Wandering our way through Eastern Iowa

We left our campground in the Amana Colonies early, for a day of wandering through Eastern Iowa. If we went directly to our next camp site, google map says that would be a 1.5-hour drive northeast. But that would be missing several Iowa landmarks, so we were taking the long way around. We drove 33 miles southeast to our first stop--President Herbert Hoover's National Historic Site. The presidential library was closed for renovation until later this summer, but the national historic park was in an outdoor area in West Branch, Iowa.

Herbert Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River. He was born in 1874, in this two-room house on Main Street.

Herbert was the middle of three children, and he saw his humble beginnings as "physical proof of the unbounded opportunities of American life."

Also in the park was the one-room school house . . .

as well as the Friends Meeting House he attended. That is another name for a Quaker church, where many of the West Branch citizens worshiped. Denisa took this picture from the women's side of the church, while Mark sat on the men's side of the church.

Hoover's father was a blacksmsith, so a shop was moved into the national historic park. This park centers on the first ten years of Herbert Hoover's life, when he was known as "Bertie." There was a seat at the blacksmith shop for the two Hoover boys inscribed with "Tad and Bertie."

Those first ten pleasant years would be followed by a tumultuous adolescence. His father died when he was six, and his mother died four years later, making him an orphan by the age of ten. The children were split up, and Herbert Hoover went to Oregon to live with an uncle.  But Iowa was always a special place to him, and he and his wife were buried on the grounds of this park.

From their burial site, visitors can see the home where he was born. Mark was pointing to that little white house in the distance.

The female rangers at this park were fun, and full of information about Herbert Hoover. They liked to engage visitors in a game of "Hoover Ball." While he was in the White House, his doctor invented a game to give the President more exercise. Six mornings a week, President Hoover invited his cabinet members to join him for a thirty-minute game of Hoover Ball. The game involved tossing and catching this six-pound weighted ball over a net on the White House lawn. We can confirm that it was a heavy ball to toss over a volleyball net.

Instead of taking I-80, we're again on the Iowa back roads for an hour and a half drive to our next stop in Clinton, Iowa. We were headed to this little town on the Mississippi River because we were going to hunt trolls. We parked the pickup and trailer at Bickelhaupf Arboretum and followed the crowds towards our first troll--Marvin.

We were already familiar with the over-sized trolls that Thomas Dambo makes out of recycled wood. We've literally seen them all over the world. He's from Denmark, and we saw three of his trolls near Copenhagen, Denmark. But his trolls' appeal has spread to America, and we were surprised at the number of people we saw troll hunting today.

A close-up shows the detail of the troll-construction. Each one is unique, and this one has wild hair made from scrap branches.

Marvin was reclining under a tree, and we shared picture-taking with over 20 other people that were there at the very same time on a Sunday afternoon.

Our second troll was a rare indoor specimen. The instructions we had found led us to an obscure white building near the Mississippi River. We would have hesitated to go inside with all the "danger zone" and "no trespassing" signs at the door. But a steady stream of people were going inside, and we followed the pack--still surprised at the popularity of these trolls!

We had to weave through a couple rooms of branches before we found Warren lounging inside.

A friendly Clinton volunteer greeted us and offered to take our picture. We also realized that she was efficiently moving people through the building so the line didn't back up. She asked everyone where they were from, and welcomed them to Clinton, Iowa. The couple in front of us were from Brazil!

Based on their poses, one would think that all trolls were lazy.

All this troll-hunting can work up an appetite, and Denisa had read about an interesting place to eat near the Mississippi River. We walked a couple blocks to the 7 Hills Cafe. Since it was Sunday, it just seemed right to be going to church. 

 But we're a little sad that this old church was now a restaurant. The church was packed on this Sunday afternoon!

We ordered the Carnivore wood-fired pizza, and it made a delicious meal with the stained glass background.

We drove the Riverview Road to get our first views of the mighty Mississippi. Lighthouses lined the western edge of the river . . . 

and we found another Freedom Rock. The artist was trying to complete a rock for each county in Iowa. It looked like Clinton County found a nice prominent place for their boulder memorializing local war heroes.

But we were on a troll-hunt, and we headed to the third brother in this family of trolls--Helmut.

While the other brothers were lazing around in a horizontal position, Helmut was lifting that heavy potted plant the entire time we were there!

All of the Danbo trolls have a story, and a number. Hard-core troll hunters have an official list and check them off as they find them.

