.

Let's face it, some counties are just too big and have too many places we could spend all day visiting- we can't get it done !! Jefferson proved to be just that. After a quick stop at the Chamber of Commerce office, we were joined by Barb Watson as our official tour guide. 

It truly is all about who you know. The Mahany Bell Tower is normally closed BUT..........Barb has the key so...... it's all about who you know !! The bell tower is located on the Jefferson town square and is  a fourteen-story carillon. 

Don't look down !!

The structure is built of glass and ceramic cement. After taking a ride on a glass elevator to the 120-foot high observation deck, visitors can view the city and its surrounding countryside. 

The windows on each side tell you what towns are in the background. The fourteen cast bells chime the time of day every 15 minutes; concerts are also offered daily at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

After exploring the bell tower we made our way over to RVP~1875. We could have spent all day here. Angie and Robby Pedersen have built a furniture/performance dynasty in their fantastic building. The front is a showroom highlighting most of the pieces built by hand by Robby.

Robby is known for his 1875 lifestyle, dressing in period clothing and using only tools and techniques that were used at that time. No power tools, no glue, only antique tools and construction techniques are used.

In addition to the furniture they build, they also house an artists' colony within the building. Artisans from all over the country, sculptors, tinsmiths, textile artists, and many more have booths in the colony.

Also in their building is a theater, in which the Pedersens and others perform plays, musicals, concerts, and so on. The theater stage is multi-level and the mezzanine floor above is also used in some performances. They plan to add balcony seating as well.

If you're lucky, and you probably will be, you might find Jackson wandering about the workshop. Jackson is the family's cat who loves spending time among the wood shavings doing all sorts of cat things.

Even though it was hard to tear ourselves away, we knew we had other places to visit so we headed to the Deal Apple Orchard. 

They are preparing for their upcoming fall festival and had huge piles of pumpkins and gourds everywhere. 

Scarecrows and metal yard sculptures are scattered about. 

The orchard's shop offers a wide variety of decorating and gift ideas, several types of apples, pies, cider and much much more.

The apples !!!!  They have several varieties in the orchard, it's so hard to make a choice.

Outdoors there are loads of activities for the whole family, games, a jumping pillow, animals and an apple slingshot. Plus the pumpkin patch, and farm cats everywhere. What a great way to spend a fall afternoon !

We got to peek inside the pressing room, and on the day we visited
they were pressing apples to brew up some hard cider

We were unable to visit the vineyard today but we did head over to Country Blessings, a cute little store just off the highway to the north of Jefferson. Antiques and cute fall and holiday decor fills the shop.

We finished off our visit to Jefferson with a stop at Angie's Tea Garden.

This quaint little spot offers lunch and catering and other tempting treats. Today the cheesecake of the day was caramel apple and the cappuccino flavor was pumpkin spice. Sooooooo delicious !!  You should never make a trip to Jefferson without stopping here.

There will definitely be a Greene County, Part Two, as we just didn't get to see all the sights we had planned, so stay tuned !! 

Summertime and Farmers Markets

It's been such a crummy summer for our garden. The cool wet spring gave way to tomato blight, slow growth, and lots of mildew problems. Weeks of rain and cloudy skies didn't give our plants the sunshine they needed. We had a pretty decent first couple crops of radishes but that quickly ended when we had a couple weeks of blistering heat. In typical Iowa fashion, that was followed by more cold, wet, rainy weather. I had planted a few heirloom tomatoes- all cherry type, most of which were started from seed. This was another year for growing super hot peppers to stock up the shelves again. However......by the time July ended, the tomatoes were pretty much a lost cause and the hornworms turned the pepper plants into a salad bar. 

Homemade treats for sale in Stuart

It's a good thing we have wonderful farmer's markets all over Iowa! My garden might be a flop this year but plenty of other folks are having success in theirs and sharing their goods at the numerous small town farmers markets in the towns surrounding the lake. 

Springtime freshness in Panora

Dexter, the closest town, has two farmers markets every Tuesday. One is in the city park, and the other is an indoor market in the historic Roundhouse. Every week the local residents set up tables in the markets and offer fresh garden produce, homemade baked goods, homemade jams, and even hand-picked walnuts. Just up the road is Stuart, where we get to do it all over again every Wednesday. The Stuart market also features farm-raised beef, eggs, bakery goods and a wide variety of produce from Early Morning Harvest, an aquaponics farm. It's just a short drive to Panora where their market is held on Friday evenings and Guthrie Center on Saturday morning. Each market has something a little different, like handmade jewelry and craft items. Yard decorations, garden plants, quilts and even a food truck sometimes appear at the farmers markets. 

