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Today we are in Iowa, which was made famous because of its bridges. I hear the humans talking about a movie made in Madison County about these bridges. A soft and warm love story about this woman who meets a stranger on a bridge and they fall in love. I do not understand the concept of one person loving another when I love both my parents and many of their friends as well. But this is a human story and I will never see the movie so I will let it pass over my head, and I will rest. Before getting to the bridges we drove through a lovely park in Winterset, Iowa. There were many trees and flowers and children on swings. Our drive took us along a winding dirt road to the top of a hill that held a great big stone tower. At first we were alone and we all walked around the building; the humans deciding whether they would climb to the top. Their decision made we started the assent and at that time a van with about 10 or 12 young people arrived. At the top there was a fine view of the park and beyond. The young people were on a day trip from school and they were very nice telling me how beautiful I am. One of the boys patted me and said he had a large dog at home and he really liked canines. There was a movie star's house in the town also and Louise went for a tour. I got to take a tourist’s walk around some of the side streets with one of my parents, while my other parent focused on the maps again. The person that was born in this home had to be famous because people called him Duke. I think his real movie name was John Wayne. We spent the night in this town and we all went searching for the famous bridges the next morning. We spent the day traveling around the area stopping at six different covered bridges. I could not figure out what we were looking for since all the bridge looked alike to me. They were all red with white trim and they all had little white fences attached. Two of the bridges had pitched roofs but the other four where just flat. They all had name signs on them and when they were built, all in the 1800’s. We got out at each bridge and walked around and even through them. It was kind of funny to have a roof overhead as we were enclosed in this wooden structure that used to allow animals and farm equipment to pass through over rivers and streams. A real fun part was after we had visited three bridges and we saw these llamas in a field we were passing. Of course we stopped as the humans got out to take pictures and I sat in the car in awe. I don’t remember seeing this type of animal before although I have been to many places. They had pointed ears and long necks and came in brown, white with black and they made no noise, so neither did I. It was back to the bridges again getting out, walking around and taking pictures. I have heard that the bridges were moved from their original locations to make room for newer bridges. The people of the community wanted to save the old structures and so they were renovated and moved to their present locations, which I think are pretty nice. There was another stop at an old church that is now the Welcome Center. I was able to walk around outside as one of my parents and their friend went inside. The original church was built in 1855 and just kind of went down hill with people leaving the area. A nice lady, who was a ministers daughter bought the church and used it for storage for a number of years until the town became famous. It was then opened as the Visitors Center and craft shop. It was nice that they saved the old church and the old bridges because once they get torn down their history seems to get lost forever. After a long day we spent the second evening in this town of Winterset and I am not sure what the open road has for them and me tomorrow. I heard the humans talking about a John Deere pavilion and then the state of Illinois. So stay with me on this exciting trip and if you get a chance let me know what you think about it. You can check some of my previous stories if you just click here Hasta luego (so long) Veale el mes proximo(see you next month) January 5,2007
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