From Keokuk we headed for Mt Pleasant, IA and the Thresher Museum. Unfortunately it was raining heavily when we got there and since this is an outdoor museum we decieded to continue driving on to the Amana Colonies. We last visited Amana in about 1972. Things sure have changed. Now it is an official tourist trap. Gone are the demonstrations of local crafts and skills. They have been replaced by store after store of imported souveniers. There are still a few examples of the old communal life but not much remains.
We are staying in the Amana RV Park, which is essentially and open field, minus the corn, with full hookups and an excellent view of the arriving storms. Last night we were blessed with about 6-7 inches of rain. Marengo, a town about 14 miles west of here, was completely flooded. Our campground was pretty well covered with water, but we were able to stay reasonably dry.
I went for a bike ride this morning and had a great time riding through many flooded parts of the bike trail. The water receded pretty fast and the ride was really very pleasant.
We spent the day touring the remainder of Amana's attempts to preserve their heritage. They do have some pretty good furniture manufacturers and some other demonstrations of their old skills. I did end up buying a very nice filet knife and a 1907 edition of the poetry of Robert Service, you know...The Shooting of Dan McGrew. Good stuff.
Tomorrow we resume our journey to Minnisota with a stop in Decorah, IA to visit friends who moved there from Thousand Oaks, CA.
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