From the park where Helmut lived, we could see the silhouette of the iron bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.

Since we were parked beside the Mississippi River dike, it seemed a good time to go on a bike ride. We unloaded our fold-up bikes and set out on a looooooong bike trip. We pedaled all the way from Iowa to Illinois!

We've never biked across the Mississippi River, this bridge had a protected bike lane. We paused at the top of the bridge to take in the river view.

At the other side of the water we were welcomed to Fulton, Illinois.

This little town wanted to find a lasting symbol of their community to display on their side of the Mississippi River. Because this area was settled by the Dutch, they decided to build a working windmill. They contacted a company in The Netherlands, who built one to the exact specs of their famous windmills from the 1700s. It was disassembled and shipped to Fulton, Illinois. The "kit" came complete with carpenters and brick masons, and it was completed in 2000.

We arrived just in time for a guided tour of the windmill, complete with information on how they use wind power to grind the wheat they sell in their gift shop. It was a rare treat to get to walk into and around an authentic working windmill.

After our tour, we continued on the paved bike path that runs beside the Mississippi River.

We took a picture of the bridge we crossed, this time from the Illinois side.

We rode back across the Mississippi River, and all the way back to Iowa. What a long bike ride spanning two states on this warm July afternoon!

We had read that after finding the three easy trolls, real hunters can find a fourth secret troll using clues from the first three. Well, the secret was out, and we found out that even google maps will take you right to the trail head for the "mystery" troll. It's no secret when the trailhead is marked with a big sign pointing towards the troll.

Unlike the other three brothers, this secret troll is made from fallen tree branches found in the forest. He looks different than the other Danbo trolls we have seen. That's why he's a secret.

The secret troll is located in Eagle Point Park, and we had a longer hike to find him since we were towing the trailer today. That made finding parking spots on these travel-day explorations tougher. 

Overlooking the Mississippi River, we also hiked to the rock castle high over the water in Eagle Point Park. 

Once again, there weren't RV parking spots at this location, so it was a quick look over the Mississippi before we had to keep rolling.

That was our last stop before heading to our campground. It took another hour to complete the day's drive. We could have driven there in just a hour and a half this morning. But we took the long way so we could learn about the boyhood home of a president, find three brother trolls, see how a real windmill works, ride a bicycle over the largest river in the country, eat pizza in a stained glass church, and hike to a mystery troll. Sometimes wandering the long way around is the right way.

The Difference Between Amish and Amana Colonies

We have heard about Iowa's Amana Colonies for many years, but really didn't understand what they were. Were they Amish, or not? Well, this day we were going to find out. We headed east across the center of the state of Iowa. We could have taken the fast route down Interstate 80. But we opted for Hiway 92, with its 55-mph speed limits, rolling hills, and small towns with names like Pleasantville and Oskaloosa. We also made a u-turn in the town of Indianola (not an easy thing to do when you're pulling a trailer), to go back to the Saturday morning farmer's market. We bought our first Iowa sweet corn, sweet garden peas, and cucumbers. The rest of our drive was through a constant sea of corn and bean fields.

We come from wheat country, but we saw very little wheat in Iowa. Very often we would have corn on one side of the road, and soy beans on the other. We're guessing that they rotate these two crops, as we often saw a few tall corn plants coming up volunteer in the bean fields.

The reason for this slower route was to make a stop, not at the Amana Colonies, but through the Amish town of Kalona. It was 2.5 hours down the highway today. Our first stop was at the local Amish bakery--Golden Delight Bakery--for a pecan roll, apple fritter, raspberry jam, and cranberry-pecan-cinnamon swirl bread. They were all yummy! You know you are in the right neighborhood for some good bakery goods when you see the feed for the cattle in shocks in the field, rather than those fancy round hay bales.

The next stop was an Amish discount grocery store. These scratch-and-dent stores sell crushed packages and almost-expired goods that they get from other stores cheap. We like to buy unusual food items that are usually too expensive for a tasting test. We had a cart of unique protein bars, low-sugar gummies, honey, pecan apple butter, and soap. It's good Amish fun for us to go to these unlighted, un-air-conditioned businesses where you can't use credit cards and there's usually a horse and buggy parked out front.

As we drove in this country neighborhood, we giggled  to see we were on the Yoder Turnpike as we passed neat Amish and Mennonite farms.

