River Bluffs Scenic Byway

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On this episode of Road Trip Iowa, we're traveling the River Bluffs Scenic Byway. We'll scoop the loop from McGregor to West Union. Visit an area known as Iowa's Little Switzerland. And explore the history, beauty and innovation along the way. Next, on Road Trip Iowa!

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Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state. Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees and communities as we would like to be treated.

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Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more. While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

The Gilchrist Foundation, founded by Jocelyn Gilchrist, furthering the philanthropic interests of the Gilchrist family in wildlife and conservation, the arts and public broadcasting and disaster relief.

 

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[Brooke Kohlsdorf] The River Bluff Scenic Byway is a 109-mile journey through the charm and beauty of northeast Iowa. This byway extends to the Mississippi River and carries travelers through an area known locally as Little Switzerland. Let's take a look at our itinerary.

 

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[Kohlsdorf] We'll drive in to an iconic eatery. Tour the mansion and grounds of a former Iowa Governor. Enjoy the intricate beauty of hand carved clocks. And use modern equipment to move mountains of history.

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[Kohlsdorf] But first, we begin just west of McGregor for a spooky tour inside Iowa's limestone formations.

 

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[Tour Guide] We will be giving you a cave tour through Spook Cave here in McGregor, Iowa. Before it was called Spook Cave, it was actually called Spook Hole. That is because right here there was a six-inch hole that had spooky noises coming out of it. It was unknown what the sources of those spooky noises were until a brave old man by the name of Gerald Mielke asked the property owners if he could dynamite his way into that hole and see what the noise was. After dynamiting his way in, he actually found some natural crawlspaces. He explored some of them and actually found a cave entrance. He explored the cave for about two years and the he opened it up to the public with cave tours in 1945.

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[Tour Guide] While we are going through the tour, we will have to occasionally bend down.

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[Tour Guide] This is actually the largest room here in the cave. It is about 45 feet tall. Right over behind us being our Galena limestone wall. Galena limestone is made of compressed sea creatures. So, if you were to touch that wall and then lick your fingers, it would taste exactly like seafood. I don't recommend that, however. There's no guarantee you'll find a spot that was not used by someone already. All of those white protrusions you see sticking out of the ceiling. Those are all stalactites. You might have heard the term stalactite and stalagmite. They grow about one inch every one hundred years.

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[Tour Guide] Here are some of our bigger stalactites here in the cave. You can see that they are all very glossy. That is because they are all still growing. They carry water from the very top of the stalactite all the way down to where that tip is. That is what enables them to grow. They carry minerals all the way down. That is also why touching them is so dangerous. Human hands have little amounts of oils and dirt on them. So, if you were to touch one of them, the residue would be left on there, which would halt their growth.

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[Tour Guide] Well, lucky for all of us bacon lovers, we have our ribbon strip, or we also like to call it cave bacon. When you shine the light through it, it gives it a bacon appearance.

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[Tour Guide] So, we get a wide variety of diverse groups of people. It's very fun. We get to meet people from all over the place. And sometimes not everyone has been through a cave before. So, most of the people I have brought on my tours, actually this is there very first cave they've ever been to. So, it's really fun just pointing new stuff around and really introducing them to the cave experience.

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[Kohlsdorf] Cave tours are the main attraction at Spook Cave and Campground here in McGregor. Beyond the deep dwellings, this popular spot has earned a reputation for family fun and natural beauty. Whether you're passing through or staying the night, cave tours are available to all.

[Katie Bockenstedt] So, we're not too far off the byway, about a couple of miles, and it's just beautiful. It's a beautiful drive to get down here and then it's beautiful when you get here.

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[Katie Bockenstedt] It's just a great place to be. It's a great place to bring your family. When people come, especially for our holiday weekends, so Memorial, Labor Day, 4th of July, they will book before they even leave because they want the site that they've been at for 20 years and they want to guarantee that they have a spot. And a lot of them, they still camp here. Their campsites now just grow because now they're bringing the whole family or their kids now have kids and they all still come. So, it's really remarkable to see that they're still coming here year after year after year.

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[Kohlsdorf] The River Bluff Scenic Byway offers travelers the chance to explore a piece of national history in a very local way.

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[Kohlsdorf] A mainstay attraction for community and commerce in Elkader, Iowa is the city's keystone arch bridge.

