Our day started in a new Fairfield hotel in Altoona, just out side of Des Moines. Keeping up with our blog is easier to do with a good WiFi connection and after a dip on the pool and Jacuzzi.
John Wayne Museum
Located south of Des Moines in Winterset, we decide to stop by. We came upon the house before finding the Museum entrance and walked in. Turns out you cannot purchase tickets at the house and the person inside was very upset with us.
We headed to the museum where Mrs Ram discovered there was $15 entrance fee. She couldn’t get herself to pay it so we checked out the stars in the walk for the various movies and the big statue of John Wayne in front of the museum.
As we left town we did notice that the downtown Winterset seemed very quaint.
16 Oaks
As we drove into Fontenella, we passed a building we thought looked like it should have been a winery but there was no sign up. We turned around, headed back and drove up the driveway. As we parked the owner, Curtis, walked out to greet us
It turns out that they are planning on becoming a winery but the grapes are not quite ready yet. But they are open as a bar and function hall. He invited us in to sample some wines with his wife and daughter. Add in some cheese and crackers we had a very enjoyable visit.
They rebuilt their barn inside of their winery and they live in the upstairs of the barn. They have a full-service kitchen the bar and a nice open area for functions. There are also some unique pieces like an old pedal fire car and a short wave radio. They hope to be actually producing wine in the next year or so.
Surrounded by Windmills
Driving west we saw windmills in the distance. As we continued we found us surrounded by them, silently making electricity. It was an inspiring sight to be there.
Yet for all the inspirational and real power they provide, a local farmer named Fred that we met at our Botna Bend campsite that evening said farmers often did not receive complete information or a fair price for leases of these units. The windmill installers also did not need to follow ALL the rules in place to protect the land so that their installation and service roads have caused increased erosion.
Every issue has many sides.