We enjoyed the annual Iowa farm tour so much last year that we did it again this year — picking a different area of the state. This time we headed southwest, to Union and Madison Counties. Very pretty rural countryside, more hilly than in central Iowa around Story County where we went last year.
Millie, our lab, came with us again and enjoyed sniffing around the old barns. The first we visited was a 19th century red wood beauty we finally found (GPS kept sending us to dead ends) in a little c county historical village in the small city of Creston. The “(New) Union County Barn” aka “Harris Barn” built in 1896 had been relocated from the countryside so it felt a little less authentic but inside, it was the real deal, with old dairy equipment, wood stalls for animals, a high hayloft and a rope, presumably to swing in the hayloft. (Or hoist hay bales into the loft.) (We’re told it’s: a perfect example of post and beam construction with diagonal braces. Horizontal cladding is rare and is associated with Civil War veterans.
Next stop, two barns in Madison County, the first west of town on Highway 96. A nice woman showed us around inside the big white 19th century barn with a pretty cupola atop. She even pointed out the dead cat hanging from the rafters that she reported noticing early in the morning but didn’t want to deal with it.
North of Winterset, on Highway 169 just north of the Winterset Cidery, we stopped at our last barn — the McBroom-Hargis barn, five miles south of I-80, an enormous red barn sitting on the edge of the highway and part of a country estate with several buildings that appeared to be old but were actually new-ish construction. The owner is apparently a talented carpenter — and we marveled at two miniature toy barns inside the big old barn. An 1884 story in the local newspaper referred to it as “the largest barn in this part of the county.” It has a wooden track, post and beam, pegs and was designed by I.F. Carter of De Soto. More photos here.
We also drove at the onset through the town of Earlham — and spotted the Restaurant the Hare and the Hound there, which I’ve had on my list for awhile. It’s next to RJ Home (RJ stands for Rescued Junk) which sells vintage, salvaged, junk items one weekend a month. We went once several years ago and didn’t find much but it was a fun outing and worth another visit, especially with the restaurant nearby.
Two years ago, when I wrote a cover story about the Raccoon River Valley Trail for Rails to Trails magazine, the trail was looking good. Now it’s even better, as promised two years ago. Where the trail intersects with gravel roads, the section you ride over is now paved – rather than gravel, which is a huge improvement. There is also new landscaping here and there – some with new amenities such as picnic tables — which is also greatly appreciated.
Some new and old dining in the Detroit area this trip. New included a very lively ( for a Monday night) Mexican Restaurant in a humble, post-industrial neighborhood of downtown Detroit near the Ambassador Bridge (to Canada) called Mi Pueblo. I had good steak and shrimp Fajitas and a cheap margarita.
The next night we celebrated my birthday ( yes, the one in April, again) at Bella Piatti in snazzy Birmingham near the Townsend Hotel . I had excellent Scaloppine Saltimbocca (veal medallions, Parma prosciutto, fresh sage, white wine, lemon crushed potatoes). We shared a delicious Involtini Di Melanzane (Grilled eggplant rolls, seasoned ricotta cheese, tomato sauce.)
The old favorite was The Stage Deli in West Bloomfield, where I had a delicious “small” Mark beltaire salad ( with strips, on request, of corned beef, turkey and Swiss cheese with a creamy white ranch dressing and a bowl of kreplach soup. Yum!
Why have I never been to Kalamazoo? I’ve passed it dozens of times while driving on I-94 driving between Chicago and Detroit, as we did yet again yesterday. This time we were hungry so we stopped at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, home of the craft beer that is one of Dirck’s favorites. The cafe turned out to be in an old cavernous yellow brick building near the railroad tracks and was packed on a Sunday afternoon. We had a baby glass of beer, since we were driving, and Korean pork tacos and jambalaya. All good and a fun brew pub atmosphere. We also stopped in the gift shop to get a little something for Dirck.
TakeBetsywithyou 