Freshly baked quick breads in Panora

Since I primarily garden in containers, some vegetables just don't grow as well- like winter squash and zucchini. I never try to grow them anymore and rely on the farmers markets for all my zucchini and cucumbers for making pickles. In Stuart I can get great deals on pickling cucumbers and always get plenty to last through the winter. 

Live music in Guthrie Center

Some years we grow green beans at the Little Lake House and other years we don't. We have a pretty cool deck with some latticework that is perfect for climbing plants like Kentucky Wonder pole beans, which is one of our favorites. Letting the plants grow up the deck looks really pretty too- the blossoms look so cute and we get lots of butterflies and bees buzzing around. Most years we don't actually, because so many local growers have them. Green beans and wax beans are probably my favorite summer vegetable to can so I buy lots of them. Sometimes I get extra lucky and get a decent score of peas too. Of course every farmers market offers at least one if not more vendors selling Iowa sweet corn. It wouldn't be summer without it. Peaches and cream corn is pretty readily available but the last couple summers I have seen some different varieties as well. A blogger friend of mine even found pink sweet corn- so I'm on the lookout!

Guthrie Center's market

Summer in Iowa is all about the tomatoes. At the markets you can find any kind of tomato you could possibly want- grape and cherry tomatoes, all kinds of heirlooms, great big giant Beefsteaks, and every size in between. Since I do a lot of home canning, I often buy tomatoes in bulk, either at the pick your own farm or from the farmers market vendors. I don't have to worry about planting dozens of plants and I can get great prices! I just have to load the box in the car and head home.

Each Stuart vendor has a great variety

It's not just vegetables at the farmers market, there are plenty of fruits available too. Vendors offer spring berries like strawberries and raspberries and one guy at the Stuart market even offers gooseberries. I hadn't seen fresh gooseberries since I was a kid. These are wild gooseberries he forages for in the woods surrounding the lake. I'll gladly pay him to go tromping through the woods! Later in the season we see apples, plums, peaches, cherries, pears and more. While I have always wanted fruit trees in my yard I know I can get plenty of fresh fruit right at the farmers market.

Early Morning Harvest sells aquaponics
and much more

Of course when I want a more big and bustling market experience I can head to Des Moines every Saturday morning for the Downtown Farmers Market. It's a HUGE deal, covering several city blocks, at least three different streets, dozens and dozens of vendors, live entertainment, sidewalk brunches and all kinds of food- fresh vegetables, Indian food, breakfast burritos, cocktails, Asian foods, pizza- anything you could possibly want. It's an experience everyone should check out at least once.

For me though, nothing beats our small town farmers markets.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Country Life- A Day in Audubon County

Here is another entry from the former tourism blog that I wrote for a previous employer, this time featuring Audubon County, Iowa. Since summer festival season is just getting underway this seemed like a good time to focus on the home of Operation T-Bone.

A Day in Audubon County

A very HOT day, in fact.

When we, Midwest Partnership, first started talking about ideas to help promote tourism in the region, we knew several things. We needed to see what's out there. We needed to experience what's out there. And we needed to get started.........at the hottest time of the year (actually, not sure why it worked out that way but it did).

So our first Tourism Day we chose Audubon County, and August 3, the first day of the weekend known as Operation T-Bone, which is the town of Audubon's big summer celebration. Every small town has a festival. Some they celebrate their heritage, some their local history, some their industry. Audubon is famous for Albert the Bull, and t-bones and thus Operation T-Bone.

The town of Audubon is a beautiful town named after John James Audubon and many buildings and parks and other landmarks in the town pay homage to him. The park in the middle of the town has the Bird Walk, a walkway paved with mosaic tiles depicting different species of birds. Statues and murals dot the town.

But let's back up just a little bit. There is one thing that really stands out when you arrive in the town of Audubon, if you're coming from the south you are definitely going to meet Albert the Bull right away. Albert is a fantastic work of art and in life-like detail. There is a kiosk in the park with many photos taken during construction and after.

Push the button and Albert himself will tell you his story. Albert lives in a very nice park with lots of playground equipment for little ones while mom and dad learn about the famous bull.

