A selection of unique and quirky vacation spots that only our state can offer

By Jared Crutis

You don’t need to drive hundreds of miles to view some old guys’ faces chiseled into a hill, spend thousands of dollars to meet a pair of asexual mice, or bore yourself silly riding a mule down a desert hole this summer. We’ve got plenty of exciting stuff to do right here in our corn-laced borders. Take a Saturday stroll and see where an axe swung mightily and blood flowed freely. Learn where a famous artist depicted two stone-faced old folks with a hand-held farm tool. And discover the magic in a pile of rocks. Excited yet?

Yes, this is Iowa, a place where we celebrate the births and deaths of celebrities with little in between, where farm fields become famous and where vagabonds can tie (another) one on.

Of course, we have no mountains, no oceans and no cascading waterfalls. But we pride ourselves in having more pigs than people. And that’s worth something.

So put down the maps, cancel the Super 8 reservations and let Fido out of the rooftop kennel. Your next vacation is right here in Iowa. 

What the fork?

American Gothic House

300 American Gothic St., Eldon

Summer Hours: Sunday and Monday, 1 to 4 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (May through September)

Miles from Des Moines: 103

http://www.wapellocounty.org/americangothic

Visiting Eldon is like stepping into a painting, a Grant Wood painting in fact, as Eldon is home to the iconic house in Wood’s most famous painting, 1930’s American Gothic.

“Not a lot of people knew this was the house, and even Wood’s sister, who was in the painting, didn’t even know where the house was. But word of mouth started spreading, and then the Internet took over, and we have had visitors ever since,” said Holly Berg, administrator for American Gothic House Center.

According to http://www.wapellocounty.org/americangothic, Wood reacquainted himself with local artist John Sharp when he visited Eldon. After lunch, Sharp took Wood on a drive around the area. During that trip, Wood spotted the house with the “beautiful window.” He sketched the house on the back of an envelope and eventually used it as the backdrop for his painting.

“We have gotten more visitors every year, and we have had people from all 50 states and 52 countries stop here,” Berg said. “It’s a destination for some people, while others just see the sign on the highway and stop.”

At the American Gothic House Center, visitors can see the house and visit the museum next door. Inside you’ll find a collection of memorabilia including prints from Wood, an exhibit about his sister and a media room with different informative videos. There is also a gift shop on site, but the biggest attraction is recreating the iconic photo.

“People love getting their photo taken in front of the house,” Berg said. “People do come up with their own ideas and bring their own props, but we also have everything you need for the photo including period piece costumes and kids’ costumes, little round glasses and varying sizes of pitchforks. A lot of people bring their own pitchfork because they don’t realize we have them available.”

Pitchford rentals are free and so is admission. If you don’t bring a camera, the staff will take a photo of you for $2. More than 13,000 people visited last year, and Berg says holiday weekends and summer months are the busiest. Expect plenty of people during American Gothic Days, June 8-10. The town festival features a variety of art on display, a parade, bike ride, 5K and more.

“Everyone knows the painting, even if they don’t know the name,” Berg said. “We’re a tourist destination, but we also try to offer educational aspects to our visitors. It’s a great way to celebrate the life of Grant Wood and the work that made him famous.”

Oh boy

Buddy Holly Crash Site

Buddy Holly Place, Clear Lake

Hours: Open year round

Miles from Des Moines: 120

On Feb. 3, 1959, otherwise known as The Day the Music Died, rock and roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a small plane crash near Clear Lake. Considered the first great tragedy in rock and roll, the musicians were touring the Midwest as part of “The Winter Dance Party,” which brought the musicians to Clear Lake, where they would perform their final concert. A memorial has been set up at the crash site, and numerous fans visit every year.

“The crash site is on private land, but it’s open to the public year round. You’ll see the black glasses, which marks the trailhead to the actual crash site, which is under a mile from there,” said Libbey Patton, director of tourism with the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

The site is five miles north of Clear Lake where the Surf Ballroom and Museum and the Three Stars Plaza, both of which pay homage to the historic event, are located. As visitors head down the trail, they’ll come across the actual crash site marked with eye-catching visuals.