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[Kohlsdorf] This unique structure got its start in 1889. But it was not the original bridge to span the Turkey River in the Clayton County seat.

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[Kohlsdorf] Three bridges, two made of wood and one of iron, helped travelers get to downtown Elkader.

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[Kohlsdorf] As they aged out, the county sought a longer term and structurally superior solution for crossing the Turkey River.

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[Kohlsdorf] In 1888, county supervisors decided a permanent stone bridge would be a better investment than another iron bridge that required annual maintenance.

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[Kohlsdorf] A Dubuque company was hired to construct the new bridge with locally quarried limestone at a total cost of just over $16,000.

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[Kohlsdorf] The structure measures 346 feet long, making Elkader's keystone bridge one of the longest double-arched bridges west of the Mississippi River.

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[Kohlsdorf] The bridge made its way onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

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[Kohlsdorf] Spread across 46 acres of northeast Fayette County, the Montauk Historic Site celebrates Iowa history and family heritage simultaneously.

(Hannah Frederick] I always try to explain it to people that it's a really beautiful big house, but in the end, it was a really beautiful big farm house.

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[Kohlsdorf] Montauk Historic Site celebrates the life and accomplishments of a New England native who ended up being Governor. William Larrabee was born in Connecticut. At the age of 21, Larrabee made his way to Iowa after becoming a teacher. His career moved into many interests, including farming, milling and banking.

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[Kohlsdorf] After becoming a prosperous businessman, Larrabee built his 14-room mansion and farm on a hilltop overlooking the Turkey River Valley.

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[Kohlsdorf] The site gained its name from William Larrabee's wife who wanted to honor the Montauk Lighthouse on Long Island that guided her fisherman father back to port.

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(Hannah Frederick] So, Mrs. Larrabee built a big house on top of a big hill, which at the time you could see miles through the valley. A lot of it is grown over now. But at that time, you could. So, that way when her family was coming in, they saw Montauk and knew they were home.

[Kohlsdorf] While his farm grew, so did Larrabee's political aspirations. He served multiple terms as a State Senator and in 1885 he was elected Governor of Iowa. Larrabee finished a second term as Governor in 1890 and returned to his home in Fayette County.

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[Kohlsdorf] Today, the Montauk Historic Site offers visitors a glimpse at farming practices of the 1890s and the Larrabee family legacy set in picturesque northeast Iowa.

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(Hannah Frederick] The Montauk itself, I personally think it's really amazing because it's all original. It's all original to the family. Everything in there was used by the family and owned by the family. Some of our pieces, our oldest piece in the house goes back to 1650. And some of the family heirlooms go back to the 1770s. So, it's just a really fun, unique house and you can really just get an idea of not only how the family lived but life back then.

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[Kohlsdorf] Montauk Historic Site is open for tours Memorial Day to Labor Day. The grounds are available for visitors to explore year-round.

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[Kohlsdorf] On the western edge of the River Bluff Scenic Byway sits the town of West Union where a classic eatery invites you to drive right in for a bite to eat.

 

Two cheeseburgers, two fish sandwiches, strips, cheddar crisps, two regular fries.

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[Kohlsdorf] On the western edge of West Union, River Bluff Scenic Byway travelers have the chance to grab an old school bite to eat.

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[Bev Kelck] It's Barrel Drive In, because it used to be you barreled into a place in the '50s, so therefore you barrel in to the drive in.

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[Bev Kelck] In 1982, we bought the Barrel. It has been running seasonally from mid-March to mid-October and we've just been doing it ever since. We raised a family here and we have new family every summer.

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[Kohlsdorf] The Barrel Drive In features traditional drive-in foods and Midwest classics.

Get a strip chicken filet box and fries.

[Bev Kelck] We have broasted chicken, broasted potatoes, we make our own onion rings. I cut 50 pounds of onions a day.

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[Bev Kelck] We have burgers. The one they usually like the most is a High Boy. It's the three triple buns but it's got my sauce on it and pickles and cheese and lettuce. That's the one they like the best. But otherwise, it's just a myriad of difference sandwiches.

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[Bev Kelck] And ice cream, malts, shakes, sundaes, ice cream cones.

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[Kohlsdorf] Along with providing customers with traditional diner style delights, Barrel Drive In has been caring for the community as a place to go for first time jobs.

