Review Visit: August 14th, 2017…read more 'Snake? Snake!? SNAAAAKE!' The original purpose of this twisty and windy path is detailed on the wiki page linked below. I will give you the Spark Notes version; it was created as a shortcut for horses to traverse down the hill to Main Street. This place has been on my list for awhile now and on a beautiful August day, I finally made the trek up to see it. It was not quite what I expected, which is a good thing. The alley itself is rather short, but if you make the walk down and up it, you'll feel it in your legs. The alley is lined with houses on one side, which has to make for a very interesting living arrangement. I figured the road was closed for vehicle traffic, but was I wrong! You can apparently drive down the path... which I did. Driving down it was almost like being on a roller coaster, in your own car. The windy paths and sharp turns were super fun and gets your adrenaline going. At the bottom, there is a chance to bottom out as you pull out into normal traffic, so be careful if you do take the fun plunge. Luckily, if you are not a fan of snakes or the video game Metal Gear Solid, you can happily visit Snake Alley. If you are a fan of odd things and fun car rides, Snake Alley is the place for you.

Neat road! It…read morereminds me of Lombard St in San Francisco! Built in 1894, Snake Alley originally provided a shortcut from Heritage Hill to the business district. Bricks were laid at an angle to allow horses better footing as they descended. Unfortunately, riding horses back up the alley often resulted in a loss of control at the top; for this reason, even to this day, Snake Alley remains a one-way street, with all traffic heading downhill. It's even listed in Ripley's Believe it or Not! The turns are even sharper than Lombard St.!

Unfortunately when I visited the visitor's center was closed, but I still had a blast! There is a…read morelot that you can park in, and then travel down a path to a bunch of informational displays about the flood in 1993 that carved out this gorge, revealing all of the fossils. Then, you proceed down the path into a gorge, keeping an eye out for fossils. I saw a bunch of fossils on the bank to my right, before I even made it to the gorge. There were a few people scattered walking their dogs, although one group was actively looking to spot fossils and had the brochure from the Army Corps of Engineers about the different fossils present. All in all, this was a great spot to spend an hour walking around. I did see evidence that people have poached fossils from here, which is a shame. Look, but don't take!

Open area with lots to look at. I'm surprised they let people walk over these fossil imprints. Much…read moreof the rock is cracked and loose. Much of the area has numbers imbedded into the ground to help you find the things.

I have driven by the signs for the house many times on 34/163 but never taken the time to…read moreinvestigate until now. It was a really cool stop with lots to look at and a bargain price of $5/person. Didn't have time to do all of it, but I'm sure I'll go back when I have more time. Thoroughly enjoyed the information about the artist in the time I had, and I loved that many of the exhibits were interactive and very child friendly in nature. Recommend for a family outing, a lover of art history, or just a quick weekend of fun!

For the fans of art, history, architecture, or roadside attractions, this is a spot to stop for!…read moreThere's a museum ($5/person) that's full of information about the artist and the painting. The museum details the artwork and life of Grant Wood. There's learning activities for kids throughout, an opportunity to put costumes over your clothes as a photo opportunity in front of the house, and a neat little gift shop. I don't know if it's a place you visit more than once, but I'm so glad to have been! The $5 was worth it in my opinion and visiting in the spring was great as the have an extensive native plant garden that was in full bloom when we were there.

This is a roadside attraction that delivers on its promises, that is that it's a large wooden…read morenickle. I'm not sure if it's the world's largest, but this is the first wooden nickle that I've seen and so it's my personally largest. There's a gravel lot that you can pull into (although you have to pass through a gate that says it's private property, so your mileage will vary on if it's open) to take photos. I didn't cross the road to get up and close with it since the road was quite busy. I'm kind of disappointed that there's no path that you can walk on to see it, but then again, this is a fairly low effort attraction. There's no amenities that it offers, nor any signs explaining it, but then again it is free. Would I stop here again? If it was on the way, sure, but I wouldn't make a trip solely to see this.