“There is a stainless steel guitar and a set of three stainless steel records where the plane came to rest after their final concert at the Surf Ballroom,” Patton said. “A second monument was added in 2009, which was 50 years after the crash, to commemorate the pilot, Roger Peterson.”

Patton says people of all ages stop and visit the site.

“Many of the artists who play the Surf Ballroom make a point to visit the site,” she said. “I encourage anyone who is interested in music, pop culture and history to visit.”

They built it

Field of Dreams

28995 Lansing Road, Dyersville

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (April through October)

Miles from Des Moines: 190

http://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com

“Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa” is easily the most recognizable conversation in the 1989 film “Field of Dreams.” In 1988, Hollywood built a baseball field for a team of ghosts in the middle of a cornfield. A year later, the film was released with overwhelming success, and the rest is history. More than 60,000 people visit the field of dreams every year. There have been no ghost sightings, so it really is just a baseball field and corn, but it’s still as pecial landmark.

“The farm has been in my husband’s family for more than 100 years, and he was living on the farm when the movie producers called in 1987, asking if they could film on the farm,” said Becky Lansing, who owns the farm with her husband, Don. “They looked at more than 400 farms before choosing this one.”

The Lansings own the farm, but it is under contract by Go the Distance Baseball LLC, which plans to develop the site as a baseball and softball complex. Lansing wants to let everyone know that this will cause no interruption on the field. Although the ghost player games have been discontinued for about five years, visitors are welcome to explore the field on their own.

“We’ll continue to welcome visitors and encourage them to sit in the bleachers and dream,” she said. “Although we don’t allow organized teams to play here, we welcome everyone to bring their own equipment and play with whoever else is at the field that day.”

Admission is free, and the field is solely supported by concessions and souvenir purchases. The field has always been open to the public. Soon after the film was released, the field received its first visitor.

“The first visitor was a guy driving cross-country, and he was looking for the field of dreams,” Lansing said. “Don realized that if that guy was looking for the field, other people would be looking as well. And it took off from there.”

Lansing loves seeing the multiple generations that have visited and encourages everyone to realize his or her own dreams at the field.

“The field stands alone, and it’s yours to enjoy in any capacity you can imagine and see whatever you want to see. You can play catch, lie in the grass, run the bases or have a picnic,” she said. “There is no other place in the country where you can have a free, family-friendly experience like this.”

Hobo-phobes not welcome

Hobo Museum

51 Main Avenue South, Britt

Hours: Open May 30 through Aug. 25 (or by appointment)

Miles from Des Moines: 130 miles

http://www.hobo.com

Most communities work to rid the town of a homeless problem, so Britt might be the only place on Earth where Hobos are actually welcome. The small northern Iowa town is home to not only the National Hobo Convention (celebrating its 112th year Aug. 9-12), but also the Hobo Museum, located in a former movie theater. Linda Hughes, the Museum Curator and president of Hobo Foundation, has been working to celebrate the hobo lifestyle for more than 15 years.

“The Hobo Foundation started on the east coast as a way to help the elderly hobos. It was later moved to Britt because it was the home of the convention,” she said. “From there we started the museum and told the hobo community we were looking for items from their rich history. The first year we got a shoebox full of stuff, and it’s been coming in ever since.”

The Hobo Museum currently contains extensive memorabilia of numerous hobos including the colorfully named Steamtrain Maury, Frisco Jack, Connecticut Slim, Slo Motion Shorty, Hard Rock Kid and Pennsylvania Kid. Visitors will see original hobo crafts, photographs, videos and documentaries depicting the hobo lifestyle, paintings, a historic postcard collection, a hobo doll collection and much more. Admission is $3.

“We have lots of personal artifacts including tramp art and homemade musical instruments,” she said. “We get lots of stuff from their caregivers or that people have found.”

Britt also features a hobo cemetery, a queen’s garden filled with bricks that hobos have purchased, and a time capsule, offering a day filled with the history of hobos past. During the national convention on Aug. 9-12, the town will come alive with local tours and hobo-esque events like an ugly shoe contest and toilet bowl races, as well as the coronation of the King and Queen, and a hobo auction.

