A stroll...

Winterset is a cute small town... while many small towns in mid-America are drying up, this one seems to be in good shape - business-wise and appearance.  Joan wanted to check out the quilt shop (there is also the Iowa Quilt Museum located here), I just wanted to enjoy the architecture.

We parked by the courthouse to start our stroll...

It is located in a square in town center, with the most visible shops in the blocks surrounding that square.  Looking down one street...

Each building is unique in structure and design; we especially appreciated the cornice features, at the tops of the buildings, as well as over the windows.  Seems that most of these were built in the 1880s and 1890s, and many are on the National Historic Register.

Joan found the quilt shop...

The shop was large and the inventory nearly overwhelming.  Joan spent more than an hour looking, I found a guy-chair and visited with a couple locals.  (The storms that passed over us last night were mostly rain and lightning - just 7 miles north, crops were destroyed, houses and cars damaged by hail.  We lucked out.)

Joan did find a pattern and fabrics she wanted; it will be at least three months before we get back home and she has access to her sewing machine.

Back to the stroll...

A half hour or so from Des Moines (the largest city in Iowa), the shop owners here have found a niche to keep this lovely town healthy.

Besides the Bridges of Madison County, another big draw here is the John Wayne Birthplace Museum (opened 2 years ago)...

Back to the coach for supper - the weather weasels are calling for more storms tonight, predicted to be more severe than last night's weather.  Hope we've been living right.