After leaving Albert we headed to downtown Audubon to find the Bird Walk. The town's "main street" is lined with quaint little shops and businesses and at the top of the hill is the park with a big statue of John J. Audubon, surrounded by beautiful plantings and of course, the Bird Walk. The tiles lining the walk are true works of art themselves. I can't imagine the painstaking care that went into the creation of these mosaic glass tiles- the detail and color is just beautiful. Each tile is sponsored by a person, family, organization, etc to help fund the walk.

Just one of many many tiles that line the walk, each depicting a different bird.

Also in the park is a group of old limestone footings arranged to create a small theater, along with a small building.

Again here you can read, and push the button, to hear the story of the limestone footings and how they came to be there.

They are arranged to allow small groups to listen to a speaker or perhaps tour guide describe the different areas of the park, which is right across the street from the austere Audubon County Courthouse.

John James Audubon

Heading back down the main street you just can't miss the giant stained glass window memorializing John J. Audubon. It's a beautiful tribute.

As we headed out to check out some other sights in Audubon county we made Kimballton the first stop. The beautiful fountain and statue of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" graces the park.

Like many small rural towns, Kimballton has the "main street" lined with small businesses, taverns, the post office.

Not far from Kimballton, and while technically NOT in Audubon county, we couldn't come this far without a visit to Elk Horn, to see the historic Danish Windmill and eat at their famous Danish Inn. The windmill is quite a sight to see.

It was literally purchased in Denmark, disassembled with each piece being labelled and numbered and delivered to Elk Horn, to be reassembled where it stands today. Instead of paper blueprints, the construction people who disassembled the mill built a scale model with every matching piece numbered so that once delivered to Iowa, the mill could be reassembled correctly.

Visitors to the mill begin their tour with a short video that tells the entire of story of how the mill came to be where it is today.

 It's an amazing story and quite a testament to what a small community can do when they join together and want something bad enough. After the video you are free to wander inside the mill as your leisure, which we did, taking pictures as we went, everything from the scale model to descriptive plaques on the wall, to the giant grindstones.

Going to up the second level is a simple fight of stairs, climbing to the third level, it's more like a ladder and higher still- well, we didn't venture that far !

Looking up into the mechanism of the mill. We could have climbed
higher but chose not to !!

After lunch at the famous Danish Inn we headed to Exira but before we even got there we had to stop at the Danish Countryside Winery.

This might have been the highlight to the day ! As it was a weekday we were the only visitors to the tasting room and so the owners, Al and Carol Petersen, were thrilled to give us a tour of the restored barn and tasting room. The farm has been in the family over 100 years and what once was a pretty ratty looking sheep barn was transformed by the owners into a beautifully restored and wonderfully decorated winery, tasting room and huge party room on the upper level. They have a photo album that shows the progress from junky old barn to the beautiful building it is today.

Back in the tasting room we tried several varieties and both Sarah and I found something to take home. The owners were so friendly and accommodating. They answered questions, talked about the different grapes and were the perfect hosts. The long drive from the highway to the winery building in lined with acres of beautiful Iowa grapevines in many varieties. We had to tear ourselves away from this charming couple and their beautiful winery.

Exira was next on the list as well as the Plow in the Tree in a park nearby there.

According to the local legend, a young man was working his farm when he was called off to war, leaning the hand plow against a then spindly little oak tree. He never returned and the plow was never moved. Today the oak is a GIANT grown tree and has grown around and "swallowed" the plow. Very little is still visible.

Our last stop  of the day was the Nathaniel Hamlin Park and Museum- just south of Audubon.

The museum is run by a friendly older man who had loads of fun stories and a 3 wheel golf cart he drove us around on (it was a fairly SCARY ride !!!) They had a HUGE barn like building lined with murals that were saved from an old sale barn that was being torn down and brought here.

Antique equipment of all kinds, preserved animals, farm equipment, even the Flintstones' car are all on display here.

He drove us up to the main house which is where the Hamlin family lived long ago. Each room is decorated in a different theme, from cooking to school to military, it was filled with memorabilia of Iowans generations ago. Also on the ground are live animals, rabbits, chickens, a tame raccoon and a herd of elk.

By the end of our huge loop around Audubon County we were pretty beaten up by the heat and ready to head home. There is so much more to explore in Audubon County we just ran out of time- and we will be back !!.............Monica,  August 3, 2012