The town of Winterset, Iowa is part of greater metropolitan Des Moines.
However, with a population around 5,300 people, the town definitely has a rural feel to it. The farmland surrounding the town is as tidy as those depicted in a Grant Wood painting. Winterset is the county seat of Madison County. In a traditional manner, the beautiful county courthouse resides in the center of the town square surrounded by various restaurants, businesses, and a movie theater, all facing the courthouse. Picture perfect, it is like a movie set.
In fact, it was a movie set. The 1995 Clint Eastwood film, "The Bridges of Madison County", was filmed in Winterset and the surrounding countryside with all those iconic covered bridges.
The film examines the passionate extramarital affair between a WWII war bride now living on an Iowa farm and a well-traveled photographer on assignment to document the local bridges. One of those love for the ages takes place, but cannot continue without devastating her Iowan farm family. Heartbreak for a lifetime ensues. Supposedly, the divorce rate went up in the country after the movie was released.
The wonderful, covered bridges are still there, drawing tourists from all over. Other Winterset attractions include the John Wayne Museum, since "the Duke" was born there.
You can meander through the museum, see various personal and film artifacts, and tour the modest home that was his birthplace. The Iowa Quilt Museum resides on the town square. There is a lovely city park just south of downtown. Artists, with city approval, turned dead tree stumps into fanciful creations.
At the far southern end of the park is a marvelous limestone tower. You can climb three stories up to get a panoramic view of the valley below.
Named for one of the earliest settlers of Winterset, the Clark Tower was built by descendants in his honor.
So, if you are driving across Iowa, slow down. Take a look. There is a lot to see.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
