The Driftless Region - Just Around The Bend Travel

November 6, 2022March 1, 2024

Explore Iowa with Travel Writer Sara Broers

Experience the real Iowa with lifelong Iowa resident and travel writer Sara Broers. Broers shares 100 authentic Iowa adventures with residents and visitors in her recently released book, 100 Things To Do In Iowa Before You Die.

Broers is also the CEO of TravelWithSara.com, self-described as a website for folks that enjoy travel. The book features well-known attractions, restaurants, mom-and-pop stores, wineries, breweries, and festivals, and some not as well-known that Broers has visited. After reading just one of Broers suggestions, readers will be eager to get out and explore the culturally and historically rich and scenic Iowa that Broers lives and breathes.

Broers makes road-tripping fun, and she shares plenty of insider information that is sure to get readers revved up and ready to start exploring. In the back of the book, Broers offers suggested itineraries to help plan day and multi-day trips. There are also travel tips scattered throughout the book.

There is no one-way readers can tackle the book. Readers can start at the front of the book, they can begin at the back, or can flip through the book after reviewing the table of content or the index. No matter what approach to reading the book is selected, it will take reading just one adventure to be hooked and ready to head out on their first trip.

Did you know that pearls were found in the Mississippi River or that billions of pearl buttons were manufactured in Muscatine, the Pearl Button Capital of the World? To find out more about this industry, plan a visit to the National Pearl Button Museum in Muscatine.

Des Moines is home is a world-class skate park. 88,000 square feet of concrete to enjoy on four wheels and a board. Broers mentions that roller skates are allowed in the park.

Relive the fifties at the legendary Surf Ballroom the first weekend in February. The town of Clear Lake recreates the last concert of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper at the annual Winter Dance Party.

Visit Fort Dodge’s Gaga & Hoo Korean restaurant serves world-class authentic Korean food. Broers adds, “If you’re lucky, your server will pick up a guitar and serenade you while you dine on this delicious Korean food.”

Travel to the northeast quadrant of the state and ‘Meet the Man Who Fed the World’ Nobel Peace Prize winner, Norman Borlaug. Borlaug is recognized for his work developing a strain of wheat that can be cultivated throughout various regions of the world. Visit his birthplace and childhood home outside Cresco.

100 Things to Do in Iowa Before You Die is part of the 100 Things to Do Before You Die series, written by travel experts and published by Reedy Press. The softcover is 5.5” x 8.5” is 192 pages, and costs $19.95. The ISBN is 9781681063508.

Broers can be reached at travelwithsara@gmail.com and her book can be purchased online at https://www.reedypress.com/shop/100-things-to-do-in-iowa-before-you-die/.

Broers enjoys talking with fellow travelers, so if she sees you carrying a yellow 100 Things To Do travel book, don’t be surprised if she stops to talk and asks to take a selfie with you.

Enjoy traveling I

September 10, 2022March 31, 2023

Join your friends on the Northeast Iowa Farm Crawl

The 2022 Northeast Iowa Farm Crawl is Saturday, September 17, and Sunday, September 18. Enjoy the autumn weather and the scenic views of the driftless region as you visit the region’s agricultural businesses.

If you plan on visiting all the businesses on the tour, it will take both days as there is so much to see and do, plus there is quite a distance between stops, plus you may want to stop and take pictures of the scenic beauty.

Convergence CiderWorks

New to Decorah and new to the Northeast Iowa Farm Crawl, Convergence CiderWorks is a must-visit in historic downtown Decorah. The business may be new, but the building is not and is worth a stop just to check it out. Once inside, you will want to try a full-bodied hard cider and their delicious food.

Empty Nest Winery

Empty Next Winery specializes in small-batch fruit wines. Instead of posting a picture of a glass and bottle of wine, it seemed appropriate to post a picture of the family’s farm, as the views from the patio are spectacular.

Also available are sangria, craft beer, and hard cider.

Sit outside on the patio or under the gazebo and enjoy a palate-pleasing glass of wine.

The winery is located on the Pam and Dave Kruger family farm, formally a dairy farm. Materials from the dairy barn were used in the construction of the winery.

Cheers!

Northeast Iowa Dairy Center

The Northeast Iowa Dairy Center, is a place to learn about the dairy industry, which will be a great help when you play trivia pursuit, you can pet a cow, and watch in awe as a robot milks the cows. Oh, yeah, don’t forget to snap a selfie with your favorite cow.

Peake Orchards

You never know what you will find at Peake Orchards. In this case, it was a baby calf. The hay rides out to the orchards are a lot of fun and an opportunity to meet new friends. The hays brought back lots of memories of 4-H hay rides on the gravel roads in Winneshiek County.

Purchasing a bag or more of apples is a must, as is enjoying a sweet-tasting sticky caramel apple sundae.

Pinter’s Gardens & Pumpkins

A favorite purchase at Pinter’s Gardens & Pumpkins gift shop is the freshly made fudge and cupcakes. Don’t forget to grab a bag of made-on-site popcorn, which comes in different flavors.

