Villages of Van Buren

Chris and I were ready to head home after an enjoyable visit at Deb and Tim’s ranch. We’d arrived there on May 16th (http://shawneegoldwingertrips.blogspot.com/2014/05/ride-to-daltons-graduation.html) and enjoyed helping them celebrate grandson Dalton’s high school graduation.

We left at 11:00 and, since we did not need to be back in the Kansas City area until 6:00 (to see our granddaughter’s softball game), we decided to tour some of the scenic and historic Villages of Van Buren (http://villagesofvanburen.com/index.html). Chris’ grandparents on both sides of her family have roots in this area.along Hwy 2 just east of Farmington, IA

From the Montrose area we rode west and north to Donnellson, where we picked up Hwy 2 westbound. The first village we passed through was Farmington, home of the Farmington Strawberry Festival every summer.  At route W40 we rode north and crossed the Des Moines River into Bonaparte, IA, another one of the villages.view of a portion of historic Bonaparte, IA from the brdge over the Des Moines River

After a quick couple of pics in downtown Bonaparte we rode J40 west and north a short distance to Bentonsport, also located on the Des Moines River.

Bentonsport is home to the Mason House Inn built in 1846. It is the oldest steamboat hotel on the river and it was built by Mormon craftsmen on their way to Utah. Also in Bentonsport is a bridge over the Des Moines River that was built in 1882. Currently it is used only for pedestrian traffic, but it is the oldest existing truss span bridge over the river.riverside park in Bentonsport, IA

J40 took us out of Bentonsport, back across the Des Moines River (on the new bridge) and west to Hwy 1. Highway 1 took us north to Keosauqua, Chris’ birthplace. We visited the two cemeteries where Chris’ grandparents are buried, located the two houses where her paternal grandparents lived and had a picnic lunch beside the Des Moines River.lunch by the Des Moines River; Keosauqua, IA

Now it was time to head home. We rode J40 west across the river (again) and through the very small town of Pittsburg, IA. J40 took us almost all the way to Bloomfield where we hooked up again with Hwy 2 westbound.

The wind from the south was ferocious and very uncomfortable, especially for Chris. So, at Hwy 65, we took the opportunity to turn south and rode into the teeth of the wind to Princeton, Missouri. We refueled in Princeton, rode Hwy 136 west and south to Bethany, MO and picked up I-35 south. At Liberty, MO we exited onto Hwy 152 west and rode to Jenna’s softball game. Jenna’s team won 4 to 1.

We had fun in the Villages of Van Buren but the ride home was slightly uncomfortable. Even with the wind, it was a good 302 mile day with my Peach.

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6016048970737205681?authkey=CPCOgaa0ob31Aw

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