Day Trip Adventure: Something Old, Something New

 

Today, I'm back with another fun Day Trip Adventure. My bestie and I - both struck with a bit of wanderlust - were anxious to get out for some adventure. Since I am the Day Trip Queen, I began planning the most out of a June Saturday. As usual, the goal was to see stuff, hike a bit, and have a good time, all while spending very little. 

Here's how it all went down.

We set out early and headed south on I-29. If you're a longtime reader here, you'll know that many of my DTAs include driving on this interstate, mainly because it runs the breadth of my beloved Iowa Mountains. Lately, I've been spending more time on the north corridor, so I decided to head south this time. There were a couple of places that I've wanted to check out now for almost a year, as well as revisit other places I haven't been to in a long time that all run south. 

Our first stop wasn't far into Missouri: Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. This is a place I've been to a handful of times over the years. While I've never been able to catch the visitor center open, I have climbed the trails many times.

We started with a light snack breakfast and were disappointed to discover that the Visitor Center was closed, even though Google said it was open. A quick look around, however, revealed that the entire refuge is worn down and not maintained. Still, we thought we'd try hiking the trails.

Unfortunately, the trails didn't appear to be used, much like the entire refuge. We didn't get far before we had to give up as the amount of debris and a barely discernable trail stopped us from going any farther.

Still, we had other stops that day so we continued north to our next stop, Mt Hope Cemetery.

This cemetery came across my radar when looking for points of interest in southwest Iowa/northwest Missouri. Located near Corning, Missouri, Corning Mt Hope is an old German immigrant cemetery that hasn't buried anyone new in a long time. This is evidenced by the fact that numerous headstones have fallen and the grass was waist-tall throughout. 

Running up the side of one of my beloved Iowa Mountains, we had to bushwhack through the overgrown grass. This was the only mausoleum-type grave we found here.

As eerie as it was fascinating, we wandered up and down the hillside, checking out the graves of those who lived and died long before us.

Ellsworth Griswold died in 1871, as many of the inhabitants did.

This got me wondering, "What happened in 1871?" Turns out it was smallpox, as I discovered during some research later that week. 

We left and resumed our journey back north on the backroads instead of the interstate. 

Which brought us to Star School Hill Prairie, a place I've wanted to check out for a year.

It was quite the climb up, but the day and the scenery were gorgeous, so there was nothing to complain about.

We were greeted with this view when we first reached the top. Beautiful.

We kept going, though, as our destination approached.

From up here, you can see four states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. This shot is Missouri and Kansas.

You can see Nebraska up in the right-hand area.

This view is of Iowa...and my lovely bestie, Rebecca.

A long view of the ridge. 

After admiring the views from the top of my beloved Iowa Mountains, we climbed back down to the car, where we changed out of hiking clothes and into some nicer garb. We were close to the border and Hamburg, Iowa, where we stopped and ate a nice picnic supper in the city park. I didn't realize that they had their county Freedom Rock here. 

From here we continued on the backroads until we reached Bodega Victoriana, only one of two wineries left in Western Iowa. It is the only winery I know of that closes at 5 pm on the weekends, and we strolled in at 4:30 - just enough time to have a glass of wine (or two).

We decided to enjoy it on the back patio.

Cheers!

I had to take a shot of their gorgeous pond area. I've only been here in the colder months so have never seen it in full bloom.

We continued on until we made it to Keg Creek Brewing, a place I visited one other time, in February of 2023. I can't believe it's been that long, honestly.

Mmmm, beer.

As usual, this was quite a fun day. We left about 9 a.m. and arrived back at 7 p.m. Needless to say, I fell in bed tired but happy that evening. Taking day trips is an excellent way to get out and explore - both the old and the new, inject some much-needed adventure into life, and embrace the world with open arms. Since this trip, I've done another day trip/overnight trip and a weekend away elsewhere. I'll get those posted in the near future.

Until then, friends, enjoy your life.