Two kids cheeseburgers, High Boy.

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[Bev Kelck] I'm very proud or I wouldn't still be here. I'm still doing it every day, 12 hours a day, because I love doing it. And I like to see the kids grow and become people, not just teenagers. I like to see them become humans and stuff and not all early teenagers are human exactly.

Here you go.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

[Bev Kelck] But they are, they become good adults.

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[Bev Kelck] We have the same customers year after year after year, sometimes day after day, sometimes week after week.

We come for the experience. It's fun to actually have the car hop come out and ask for your menu and what you want to eat. It's just a fun experience.

$10.54.

[Kohlsdorf] The Barrel Drive In has proven to be a landmark for food and fond memories on the River Bluff Scenic Byway.

 

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[Kohlsdorf] Just north of the River Bluff Scenic Byway in Spillville is a museum composed of timeless tributes to some of the area's famous history.

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[Kohlsdorf] In 1913, brothers Frank and Joseph Bily began woodcarving on their family farm to pass the time during long northeast Iowa winters. In 1915, the pair constructed their first clock.

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[Sharon Kleve] Well, the Bily brothers were born on a farm about four miles north of town here. They lived there their whole lives with their parents. The brothers actually never traveled more than 35 miles from home in their whole life. So, this is their life. And they told their story in their clocks. Every single clock has a theme, it has a meaning. They're just very interesting.

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[Kohlsdorf] The Bily brothers worked for years constructing their works of art. Inspiration for the different themes came from the numerous journals and books their mother encouraged them to read.

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[Sharon Kleve] Frank was the carver and Joseph was the, I like to call him the brains behind the outfit. He's the one who would kind of dream up the themes for these clocks. And he would come up with a theme and then he would draw it out on a piece of paper and his brother Frank would start carving. And together they would accomplish exactly what you see at the clocks, the most remarkable things you'll ever see.

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[Kohlsdorf] Today, travelers enjoying the hand carved works of art can also enjoy listening to works of art --

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[Kohlsdorf] -- in the same place, with an exhibition about the world-famous composer Antonin Dvorak.

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[Susanna Kraft] Dvorak was living in New York. He was teaching there. And he was very homesick one summer. And his assistant grew up here and so said, hey, why don't you come to Spillville? Everyone speaks Czech, you would have the food that you're used to. And so, he came and he just loved it.

[Kohlsdorf] In the summer of 1893, Dvorak wrote some of his most popular works while staying in this small northeast Iowa community.

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[Susanna Kraft] You never know what you're going to find in rural Iowa and that we have a lot of culture here. We have art, we have music and that's kind of the message we like people to see. Oh, they're the Czech culture, this is a heritage that is really important to the area.

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[Kohlsdorf] Travelers stepping off the byways are sure to find timeless historical treasures along Iowa's countryside.

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[Kohlsdorf] Elkader is home to the Earthmoving Legacy Center, an innovative museum telling the story of early machinery and how it shaped our country. Let's check it out.

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[Kohlsdorf] All right, we're here at the Earthmoving Legacy Center with Justin. Tell us a little bit, Justin, about your role here. And what is this place? It's massive.

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[Justin Augustyn] Well, I'm the Vice President of CJ Moyna & Sons. We're a civil contractor. We work across the Midwest and Florida. And this is kind of our hobby, if you would say. We get down on old equipment, everything that has really come before us, all the operators and what they had to do and work with. So really, Brooke, what we have here is the lineage of Caterpillar's product line and it starts with two different companies. The Best Tractor Company and the Holt Manufacturing Company. And it was a fierce competition that they had in California. Ultimately, both businesses found themselves merging in 1925.

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[Justin Augustyn] Okay, so here we are in 1925, the two businesses become one and this is the new world of Caterpillar.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay, we've got one over here. This looks like one of the originals.

[Justin Augustyn] Yeah, this is the Cat 15 right here. This is very common within the agricultural world. 15 horsepower. And this machine right here is really special. And if anyone comes to visit, they're going to want to check this machine out. Do you have any idea why?

[Kohlsdorf] Okay, tell me more!

[Justin Augustyn] All right, well this is really special. It's a very lucky machine, okay, because it's serial number one, the first one ever built is right here. We had to search high and low across the United States to find it. So, the rumor is if you touch it just like that you'll get three years of good luck.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay.

