Bridges of Madison County, Fireflies and John Wayne

Two weeks after it started, all but one of the mushers from the Iditarod have arrived in Nome. (Well, actually, 12 of the original had to "scratch" (which means, basically, they had to quit before they finished, for whatever reason - generally, it's either because of the health of their team or their own personal health.) BUT, of the remaining 54, all but one have finished.

 

As I previously mentioned, Mitch Seavey was first to arrive (9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds), followed quickly by Aliy Zirkle (9 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes, 35 seconds.

 

The last person to arrive gets "The Red Lantern" award, and this is a very prestigious award! Apparently, it "started as a joke and has become a symbol of stick-to-itiveness in the mushing world.” Perserverance. Determination. 

 

I think that has to be true - how hard would it be to know you were last and maybe still days from finishing - everyone else is done, has had a nice bath and a nice meal. Very admirable to not give up!!

This year's Red Lantern, is a first time Iditarod musher, Christine Roalofs, from Anchorage. She JUST finished! 13 days, 22 hours, 36 minutes, 8 seconds. WHAT a relief!! Good for her! Woot Woot!!

 

So, back to our Disposable Car Roadtrip:

Robert James Waller wrote (in The Bridges of Madison County), "There are songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass, from the dust of a thousand country roads. This is one of them.”

Once we left the Omaha airport and Franklin, we made a mad dash for Winterset, Iowa, 132 miles East. We didn't take the above mentioned dusty country road - we took the I-80, paved - top (legal) speed, to make up for lost time!! (From what I can tell, though, the 1-80 wasn't there (or not as it is now) in 1965, when Robert Kincaid drove from Seattle to Winterset. (Besides, he took Iowa Hwy 92 when he left, so that was even more likely to be dusty...)

 

I didn't actually see that movie, but did decide to go Winterset because of the movie - you know, Big
Ball of String, roadside attraction theme. Celebrity Bridges.

 

We had to get there before twilight, so we could see them, take pictures and still get back to Winterset, where, not only did Francesca watch Robert drive away, but also is where John Wayne was born.

 

We made it to Winterset in record time (especially when you consider how slowly we were moving before, in the disposable car.) and found our way to The Bridges.

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, there were 19 Covered Bridges in the Winterset area, but nowadays there are only 6 left standing. I think we managed to see 3 or 4 before it got too dark, but I only really remember the Roseman Bridge (because I have the best pictures of that one, and because, in the story, that's the bridge Robert Kincaid was coming to take pictures of, and also that is where he requested his ashes be scattered...)

 

The Roseman Bridge was original built in 1883, and then renovated in 1992. It's 107 feet and still sits on its original site. It's the second longest bridge - the longest is the Hallowell, at 122 feet. (This bridge was built in 1880 and renovated in 1995, and also sits on its original site. It is the bridge that was actually featured in the movie, apparently).

 

The Cedar Bridge is the only one on which you can actually still drive. The 76 foot bridge was built in 1883, over Cedar Creek. In 1921, it was moved (still over Cedar Creek, though). In 2002, some stupid ..... idiot burned the bridge down, and so it had to be rebuilt in 2004 (which, I guess, explains why you are still allowed to drive on it.)

 

After we (reluctantly) left the Bridge area, we headed back to town to visit John Wayne's birthplace.

 

 

 

On the way down the road, though, all of the sudden, we saw the most amazing thing! Tiny little flickering lights!! My first thought was "FAIRIES" - maybe "TINKERBELL!" But, Peter came up with FIREFLIES!!

 

THIS was the first time in my entire life I had EVER seen FIREFLIES!! I was SO enthralled!!! We had to pull over!

 

FIREFLIES!!

 

By the time we got back to Winterset, John Wayne's house was closed...

 

I kind of wished we had've made it, BUT! if I was going to do it over, I'd still pull over and enjoy the fireflies, instead.

I was so awestruck by fireflies, I forgot about The Bridges until I got my film developed.

But THEN!!! I saw the pictures and was forever hooked on seeing and visiting Covered Bridges! And so, Peter made me a little Covered Bridge for our mailbox, and I painted the lane.

As mentioned, I didn't see the movie BUT I did read the book, once I got home. And, as far as tragic love stories...sigh...I'm glad we went.

Wednesday, maybe we'll be in Chicago..?

Corn Palace in South Dakota, and Omaha

On our way to Corn Palace, and about an hour after leaving the Deadwood area, we suddenly realized we were passing a "Dances with Wolves" film set - a fort on the side of the road. I can't remember which one, and I'm not willing to watch the movie again, to find out. Maybe you'll recognize it from the picture... (I didn't love the movie - sorry! I am sorry for those of you who may have. If you really want to know why, I can tell you.)

Anyway - we didn't go look at the film set. I'm not a fan.

