With COVID-19 and the omicron variant possibly making air travel a dicier prospect, maybe you might be looking for more local travel opportunities.
Here are some of the sites or communities within an hour’s travel of Mount Vernon that offer opportunities of places or things to visit, even if only for a day:
Know any Star Trek fan who hasn’t made the tour to Riverside? The future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk is less than an hour away from Mount Vernon along Hwy. 1 and Old Hwy. 218. The community holds TrekFest celebrations every summer, and there’s a marker denoting the future birthplace of the captain. There’s even the Star Trek Voyage Home Museum, full of memorabilia from the show and William Shatner’s visit to the town in 2008 (though you might want to call to make sure the museum will be open before setting your warp drive to town).
Most Mount Vernon residents are familiar with the artwork of Grant Wood, as the barn near Palisades Road pictures American Gothic on the exterior of the building. North of Mount Vernon in Jones County is an opportunity to see many of the works of this local Iowa artist at the Grant Wood Art Gallery in downtown Anamosa. Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Saturday, it’s a chance to see more of the artwork from one of Iowa’s favorite sons.
Work is also ongoing on the Grant Wood Trail, with a portion of that trail now leading from Olin to 3.5 miles away to Highway E-45. Gently rolling hills are plainly visible from the trail as you make your way past fields, small wetland areas, meadows, and a wooded stream corridor. You might catch a glimpse of a whitetail deer, ring-necked pheasant, or maybe a wild turkey as you quietly walk or ride the trail.
While there may not be a direct road to West Branch from Mount Vernon, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is within a 45-minute trek of Mount Vernon by any route you take. And part of that journey and travel may be some of the roads you take to get there! Now through January, the museum has an exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci Machines in Motion, detailing more than 30 machines that were built following da Vinci’s designs by a group of scientists and skilled craftsmen.
There are also permanent exhibits on Iowa’s only elected president so far and detail Hoover’s life from birth to his life as an engineer and finally President of the United States.
Like Dave Miglin, your travel stories in small-town Iowa could begin in Dyersville, as that community is located roughly an hour north of Mount Vernon on Hwy. 1 and IA-136. Aside from the Field of Dreams movie site and home to some Major League Baseball games, there’s also the National Farm Toy Museum or Plaza Antique Mall to visit.
What sites or destinations are on your own places you need to see and visit?
Things to see in local area
December 30, 2021
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.