But our destination today was not Amish or Mennonite--it was the Amana Colonies. The people that lived in the colonies had some things in common with those groups. They came from Europe to America to escape religious persecution, and settled in groups with like-minded believers. They also seem to put a lot of effort in planting flowers around their houses. But that was where the similarities ended.

The citizens of the Amana Colonies moved to Iowa, where they pooled their money and bought 26,000 acres collectively. Instead of living in one community, they built seven different colonies so the workers would be spread across their land. The villages were strategically located an hour's ox-cart ride apart. They lived communally, sharing the work and the profits. Families lived in homes that were owned and built by the church. Workers were assigned duties and worked long days, but received no wages. They did get a free place to live, and all their meals and clothes were provided.

Homes didn't have kitchens, because they took all their meals at one of the 50 communal kitchens that prepared meals for big groups of workers at once. Amana citizens were assigned to caring for crops, cutting wood, building furniture, growing community gardens, weaving in the woolen mills, or milking colony-owned cows . . . The plan worked for the Amana Colonies from 1855 until they were disbanded in 1932.

It was too late in the day to tour the four museums scattered around the seven colonies. So we opted for a 14-mile Amana Colonies road trip that was recommended by the woman at the visitor center. Using the audio guide, we visited the following highlights in the following colonies:

Middle Amana - We drove by the only surviving commerical kitchen. Women that were assigned to work here prepared 3 meals, plus snacks for two coffee breaks every day.

High Amana - We stopped for a look at the General Store. It had the same fixtures, wooden floor, and tin ceilings as it did when built in 1858.

West Amana - We had a planned stop at an art gallery, but it was closed on the weekend during the peak tourist season.

South Amana - We walked through the Fern Hill Gifts and Quilt Store. The second floor fabric area was filled with bright quilt material that made a pretty picture. We also made another stop at Schanz Furniture to see some good quality hand-made wooden decor items.

Homestead - This is home to the Village Church Museum, and where this evening's Zither concert was held.

Amana - This seems to be the most touristed village with the most stores and restaurants. We stopped in at the chain-saw carver, the Amana Furniture store, and the mercantile that sells the woven linens that are still made in the textile mill. The mill has been on this site since the 1850s, and many of the original Amana citizens were assigned to work here. 

Now the only textile mill in Iowa, they use computers to design and run the machines that can weave a wool blanket in three minutes. Only a small fraction of the original mill is needed for the current smaller operation. The rest of the mill has been divided into hotel rooms. We checked out the hotel lobby, with its industrial vibe and an interesting wall of old thread spools decorated the lobby wall.

Amana was hosting the Tour de Brew bike race today. Over 500 bicyclers pedaled their way across 30 miles of Iowa hills. 

The Millstream Brew Company provided frothy drinks and live music. We joined the bicyclers for the live music.

One of the must-do activities for a trip to the Amana Colonies is to eat a meal at one of the German restaurants. The German families that immigrated to the colonies brought their cuisine, and it is available to visitors today. We chose a platter meal at the Ronneburg Restaurant (named for a German castle) that included Bavarian chicken, fried potatoes, green beans, seasoned cottage cheese, homemade bread and butter. One platter was plenty for two of us. Another popular option at the Amana Colony restaurants is the family-style meals where the side dishes are passed at the table and can be refilled if needed. But at $32 per person, it's an expensive option.

We ended the busy day at another live music venue at the old Festhalle Barn. All the colonies have many of the original houses and buildings from the 1850's. Some of them are in good repair, while the old barn behind the band looked like it might fall down in the next wind storm.

So, to return to the differences between the Amish and the Amana Colonies... We discovered that the Amana Colonies practiced the communal lifestyle where all the property was owned by the church and was shared. Amish families own their own property and homes. Amish reject modern conveniences like electricity and cars and maintain a seperation from worldly influences. The Amana Colonies embraced modern technology and used electricity. In fact, the Amana company was started here and was a forerunner of the microwave industry and other appliances. Anyone that owned one of the first Radarange microwave ovens will be surprised that it was developed and built here in Amana. While the Amish's religious beliefs stem from the Anabaptist tradition, the Amana Colonies was part of a German Pietist group called the "True Inspiration Congregation."

It was interesting to spend a little time in both the Amish and Amana cultures this day. It was also fun to see and taste their differences first hand. We would say that one similarity is that both of these groups are good cooks!