Hurstville, IA: Jackson County

There is nothing better than being on a road trip with a clear mission and completely going off course. That is the daily life of Team Goodvin and what supplies the important Adrenalin that keep The Iowa Gallivant soldiering on. We made a commitment years ago to give credence to the oddities, historical landmarks, and roadside attractions that pepper our Americana landscape. Iowa is clearly bringing many of them back to life and preserving them for the mass of gallivant’ers to come. The ghost town of Hurstville and it’s once powerful lime kilns fall right into our imagination.

Weather was clearly coming in and we didn’t give one chigger bite about it. There’s a gallivant to be done! We received a light shower and it felt GREAT! We’ve had a hot summer and the soft rain was refreshing and it made the air was filled with the sharp aroma with the surrounding vegetation. I don’t have data about what “green” smells like but I think we found it in Jackson County. The summer is pulsating all over Iowa and all of my senses are taking it in. The sounds of obscure bugs zipped past our faces while walking up and down the hills and stairs of the kilns. Our eyes were fixed on the remaining structures and fueled our imaginations once again. This was an Iowa iconic landmark in every definition of the phrase. We could stop the blog post now, click publish and call it a day. Guess what! We found more to Hurstville…

Monie urged me to take a left. And then a right. And then another right. The next place we were at was one of Iowa’s best educational stops the Hawkeye State has to offer. Behold the power of museums and interactive wetlands!

Just outside of the interpretative center is a wonder that not all of us see that often.