“This year we’re expanding the garden and adding some new steel symbols. We’ll also have a large memorial, which will be a touching service,” Hughes said. “It’s amazing how many people come here during the convention. It’s a great time to hear interesting stories and listen to music you’ve never heard before.”

Out here a man settles his own problems

John Wayne Birthplace

216 S. 2nd St., Winterset

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily

Miles from Des Moines: 37

http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org

Does anyone really care that Iowa birthed icons such as Robert Frost, former President Herbert Hoover or is the home of the covered bridges of Madison County? It was John Wayne who put Iowa on the cool map. Arguably one of the most iconic actors of all time, Wayne was a force to be reckoned with on the big screen. And although he passed away in 1979, his memory lives on in Winterset at the John Wayne Birthplace, which features the house he was born in as well as a museum and a gift shop.

“The house opened to the public in 1982,” said Brian Downes, executive director of the John Wayne Birthplace. “I had worked as a travel writer for the Chicago Tribune and had met John Wayne and knew the family. I always loved Iowa when I visited, and I’ve always been interested in Americana. So it fit me like a pistol.”

The John Wayne Birthplace Society is working on enlarging the facility and creating a 9,000-square-foot museum and learning center adjacent to the John Wayne Birthplace. Every year during the John Wayne Birthday Celebration (May 25-26), fans flock to Winterset for the lavish salute, which includes Wayne’s films, live entertainment, guided tours and a benefit dinner and auction, which goes toward the museum. In 2010, a lifelike bronze statue of The Duke, which was donated by the Wayne family, was added to the sight.

“I hear people say all the time that if John Wayne was born in Texas, his museum would have been built a long time ago,” Downes laughed. “But we’re getting closer to our goal, and the statute is a great addition to the site. It’s a huge hit and probably the most photographed statue in the state.”

The guided tour through the house features plenty of history on The Duke.

“We walk visitors through the site, explaining the history and walking them through all of the photos and artifacts,” he said. “People really love the eye patch from ‘True Grit,’ and we also have a scale model of his yacht, the Wild Goose.”

Admission is $7 for the museum, but people can walk the grounds for free. Downes estimates more than 30,000 visitors stop through every year.

“I know we probably get more visitors than that because not everyone signs the guestbook or they just walk the grounds,” he said. “It’s authentic Americana, and it feels like you’re stepping back into time. Every town has a mall, but only one town can say they were the birthplace of John Wayne.”

Claustrophobic cruise

Spook Cave

13299 Spook Cave Road, McGregor

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., daily (May 1 through Oct. 1)

Miles from Des Moines: 196

http://www.spookcave.com

Although it might sound scary, the Spook Cave offers more adventures than frights. Early settlers of Clayton County often referred to the strange noises coming from a hole at the base of the hill along Bloody Run Creek, but it wasn’t until a brave man, Gerald Mielke, set out to find the cause of these noises that the Spook Cave was discovered.

“The Spook Cave has been a family vacation attraction since 1955, but we’ve recently upgraded the grounds and created a unique mixture of fun,” said owner Paul Rasmussen, who took over the site in 2002.

The Cave Tour ($10 for adults, $7 for kids 10 and under) allows patrons to sit back in a small boat and take a guided tour through the cave. During the tour, visitors will learn about the discovery and development of the cave. Formations are also pointed out and described. The tour takes about 35 minutes, and the cave is always 47 degrees, which is the perfect escape from the summer heat.

“It’s a stress-free tour that involves no walking. You just sit back and learn about the natural limestone cave and the noises the locals could hear before Mielke dynamited the entrance,” Rasmussen said. “It’s fully lighted and features a lot of stalagmites and formations. It’s pretty popular, and we get more than 10,000 visitors every year.”

Along with the Spook Cave, visitors can enjoy a nearby sand beach, a trout stream, stone bluffs and a waterfall. Rasmussen says the cave is a rarity for Iowa, and it’s the perfect place for a weekend of family fun.

“There are only two show caves in Iowa, and having a boat tour is rare. It’s a unique family activity that is a lot of fun that offers exploration and history for the entire family,” he said. “Set up camp, have some fun and learn about the caves.”