Besides, I was really anxious to get to The Corn Palace, in Mitchell SD! I mean - how can that not be intriguing!? It is, after all, the World's One and Only Corn Palace... (as per the Visit Mitchell website.)

I guess it's ridiculous to assume that someone just shows up every year with a wheelbarrow full of corn, and makes a picture by gluing corn on the side of the building and hoping for the best!

In actual fact, a local farmer grows all of the corn (12 different colors), the design team (The Corn Palace Committee) starts discussing and planning the theme months in advance, a local artist designs the mural and numbers each section according to the color of the corn, draws it onto black roofing paper, which is nailed to the wall, and then a design team nails the corn to the wall, according to the number scheme. (It's a new display every year, and the old one stays in place until they are ready to put up the new mural, at the end of August.)

Interesting. Although I was kidding about the wheelbarrow full of corn and the glue, it's still much more complicated that I originally imagined.

Originally called The Corn Belt Exposition, the tradition of the Corn Palace was established in 1892, when the farmers would display their harvest on the building to "prove the fertility of South Dakota soil." In 1921, the first festival was held at this current existing building.

As if Corn Palace isn't enough! We had the fortunate timing of visiting

Mitchell while they were doing repair work on their streets. Really, it is a pretty good idea, isn't it? to cover the fresh tar with biodegradable toilet paper, so the tar doesn't get stuck to your car!? I can't believe I've never seen this anywhere before!! BRILLIANT!

After we left Mitchell, we went over the state line into Nebraska, just to cross Nebraska off our list of places we hadn't been before. The plan was: Go to Nebraska, and do a U-turn, and come straight back out, travel across the bottom of South Dakota, through corn fields, to Iowa, and then take the I-80 across to Winterset (where the Bridges of Madison County are - this was after choosing to go to the Bridges instead of crossing across Minnesota to see the Jolly Green Giant - and we chose the Bridges, because they are old and could, potentially, fall down..over time, and we could miss our chance to see them at all!)

However, what ACTUALLY happened was: The car died. We made it safely through the corn fields (which was a relief since we passed absolutely nobody the entire time we were out in those cornfields.) The car died somewhere around the Junction of Highway 29 and Interstate 80..about 5 miles before the junction, the car completely died. So, after refilling the transmission oil, we decided to do what you are supposed to do - don't go forward, go back to where you last saw civilization - which was about a mile back at an old gas station.

When we got there, Peter wanted to see underneath the car, so he - I don't really know how to explain this - but he drove into the curb so that the car popped up and the front wheels were on the curb and the back wheels were on the dirt... so it was lifted up and he could see underneath.

Once we got the car back on the road, and turned onto the I-80, there saw a sign that said: "Next gas station, 140 miles." Yes, that DID seem adventurous, but Peter was pretty much finished with adventure that day, so we started to consider a Plan B.

On the side of the road, we decided to call U-Haul, and see about renting a little truck, camping in it, and returning it on the other side of the country. $3000!!!!! THAT was the quote!! and we had to be there (in Council Bluffs in 6 minutes.)

$3000 seemed like a lot, so we decided, instead, to just rent a car, and since we were passing a sign that said "Omaha Airport" - that seemed like a good start!! Not having "Google" back then, we didn't really know who to call, but just then! out of nowhere, I remembered the jingle to "1-800-go-Alamo"!

This is kinda crazy because we had never actually rented with Alamo before, but you know how some things seem to just work out too wonderfully? well!

THIS is amazing AND, though it was a long time ago now, has always been one of my favorite memories.

1) when I called (thanks to modern technology - even though we didn't have Internet on the cell phones yet, we DID have a cell phone!!), the man from the call center transferred me to the Omaha location, so that the nice man at the Alamo airport location could talk to me as we drove in - "about now, you should be passing a trailer park up on the hill" - and we were!!!

2) when we arrived in the airport, we passed a few car rental locations we had previously used, and actually went over to get quotes, even though the Alamo guy was holding a reservation for us.

3) the Alamo guy could see us meandering through the airport, getting quotes, and knew (somehow) we were the people with whom he'd been talking

4) the Alamo guy was very helpful about finding a tow truck to come pull our disposable car out of the parkade... but, as we were trying to figure out what to do and how to do it, with the car disposal issue, Peter said, "Unless, of course, you know someone who wants a 1984 Ford Marquis". He said, "A WHAT?? No! I don't need a car, BUT - HOLD ON!! FRANKLIN!!"

Franklin came out from the back, and the Alamo guy said, "These people have a 1984 Marquis to give you, if you want it...?"

OH GOODNESS! Franklin started to cry. Apparently, he was a new father, in the less affluent part of Omaha, and was having a really hard time getting to work and transporting his family around, and had just been saying "if only he could afford to get a car" and happened to (of all the craziest things!) love the Ford Marquis. (Seriously! I am NOT making that up!!)

