Here's the thing... I need some help. Because Iowa is so small, the travel guides I use have not done an Iowa book yet and there are only a few smaller guides out there. I have bought one guide and got a resource from the Iowa Tourism people, but it's not a lot of detailed information. What I am asking is for some recommendations on where to visit and what to see based on things you have heard and places you have been. Good recommendations on places to eat, hotels, attractions, and oddball sights to see is what I really need. I like to plan a balanced trip full of different things to do. Here are some things I look for when planning a trip:
- Some good trails to hike. The more remote, the better. Hiking a loop with places to camp along is one of the things I look for, but I like to do other types of trails as well. I love camping by a lake.
- Small towns. I have found I enjoy exploring a small town much more than navigating my way through big cities. (No offence big cities.)
- Oddball tourist places. If you looked at my pictures for Wisconsin, you would see some odd places I went to. I visited the center of the northern western hemisphere and some place where this guy takes old metal and creates models with them. I am usually up for any oddball visit.
- Historical places and museums. These can be anything from an old school house to a old mining camp to whatever... If it has some history, a guided tour, and something that intrigues me, I'm in.
- Mom and pop restaurants. Also called hole in the wall restaurants. Local food is always better. I like to stay on the inexpensive side of things, but I will do one meal at a more fancier restaurant.
- Big city tourist places. I like doing the tourist things too, but it's not one of my main interests. I usually plan one or two days to visit a big city and hit up the main attractions I think are cool.
I have my main hiking plan already kind of set, unless someone recommends a really cool hike. I plan to do a longer hike at Yellow River State Forest and a couple shorter hikes at Backbone State Park and Ledges State Park. I want to go the the Effigy Mounds and I might camp at Pikes Peak one night. I also plan to go visit Winterset because I drive by the signs all the time going to and from Kansas City. I was to visit the John Wayne Birthplace and see whatever bridges are left in Madison County. Here's perhaps one route I'm looking at, but none of this has been set in stone. I would like to stay within this general area, but all suggestions are welcome. Visiting Davenport isn't for sure, I just figure that could be the big city I visit. Dubuque might also be the major city I visit. I have not decided yet.
So there you go! Help me plan my vacation, PLEASE. Leave a suggestion here, post it on my Facebook, send me a message, or whatever. Just no telepathy please. That usually gets mixed messages when I receive the signal. Ha!
