the grain mill

This is my final post from my road trip with Colleen. When talking about our trip a couple of people suggested we visit the round barn outside of Red Cloud. It's been renovated & is available for touring. It does sit on private property. We found the round barn a few miles east of Red Cloud on highway 136. We drove down the dirt road to the driveway to get a better view but that is all the closer we came. The farm it sits on is beside railroad tracks. We hadn't made an appointment to tour plus there was something across the highway on the north side & along the same railroad tracks that I wanted to see even more. The building reminded me of a monastery from a distance. When we got closer it appeared to be a grain elevator. When I asked Dad about it later he recalled it being Amboy, a flour processing plant. A beautiful structure that has fallen into disarray. We heard a woodpecker busy inside when we were there. The only sign of life. We then went to Red Cloud. The bottom photo is the only one I took there. Through my windshield. We made a few more stops. Drove through Bostwick. The drive back to Hastings was unremarkable. But it was a memorable trip. I think we'll have to plan more. Until then I don't plan to post. But thanks to everyone who might have checked in!

the side of the road

After we left the farm, Colleen & I headed to Red Cloud via gravel roads. I knew the general direction to go to find highway 136. We came across old farm buildings with a windmill. We never crossed the fence line but we had fun there anyway. After we had lunch in Red Cloud at a place called "Eat Your Colors" we got back on the highway & headed to Guide Rock. We came upon these boots on fence posts & spent a few minutes there too.

clothespins

My sister-in-law, Jean, leaves her clothespins on the line as far as I can tell. I really appreciate that when I visit the farm with my camera. Colleen packed a few of her dish towels as props including a white one that was sometimes tricky to work with. It literally disappears in some photos I took. The sky was cloudy while we visited the farm. A breeze sometimes came up enough to put some life into the dish towels. I had a lot of fun with these photos.

the barn

I never get tired of photographing the barn. Colleen & I enjoyed our visit.

the blue shed