Awww...Decorah, Iowa

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Decorah, Iowa.

Approximately 3.5 hours northeast of Des Moines (though, this is not precise for I slept for most of the ride), I knew it was located in a precious part of Iowa...along the Mississippi River and in the beautiful bluff country, which I was definitely excited to see again since extended absence.

Our first stop-The Winnesheik Hotel. A hotel with "21st Century Comfort and 19th Century Charm." It was exquisite. To describe the level of hospitality this hotel provides is easily identified in the three bookshelves that sit on each floor of the hotel. You can borrow any type of book you want at any time during your stay. If you do not finish it within the timeframe of your stay...take it with you; send it back when you are ready. Seriously! There is a note from the hotel left on the bookshelf. Fantastic!

During our three day adventure, we shopped along Water Street (downtown Decorah), hiked around Phelps Park, explored the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, which is a wonderful celebration of the Norweigian community and culture, and my all-time favorite, The Seed Savor Exchange, a non-profit organization that sits on 890-acres and "is dedicated to preserving and sharing heirloom seeds to preserve the world's heritage of plant diversity...maintains over 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties including 6200 tomatoes, 5100 beans, 1300 squash and 1100 varieties of lettuce...it also maintains 700 pre-1900 apple varieties in their Historic Orchard. Heritage Farms..."

I was a kid in a candy store. Seeds, books, garden decor EVERYWHERE...floor to ceiling! I definitely recommend checking out the website (provided above).

Until then, please enjoy some of my pictures from our visit. If you visit Decorah for yourself, please share your experience with me.

Sidenote: Many people think Iowa is merely endless fields of corn and feedlots of hog and cattle. It does have corn and hogs and cattle...fortunately, it also has rolling hills, bluffs, forests, prairies, wetlands, marshes, rivers, lakes, inland beaches. It is an amazing hodgepodge of nature.