The hills, part two

I'm happy to see that September has found us once again. There's a slight chill to the air, a reminder that fall is just around the corner. It was a near-perfect day to explore the northern section of the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. The route is at its best around the mid-point of the Byway, in the area around Preparation Canyon near Little Sioux in Harrison County.

As I mentioned last week, the best parts of the Byway are off the beaten path, along remote gravel roads that wind through the Loess Hills. If you make the trip, make sure to take the short hike up the Murray Hill Scenic Overlook (the view from the Overlook is in the photograph below) and find your way to the Loess Hills State Forest Overlook Trail (pictured in the second image below).





Also visited: Magnolia, Pisgah, Turin, Castana, Smithland, Oto, Sioux City, Westfield and Akron.

Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here

Tonight was the last baseball game at venerable Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. I mentioned the ballpark's demise a few months ago on this blog. The game itself was fairly uneventful, with the Omaha Royals getting out to an early lead and coasting to an easy victory.

I'll be sad to see the place go, mainly because it was such a wonderful place to catch a game on a summer evening. A baseball palace on the hill, a throwback to days that now have passed. The crowds seemed to be getting thinner every year, numbering no more than maybe a few hundred on some weeknights. And so, progress marches on, a new ballpark with all the extracurricular amenities for people who just don't seem to have the patience for the pace of baseball in this modern world.

The hills

I spent today exploring the southern end of the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, a route that stretches over 200 miles through the Loess Hills along the western edge of Iowa. It's an interesting drive, winding through and along the edge of the bluffs that rise above the Missouri River valley. I discovered a couple of places that I am sure I will be revisiting at a later date.


For those interested in traveling the Byway, be advised. The route can be frustrating to follow with signage that seems to just disappear from time to time. To see the best parts of the Byway, there are several loops that require driving for many miles on gravel roads. The loops meander through the Loess Hills far more than the main route.

The top photograph is from the Waubonsie Cemetery in Mills County. The Waubonsie Church and Cemetery stand alone along a quiet country road along one of the Byway's loops. Below is a photograph from an old mural painted on a building in the town of Tabor.

I plan on traveling the northern section of the Byway in the coming weeks.

Also visited: Pony Creek, Pacific Junction, Thurman, Sidney, Waubonsie State Park and Hamburg, Iowa. Star School Hill Prairie and Rock Port, Missouri. Brownville and Peru, Nebraska.

Eastern Iowa, Day Two

There's just not too much to report from today. The highlight of the day was the classic Maid-Rite that I had along Interstate 80 near Amana. I always forget how good a loose-meat sandwich with all the fixings can be. Maid-Rite is pretty much exclusive to Iowa, dating back to the 1920's and small towns along the highways before the arrival of the interstate. Yesterday's entry mentioned my Great Grandmother's cafe, which also served Maid-Rites to the travelers along Highway 6 in Ladora.

Pictured is St. Michael's Church in a little bump in the road called Holbrook. The old stone church was built in 1867 and still stands today, albeit it has seen better days. I can't figure out why someone has begun patching the structure with common red bricks, as you can see in the photograph.

Also visited: Oxford, Kalona, Wellman and Lake Hawthorne.