Madison County

I was looking for diversion again, this time from northbound Interstate 35, and decided to loop through Madison County, southwest of Des Moines. This is a place made famous by The Bridges of Madison County (which I'm afraid I haven't read or seen), and Winterset, the county seat, is John Wayne's birthplace (I drove past the house, but didn't visit the museum). I did take the time to drive through City Park and even climbed up Clark Tower.

The rolling hills, the covered bridges, and the park combined to provide a great contrast to the normal stereotyped vision of Iowa as endless cornfields along I-80.