You’ll have to visit for yourself and find out what was in the cave making all that noise.

Stony shrine

The Grotto of the Redemption

300 N. Broadway Ave., West Bend

Hours: Open year round (Guided tours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May through August and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. September and October)

Miles from Des Moines: 140

http://www.westbendgrotto.com

More than a just a bunch of rocks, The Grotto of the Redemption is a composite of nine separate Grottos, each portraying a scene in the life of Jesus Christ. It includes the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location and is frequently considered the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

“Father Paul Dobberstein began working on the grotto in 1912 and continued to work on it until his death in 1954. The tours started in the mid ’50s and have been going ever since,” said Darcie Kramer, executive director of The Grotto of the Redemption. “It’s quite amazing to see all of the rocks and minerals.”

Although the grotto is open year-round, visitors can take guided tours through the grounds from May to October. Kramer says tours take about 45 minutes, but to plan for more time as there is plenty to see. Campsites are also available.

“Along with the grotto, there is the museum, church, gift shop and café. I usually tell people to plan on spending at least a few hours here,” she said. “My favorite part is a statue of Jesus in the tomb that is all one piece of marble. Not only is it gorgeous, it’s very moving.”

Kramer says more than 40,000 people visit each year. But this year is the 100th Anniversary, so she expects plenty of visitors during the celebration, June 22-24.

“It’s a three-day celebration full of activities including a parade, art show, live and silent auctions, a youth speaker and live entertainment,” she said.

Whether you visit the grotto for spirituality, geology or just to look at pretty things, you’ll find something that impresses.

“We’re the largest, man-made grotto in the world,” Kramer said. “It’s a peaceful place to visit where you can get in touch with your spiritual side. Or if you’re a rock hound, you’ll be highly impressed with the rocks and minerals that are on display.”

One kick-ax place

The Villisca Ax Murder House

508 E 2nd St.,Villisca

Hours: 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (March through October)

Miles from Des Moines: 114

http://www.villiscaiowa.com

When you think of going on vacation, the idea of visiting a murder house might not be at the top of your list. But it should be. Since the gruesome and unsolved murders of an entire family took place there, the Villisca Ax Murder House has been a popular destination for history buffs, horror fans and paranormal investigators. Martha Linn knows this to be true, as she and her husband, Darwin (who passed away in 2011), became involved with the house in 1994.

“We had inherited a museum, and then Darwin saw the house was for sale,” she said. “Darwin didn’t want someone tearing it down, so he put a bid in on it. We got it, but it was in pretty rough shape, so we did a lot of work and put as much of the old materials we found back into the house.”

The history of the house deals with a horrible event from June 10, 1912, when an unknown assailant killed six members of the Moore family and two young houseguests with an axe. Over the years, the house gained popularity due to films, documentaries, numerous news segments and paranormal TV shows. Although people can tour the house during the day, the overnight tours have become the most popular attractions, and it offers a truly unique make-out spot for the rebellious local teens.

“People come to stay overnight in the house all year long. We’re actually booked every Friday and Saturday night until November,” Linn said. “I want them to have a good experience, so there is some history and directions to the cemetery, as well as a couple other related sites around town.”

When asked if she’s ever felt a ghostly presence, Linn points to the evidence.

“I’ve had some experiences, and I’ve been in there enough times when the paranormal teams visit, where there is no explanation,” she said. “We get pictures all the time that groups have taken at the house with orbs in them. What are they? It’s like a ball of energy just sitting there. A lot of people who stay the night do not go away disappointed.”

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the house will come back to life and offer a trip back in time.

“We have some historical reinactors that are coming as the National Guard, and they are going to do the tour and tell the story as a period piece,” she said. “I think it’s something people will really enjoy, especially if they have an interest in history.”

Linn encourages people to visit the house and make their own conclusions.

“A lot of people see the house on the different TV shows, which is great because it spreads the story and gets people excited about visiting,” she said. “Not only is this an interesting piece of Villisca history, it’s also an interesting piece of Iowa history.” CV