This is the Keokuk County Freedom Rock. Completing the Freedom Rock tour of all 99 Iowa counties…read moreis something my girlfriend and I have been working on for the past few years. We are four rocks away from the end of our journey at this time. Not only do we learn about the military involvement and the contributions of veterans in each county... A lot of times we stumble on other hidden gems, that we had no idea even existed, as we venture further into our own backyard. As happy as I am going to be when hit 99 and finish our Freedom Rock Tour...a little part of me is going to really miss these trips. We'll just have to find another "tour" to pick up! When you are checking out each Freedom Rock make sure you explore the surrounding area for other points of interest. And please remember to support local businesses...! Visit https://www.thefreedomrock.com/ for more information on Iowa's Freedom Rocks and the tour!

I went to Cobblestone Alley in Burlington, IA on 9/14/2016. It was my 1st time there. It is part…read moreof the Snake Alley Historic District. It is located just east of Snake Alley and is quite a contrast from it. Plus, I took photos.

The National Park honoring the life of Herbert Hoover is inspiring and educational. The complex is…read morelarge and includes a Visitors Center, his original birthplace cottage, schoolhouse, blacksmith, gravesite, park and Presidential Library and Museum. We started our tour in the Visitor's Center. We were greeted by a friendly Park Ranger, who described the layout of the center. A twelve minute movie provides a nice overview of Hoover's life from boyhood to post presidential. The Center also has a room with interactive displays and artifacts. I confess that I didn't know much about Hoover prior to this visit. His story is memorable as he was raised Quaker, became orphaned at a young age, yet managed to attend Stanford University and become a successful geologist. Then, he became president and devoted his life to international outreach. What an inspirational story! Despite cold rain, we took the short walk to Hoover's boyhood cottage, the blacksmith shop where his father worked and the schoolhouse. Each stop was informative. Nice boardwalks connect all the buildings, which are wheel chair accessible. The museum was closed for major renovations and will reopen in 2026. The grave site (behind the museum) is peaceful, simple and lovely. There is nearby parking. The Park is easy on/off US 80. The site was free to visit (although donations are accepted). There were public restrooms in the Visitors Center. I encourage a visit if you like history. The Park is a great place to bring kids. Plan a couple hours.

Admittedly, I don't do much research before visiting an NPS site, as I would like to be educated by…read morethe informational displays present. If I have additional questions, I just look them up later. So, it was a huge surprise to me that this place was pretty sizable. Starting from the visitor's center, you can meander your way through the grounds containing the former president's house (and birth place), his school house, and his original Quaker church. There's also a blacksmithery which has demonstrations over the weekends. Finally, you can see his grave site. I unfortunately did not have time to visit the museum, but the NPS ranger had good things to say about it. There is also a small path to the prairie to give you a sense of what Hoover's family encountered before they farmed the land. Overall, this was a great visit!

We randomly came upon Plum Grove while on a bike ride and it's quite the fun little spot to stop in…read moreat. They're open from 1-5 Wed-Sun and we learned from the sign that the National Society of The Colonial Dames helps out here! Kind of a fun little 20 minute excursion where you can explore a house that was effectively a mansion in the 1840's and today is on the small side of anywhere. The grounds have plenty of reader boards w/ fun facts about what used to go on here and there was even a community garden that is apparently usable. Good place to go explore for a bit and learn a little about how things used to be!

We came and did a little tour here, it's a fun little hidden gem in the middle of Iowa City. It's a…read morecool old house, grounds and gardens that are in surprisingly good shape. The tour is free, and because not many people come it's basically a private tour every time. The tour guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and fun. Ours was very good with my daughter who was just learning how to walk and wanted to get into everything. The grounds are also quite beautiful, with an herb garden, a flower garden, and a vegetable garden, as well as huge old trees. There is plenty of space to picnic there, and it's very peaceful. I really enjoyed spending an hour here and would recommend it!

This is the Jefferson County Freedom Rock. Completing the Freedom Rock tour of all 99 Iowa…read morecounties is something my girlfriend and I have been working on for the past few years. We are four rocks away from the end of our journey at this time. Not only do we learn about the military involvement and the contributions of veterans in each county, but a lot of times we stumble on other hidden gems, that we had no idea even existed, as we venture further into our own backyard. As happy as I am going to be when hit 99 and finish our Freedom Rock Tour...a little part of me is going to really miss these trips. We'll just have to find another "tour" to pick up. When you are checking out each Freedom Rock make sure you explore the surrounding area for other points of interest. And please remember to support local businesses...! Visit https://www.thefreedomrock.com/ for more information on Iowa's Freedom Rocks and the tour!