We sold it to him for the appropriate $1, and threw in all of the stuff we couldn't fit in the rental - including the remaining transmission fluid and a barbecue (remember, we were camping.) (Also, he'd be driving inner-city, so, as you recall, it was fine under 30 miles (50 kms) per hour. He might never even need the transmission fluid.)

By the time we were driving away in our rental car, he was leaving to go home to show his wife his new car ...

How ironic, too, that I planned to avoid Nebraska, except that little trip in and out that we made earlier, for the sole purpose of crossing it off The List  - only to have one of my best memories of all time, take place BACK in Nebraska a few hours later!!!

...

With a brand new and fast car, we headed off in record speed to Winterset, to see the Covered Bridges!! More on Sunday.

PS. It looks like the first Iditarod musher is coming in Nome maybe today. Mitch Seavey (who I didn't mention, I don't think...?) He's an Iditarod icon - his whole family has participated in the Iditarod - his dad, his sons, and him. As a family, they've had over 30 Iditarod finishes. THIS year, his son, Dallas, is currently 4th.

Right on his heels (according to an 8pm report for March 12th, 24 minutes behind.), is Aliy Zirkle. HER website tells us: "In 2000 she was the first and only woman ever to win the Yukon Quest -- "The World's Toughest Sled Dog Race." Including her first Iditarod in 2001, Aliy has completed the 1,000+ mile race tweleve consecutive years. In 2005 and 2011 she received the Iditarod's "Humanitarian Award" for supreme care of her dog team. Her best finish was 2nd place in 2012."

(Addendum, 8 hours after publishing this blog: Not only did Mitch & Aliy finish the race (and, it seems, probably around the time I was typing, they were coming into Nome), but 9 others also did! Congratulations to all the finishers!)

Mr. Jolly Green Giant

In 2005, we took a long roadtrip from Calgary to Halifax NS, through the States, one way. We bought a disposable car, drove one way, and flew home. I’ll tell that adventure later.

 

BUT, I bring it up now because, at that time, we had the choice of going either through Minnesota, and seeing the Jolly Green Giant, or through Iowa, and seeing the Bridges of Madison County near Winterset. We chose the Bridges of Madison County and it was so worth it - so beautiful! so historic! Plus, I had recently read the book, and was enthralled. (Didn’t see the movie, so I don’t know how it compares.)

Since then, though, I have always had the Jolly Green Giant in my mind, and this was the trip that was going to fix that!

The Jolly Green Giant (this is tedious - I’m going to start calling him just "Jolly" or Mr. Giant...or Jolls) is in Blue Earth, Minnesota, at the half-way point of Interstate 90. (Blue Earth is named for the nearby Blue Earth River, and the river is named for the blue clay found in the bluffs along the river banks.)

He is the symbol of the Green Giant Company (famous for canned peas and corn). The company started in 1926 as Blue Earth Canning Company, took the name Green Giant in 1950 and has since been bought out by General Mills.

Jolls is 55’ tall (17 meters). I mean - that SEEMS tall, but what’s a good point of reference? Well, look at this picture. We are standing by his 6' long feet (size 78 shoe) and you can barely see us.

His Giant smile is 48" wide!!

I don’t know how Daisy & Coco knew he was a giant and not just a huge hunk of metal (fiberglass, actually) but they were crazy when they saw him-running at him, barking and snarling, grizzly hair up on their backs, tails in the air, then running away madly, for protection! (They are, after all, only about 8" tall..) They did NOT like him at ALL! (We were a little bit proud of them-so feisty! :D )

They keep a guest book there, and the lady there was telling us that since they’d opened for the season, they had someone from every state already in to visit, except Virginia. And wouldn’t you know it? The girl beside us was from Virginia, so we all had ice-cream sandwiches to celebrate. 

(Incidentally, Blue Earth is proud to be the birthplace of the Chocolate Dream ice cream bar, which is now the Eskimo Pie. We didn't have any of those handy, so ice-creams sandwiches substituted.)

 Mr. Giant’s little (10’ tall) pal, Little Sprout, has taken a job at a nearby local gas station and convenience store, advertizing Jelly Bellys and homemade fudge!
 

After we left Blue Earth, we continued east.

 

We had a secret destination  -

- well, we all knew, except Richard.

 

Secret Spot to be revealed Sunday

(In other news - I can't figure out how to put a "follow" button on here, so if anyone could tell me that, that'd be great! Also, I can't figure out how to allow people who aren't members of "blogspot" to comment, either... I'm certain it's an easy fix, but I don't know what it is... In the meantime, I'm also blogging on http://biggestballofstring.wordpress.com, which has a "follow" button right there and anyone can comment...)