National Balloon Museum - Part 2

The National Balloon Museum has a basket available for visitors to take photos in.  The gentleman who was acting as museum curator kindly consented to have a picture taken with me.  He told us about ballooning in the area and the yearly festival, and gave us information on how to get a balloon ride. 

Besides the rooms filled with displays, the museum also has a small theater and a library.  The oldest book I noticed was The Aeronautical Annual from 1895.  

National Balloon Museum - Part 1

On our Winterset trip last May, we stopped at the the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa.

Admission was only $3 per person.  There are maps near the entrance with pins for visitors to mark where they are from.  If the maps are accurate, the museum has been visited by people from every state in the Union, and guests from every continent.  I'm not sure the three pins placed on Antarctica are legitimate, but who knows?

Holliwell and Hogback Covered Bridges

We visited the Holliwell Bridge (built 1880) and the Hogback Bridge (1884) in Madison County, Iowa in May on our Winterset trip.  Both bridges were built by Benton Jones.  Of the six covered bridges still standing in the county, Holliwell is the longest, and Hogback was the last to be built.  Hogback is named after a nearby limestone ridge.

Northside Cafe

Just as we were about to leave Winterset after enjoying the walking tacos, brownies, and ice cream at my friend's graduation open house, Papa pointed out Northside Cafe.  

Winterset City Park

We visited the Winterset City Park to see the Cutler-Donahoe covered bridge.  This bridge was built in 1870, and was originally located 18 miles northeast of Winterset.  It was moved to the park in 1970.  

Hastie Station, Outside Scoop, John Wayne Birthplace, & More

Last Saturday we drove down to Winterset for a friend's graduation open house.  Throughout the day of travel we visited various interesting locations.  This post will cover a few of our briefest stops.  In depth posts about some of the other places we visited will come later.