The first half of my experiment worked, so I’ll be including photos a little bit more often from now on. The second half didn’t, but that will have to wait for another day.
Anyway, I was giving a program recently over in Audubon, Iowa and I wanted to let everyone know who much I enjoyed the trip. First, I should explain that we raise Hereford cattle (they are beef cattle, red with a white face, blaze down the back, belly, and stockings). So it’s long been a lifelong dream to see Albert the Bull, the largest Hereford in the world. This giantic statue sits outside of Audubon in it’s own park. I thought I had seen some large cement Hereford bulls before (there is a lovely one in Minnesota on the way to Pepin), but I was wrong. They wouldn’t even look like calves next to Albert. He’s HUGE! The informational display lets you push a button and he’ll talk to you. It’s great, well worth the wait.
Another thing I crossed off my life list was the Plow in the Oak. The story goes that a farmer left for the Civil War and left his plow leaning up against the oak tree. He never came back and over the years the tree grew around it. Whether the story is true or not, generations of Iowans have trouped to see this wonder, but it was actually more interesting when the oak was smaller and you could see more of the plow. I was surprised by how few photos this pulled up in an image search since I’ve seen lots of them in various publications over the years, but you can see one at the attraction link below.
Also, down the road in Kimballton is a replica of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid that was made in his honor in Copenhagen. I always figured I may not see the original, but I hoped one day to get to this copy honoring the town’s Danish heritage.
Those I knew about before, but I was surprised how well Audubon honored its namesake John James Audubon. There is a statue of him in the town square. Many copies of his prints hang in the town library and this spring over 400 tiles showing his art will be in the sidewalks around the park. They have done a great job and I was pleasantly surprised.
You can see some of the sites of Audubon here: http://www.auduboncounty.com/attractions.asp
I should also thank the Lodge where we stayed. A converted 19th century barn served as the bed and breakfast. It’s situated on a century farm about 5 miles outside of Audubon. They really did a nice job with it. There were 6 rooms with baths connecting in between. I should mention it’s probably someplace you enjoy more with a group or at least one other person. There are trophy heads from an African safari and if I was all alone I might have found it just a little creepy, in the deep, dark night. However, it was a beautiful view during the day and a nice breakfast in the morning. It was still a frozen tundra when I was there, but when the garden is in full flower in must be breathtaking. If I was looking for a good central place for a family reunion, this would be perfect.
Visit their website at: http://thlodge.com/
