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.

I have about a twelve percent chance of making it to Lombard Street in San Francisco, so it was…read morenice to be able to get to Snake Alley on a sunny day in Burlington, Iowa. My daughter and I walked down the bricks with much delight while my better half scooted down the curvy street, which suited her just fine. A nice diversion along the Great River Road. Highly recommended

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 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.

Such a fun tour! Took about 50 minutes and was jammed packed with surprises. If you want a fun way…read moreto learn some davenport history, this is a great place to go!

From the owner: In almost any city you visit, you can find historic home tours. Our home has it all: beautiful…read morearchitecture, family stories, artifacts from around the world, unique room designs, and more!

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.

I wandered past this iconic and historic piece of Iowa City Railroad history during a recent Iowa…read moreCity walk. Although the interior of this building looks like it's used for offices, the exterior (day or night) is a sight to behold, especially if you're like me and love all things trains., This old Rock Island Line station was in use for passenger rail operations beginning in 1898, replacing the town's first depot from 1855. This station remained in service until 1970, when passenger rail service was initially discontinued to Iowa City. And as things turn out, As consideration is being made to starting up passenger train service to and from Chicago, it would be cook to give this station another go, especially regarding its proximity to Downtown Iowa City and the SUI Campus.

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!

The tour was a little long, but it was free and a lot of the info was very interesting. It was neat…read moreto learn about the Deere family. The houses (you go in two different ones) are both very elegant and ornate. It's worth checking out if you're in the Moline area, but probably not very exciting for kids.

A stunning example of turn of the century luxury that has been preserved! Went here for a business…read moremeeting, actually the Butterworth center, and was just in awe. We kinda got lost initially and walked over to the Deere mansion. Wow, just walking around the perimeter was beautiful with a million dollar view of the river and a porch that encompassed the entire back exterior and was enclosed!! The grounds are meticulously kept down to the coach house.... After finding out that our meeting was at the Butterworth center across the street I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to explore the interior of the manse. When I heard 'center' I thought, oh great, some crappy new construction pole barn/building where everything smells new and is beige..... To my surprise, the Butterworth center is actually ANOTHER mansion that was owned by the daughter of John Deere and her husband. We didn't know where we were going and that was really great because we walked down what I can only assume to be a private entrance for carriages and now cars.....alright....here we go!! Entered in through clear glass doors with gorgeous wrought iron detailing that made me weak...then in front of me....an actual coat room. Yes, a room for coats. Just coats, with built in racks and a marble top dresser for ancillary details (I assume). My thoughts immediately went to the naughty things that may have occurred there over the years.... But I digress....I walked up one flight of stairs that were protected with gorgeous persian rugs to find a floor that was converted into a meeting center with banquet chairs hiding the true glory of what looked to be an entire floor of a parlor. Kept walking to the back of the room where I found the diagonal parque oak floor and a baby grand piano that was anything but 'baby'...... Not sure if I was to be exploring as much as I did but it was fun to imagine living there and the grand parties they had. Our meeting was REALLY in the carriage house behind the lovely gardens. That was nice, it was obviously partially a horse stable complete with hay loft, that had been updated and modernized with coats of white paint and cheap dry wall.... I like old things I guess. After our meeting we ate lunch in the gardens and we were lucky enough to be able to speak with a gardener who had done her internship at the estate. She gave detailed explanations of the flower beds and some secrets I can't divulge.... Not sure what type of events they host here on a regular basis but it sure has a grand feeling with enough space for your guests to mix and mingle in a professional setting yet has enough whimsy to feel festive!

Love, love, love this museum. Nestled right on the Pentacrest of The University of Iowa campus, we…read morereally do have an amazing resource in our own backyard (for those of us who live in the Eastern Iowa corridor area, at least). The museum hasn't changed much since I last visited 10+ years ago, but that's okay. Rusty the Sloth and the polar bear in the gift shop are staples. Macbride Hall houses the Department of Anthropology at U of I. Wouldn't it be cool to see these artifacts every day as a student? The pair of lions in Mammal Hall were placed in an enclosed case in 202 (previously not enclosed) and a nice mural was painted behind them. From what I could tell, that's the most recent update to one of the museum's exhibits. Museum is free, but a donation is suggested. Please don't skip the donation box located near the guestbook in the gift shop. As indicated in a previous review, some of the exhibits have become quite 'well-loved.' Interactive features no longer work, particularly in the Hall of Birds. Mammal Hall is my most favorite, but there's so much to learn from each area of the museum. The museum covers 3 floors of Macbride Hall. Take the stairs and work those quads! Elevator available as well. Due to the summer season museum hours are a little different, so I'd call ahead or check the website for details. Parking during the summer on the street is easy to find. $1.50/hour. Highly recommend!

Great spot to walk around and explore with kids. Staff was friendly, fun scavenger hunt.read more