[Justin Augustyn] All the reason to come visit.

[Kohlsdorf] That's right, we all need a little more luck. All right, Justin, I'm noticing with some of these old original Caterpillar models, they're not yellow. What's the story with this?

[Justin Augustyn] Yeah, well as the business was just getting started, they were doing anything and everything to pay attention to cost savings. And it just so happened for them there was a bunch of surplus naval ship gray paint on the market and that is what you see right here is naval ship gray. And it wasn't until 1931 they changed over to their infamous highway safety yellow.

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[Justin Augustyn] Brooke, no visit would be complete without stopping by and checking out the diesel 65. This is John Moyna's most favorite machine. John is the man behind the whole Earthmoving Legacy Center. And this machine is so cool because, number one, it was one of Caterpillar's biggest decisions during the '30s. And the Great Depression was going on during that time and they were looking for something to separate themselves. And they found their answer in diesel fuel. Diesel was about half the cost of gasoline during this time and they introduced the diesel 65 in 1931 and they only built 155 because they had some technical challenges. But they stuck with it. Before the end of the '30s, they had it perfected and by the time FDR introduced the New Deal they were in the right place for success and no one could ever stop them.

[Kohlsdorf] What is the mission of this place?

[Justin Augustyn] Well, really our mission is to go and travel the United States and even the world and find the pieces that we can get and restore them and line them up to a point where we can help tell the story. This is a wonderful example of the story. It's the evolution of what is today's D8 tractor. So, if you want to think of it like a family tree, the diesel 65 would be the great-great-great-great-grandfather of today's D8. And if you're here walking through you can see how the undercarriage changes, the engines change, it's all the incremental improvements. So, the machines of today are built on the backs of all of these machines. And more importantly, the people behind the business that have worked tirelessly to make it better and better and better.

[Kohlsdorf] Justin, seeing all of these machines and hearing their stories kind of makes me wonder what it would be like to operate one of them?

[Justin Augustyn] I think we can put something together.

 

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[Kohlsdorf] Voyagers on the River Bluff Scenic Byway can discover and abundance of living history on the banks of the Turkey River.

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[Kohlsdorf] A few miles south of Elkader lives a showcase to Iowa's early industrial ambition. A towering 90-foot monument to the ingenuity and aspirations of early settlers, the Motor Mill stands as a beacon for Clayton County history.

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[Kohlsdorf] Opened for operation in 1870, this six-story motor mill was a flour mill processor for local wheat farmers. The mill's owner envisioned grand plans for the area. A town was plotted and a school was built. But those grand plans for the mill and the town of Motor were washed away by floodwaters in 1883.

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[Kohlsdorf] 100 years later, the Clayton County Conservation Board acquired the property of Motor Mill. In 2014, the mill and surrounding property were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Motor Mill Historic Site.

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[Kohlsdorf] Today, the 155-acre site hosts hiking trails, camping spots and a canoe launch. Inside, the renovated Motor Mill Inn is available for rent to travelers looking for a peaceful evening in the Turkey River Valley.

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[Kohlsdorf] The mill is home to numerous community and historical presentations. Public tours are held on a regular schedule during summer and fall.

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[Kohlsdorf] From ticking clocks to limestone rocks, the River Bluff Scenic Byway offers unique history and stunning natural beaty to explore.

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[Kohlsdorf] We barreled into West Union for a vintage bite to eat. Learned how a famous composer was inspired by the Turkey River Valley. Toured a six-story piece of agricultural innovation from the 1870s. And we learned firsthand the history of earthmoving innovation.

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[Kohlsdorf] We hope you discovered something new on the River Bluff Scenic Byway and feel inspired to hit the road and see it for yourself. For more on the landscape, history and culture along Iowa's scenic byways, join us next time on Road Trip Iowa.

 

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[Kohlsdorf] But first we begin -- but first we -- what is the wording?

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[Kohlsdorf] From ticking clocks to limestone rocks -- the river's --

This is really funny and it should be in there.

It definitely will be in the end of the show.

[Kohlsdorf] Let's take a look at our itinerary. Finally!

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Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state. Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees and communities as we would like to be treated.

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Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more. While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

The Gilchrist Foundation, founded by Jocelyn Gilchrist, furthering the philanthropic interests of the Gilchrist family in wildlife and conservation, the arts and public broadcasting and disaster relief.