The garden center is filled with healthy, colorful, blooming fall flowers.

Seed Savers Exchange

Be aware that you can spend hours at Seed Savers Exchange exploring the picturesque farm. Take time to visit the gift shop, as you will want to pick up heirloom seeds to plant in your garden next year.

There are many opportunities to take selfies at Seed Savers Exchange.

Winneshiek Wildberry Winery

A family-owned and operated winery located on the family farm in northern Winneshiek County. Visitors are sure to find a favorite wine at Winneshiek Wildberry Winery.

Cheese Capital of Iowa

A cooler full of fresh squeaky cheese curds will be waiting for you at WW Homestead Dairy. You will also find a selection of hard-packed ice cream.

Other participating businesses

The following businesses are also participating in this year’s NE Iowa Farm Crawl. The plan for this year is to visit these nine agriculture businesses in the quest to experience new favorites. The businesses are Pop’s Produce, Plagman Barn, Iowa Dairy Farmer Dan Venteicher, Great River Maple, Country View Dairy, Heaven Boutique Winery, Unionland Feed & Food Market, Red Rock Farms, and Frisky Fox Vineyard & Winery.

Recommendations

If you are an early riser, make sure to include a visit Saturday morning to one of the area’s Farmers’ Markets. Decorah is from 8-11:00 a.m., Guttenberg is from 8-12:00 noon, and Independence is from 8-12:00 noon.

The “Farm to Fork” dinner at the Volga City Opera House, 609 Washington St., Volga, Iowa, on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Lunch is made from local ingredients. For tickets, visit vctcinc.org or call 319-509-0308 for more information.
2022 NE Iowa Farm Crawl map

The 2022 NE Iowa Farm Crawl map can be found at Visit Iowa. The map lists phones, addresses, and hours for each business.

June 2, 2021July 5, 2024

A Sampling Of the Top Parades in the Driftless Area

Community parades were effected by COVID-19, but are back and better than ever.

Following is a sampling of parades, I attend in NE Iowa and SE Minnesota every year. The Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days parade was the first parade I ever attended and will always remain on the top of my list of favorite parades. My memories attending the Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days is long and I will never forget them.

What makes an excellent parade? Royalty, floats, horses, dogs, antique cars, motorcycles, youth groups, politicians, color guards, marching bands, clowns, candy toss, and attendees of all ages, sizes, and colors.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Waukon, IA – March 17, 2024

The Waukon St. Patrick’s Day parade is the first St. Patrick’s Day parade I had ever attended. Since my birthday is March 17, you would think that I had been to many parades to celebrate my birthday. It was not till I came back for a visit and got reacquainted with Tony that I even thought about attending a St. Patrick’s Day parade in the driftless region. It was awesome to see so many people wearing green and shamrocks and floats decked out in green. Even the dogs and horses wore green.

Syttendi Mai, Spring Grove, MN – May 15-19, 2024

Antique Cars are all the Roar at the 2021 Syttendi Mai Celebration.

A fun parade in the neighboring town of Spring Grove, MN. Syttendi Mai celebrates Constitution Day, a national day in Norway, on May 17. It should be noted that Spring Grove is Minnesota’s first Norwegian settlement.

Trout Days, Preston, MN – May 17-19, 2024

That would make one heck of a fish story.

Preston, MN celebrates trout fishing in May each year. On a scale of 1-10, Preston’s parade is a 10. I highly recommend attending and while you are visiting Preston, try your luck at fishing the cold-water streams in the area.

Laura Days, Burr Oak, IA – June 21-23, 2024

Sisters, Sue Darling and Carol Maki enjoying the Laura Days parade

When in Burr Oak, IA for Laura Days parade make time to include a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, and don’t forget to take in the other activities. Ladies, this is your opportunity to wear your bonnet, floral dress, and apron. Men, wear your britches and make sure your britches are tucked inside your boots.

Gammel Dag Fest, Peterson, MN – June 22, 2024

Norwegian festivities are a common occurrence in NE Iowa and SE Minnesota.

4th of July Celebration, Harmony, MN – July 4, 2024

Here comes the Fillmore Central Marching Band sounding off.

In my opinion, a parade is not a parade without a band. I love the sound of music filling the air while watching a parade, plus it is fun to watch the band members playing their instruments and the drill team, flag squad, and twirlers perform.

Fourth of July Celebration, Cherry Grove, MN – July 4, 2024

Cherry Grove, is a Midwestern town of less than 50 in southeast Minnesota. The parade draws over a thousand parade watchers to the town’s annual 4th of July parade. The 30-minute parade is followed by a tradition church luncheon at the local church.

Nordic Fest, Decorah, IA – July 25-27, 2024

Nordic Fest is so popular that spectators stake out their favorite spot to watch the parade, days in advance.

Sweet Corn Days, Lime Springs, IA – August 9-11, 2024

Lime Spring’s parade is as good as the free delicious sweet Iowa corn served.

Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days, Mabel, MN – September 5-8, 2024

What beautiful music this steam powered Calliope makes!

I have so many happy memories from attending the Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days all these years. Unique to this parade is that the parade is held on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday parade is the largest of the two, but the Sunday parade is by no means small.

Santa’s Holiday Parade, Cresco, IA – November 29, 2024

Where is the snow! Even without snow, the holiday parade in Cresco is spectacular and should not be missed.

Lighted Holiday Parade, Decorah, IA – December 13, 2024

Santa Claus stops by and has his picture taken with all the good little girls and boys after the Light Parade in Decorah, IA.

Winter Wonderland Celebration, Caledonia, MN – December 6, 2024

Merry Christmas and to all a good night!

Unique to this nighttime parade is the hot-air balloon entry. The balloon is inflated, the burners are lit lighting up the black sky.

May 23, 2021April 10, 2024

The Best Kept Secret in the Driftless Region of Minnesota

The Norwegian Ridge Birding and Nature Trails opened in June 2013 after months of fundraising and manpower building the trails. There are three trails, 1-mile, 2-mile, or 3.5-mile. Watch out for the trolls under the bridge!

Where

The trailhead is located at 101 5th Ave. SE, Spring Grove, MN between Red’s Hometown Market and Spring Grove Gundersen Clinic. There is no need to search for parking, as there is a huge parking lot at Red’s that can be used for day parking. There is no overnight parking.

Who

Springtime at the Norwegian Ridge Birding and Nature Trail, Spring Grove, MN.

All ages and skill levels. The trails are not accessible.

When

The trails are open year-round. Each season, spring, summer, fall, and winter offer uses a different scene.

Why

The benefits are of hiking the three trails are numerous – 2000 steps, 4000 steps, or 7000 steps, the recommended daily dose of vitamin D, a day of enjoyment and relaxation, a lifetime of memories, bird watching, and albums of photos.

How

The trails are designed for walking or snowshoeing.

For questions, email sgbirdwalk@gmail.com or call (507) 498-5070. Current information can be found on the trails’ Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/sgbirdwalk, or on the trails’ website, http://sgbirdwalk.org/.

May 21, 2021July 9, 2023

I Love Parades

Attending parades is a favorite activity of mine. Thankfully for me, it seems as if every festival and event includes a parade. So, attending one every weekend is not a problem in the Driftless region. In fact, a Facebook event reminder popped up and reminded me that there is a parade to go to tonight in Waukon, Iowa, to celebrate dairy month.

Parades have taken on a different look over the past year thanks to COVID-19. Many of the changes were a welcoming change and will become the new norm.

So, before we begin to rate parades, let us look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of a parade. The online dictionary defines a parade as “a public celebration of a special day or event that usually includes many people and groups moving down a street by marching or riding in cars or on special vehicles (called floats).” So, pondering, why I enjoy watching parades mentally creating a checklist at the same time.

“A parade looks like a bunch of people are excited about being in traffic.” Demetri Martin

“A procession is a participants’ journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.” Rebecca Solnit

Music Makes the Parade

Fillmore Central High School Marching Band, Preston, MN

Music is a must, whether the music is coming from a community band in the back of a truck or on a float, or a school marching band; I do not care; there just have to be entries with live music. School bands are my favorite, so double points if the parade has multiple school bands.

Sweet Tooth

2019 Fourth of July Celebration, Harmony, MN

What is a parade without a candy toss? Double points for tootsie rolls and triple points for fresh cheese sticks. The flower shop in Mabel, Minnesota, hands out fresh carnations during the Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days earning the parade bonus points.

“When I’ve ridden in parades, I always throw to the kids, the elderly, and anyone who is smiling and having a great time. I try to make eye contact with the person. If you catch a ton and a kid nearby hasn’t caught much, share.” Bryan Batt

Who is that Doggie in the Window

2021 Syttende Mai Parade, Spring Grove, MN

Parades must have entries with dogs. My heart melts when I see dogs walking or riding in a parade. If the dogs are dressed up they bring a smile to my face, and I immediately snap a picture.

On Stage

Clowns are a crowd favorite and parade organizers deserve a round of applause plus extra points for including multiple units of clowns in their town’s parade. I always look forward to watching the Shriner clowns in their one-of-a-kind costumes perform as they drive their motorized trikes down the parade route.

“He looked like something that had gotten loose from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” Harpo Marx

The Wave

2020 Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine, Mabel, MN

I would be remiss if I did not mention tractor parades and include a picture of a tractor. Tractor parades must be a Midwestern thing because I do not remember seeing tractors in parades in New Mexico. If there were any, there definitely were not close to as many as there are in the parades in this area. The parade during the Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days must feature over 100 tractors in the parade, red, yellow, green, blue, and pink tractors.

The End

I love seeing the horse entries, especially when they prance.

“Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.” Merlin Mann

God Bless America

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Erma Bombeck