Kohlsdorf: On this episode of "Road Trip Iowa..." [ Dings ] ...we're traveling the Western Skies Scenic Byway.

We discover Iowa's cultural and agricultural heritage from the rolling bluffs of Loess soil to a pastoral landscape dotted with splashes of color.

Yes.

It's my identity.

Kohlsdorf: With stops at the many hidden gems along the way.

I love the colors.

It's really beautiful, Charlene.

Are we ready for a train ride?

Yeah!

All right!

Up next on "Road Trip Iowa."

Woman: Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state.

Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees, and communities as we would like to be treated.

Man: Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments, and more.

While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The Western Skies Scenic Byway stretches 142 miles through Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, and Guthrie counties.

Whether you're looking for a change of scenery or just a change of pace, this picturesque byway offers both, with a mix of countryside and culture.

Let's review our itinerary.

We'll visit a popular establishment where local food is deliciously served farm to fork.

Snap a photo with a towering monument.

Stop at a historic museum and landmark that will blow you away.

And we'll journey through mazes of farmland with barns full of spirited color.

But first, all aboard!

We begin in Missouri Valley, where a station of volunteers has kids of all ages saying, "Whoo-whoo!"

♪♪ [ Train whistle blows ] Allen: Well, this is Watson's Station.

We're located in Missouri Valley City Park.

And our station, it's made to look like a train station of the days gone by.

Johnny Watson used to drive the steam train here in the park until sometime in the mid-'60s, and he loved kids.

And so that's why we named the station after Johnny Watson.

I'm engineer Fonley, and I'll be driving your train today.

I come up here just so you guys can have a train ride.

[ Applause ] Have any of you ridden with us before?

Yes!

Yes!

Oh, all right.

That's terrific.

[ Bell clanging ] Good job!

Okay, now the name of our train is the Jimmy King Express.

Are we ready for a train ride?

Yes!

All right!

It's got a 750 Kawasaki engine in it.

It's 26 horsepower.

We pull three cars behind it.

[ Kids cheering ] We try to keep it under five miles an hour.

And we go through a tunnel.

[ Whistle blowing ] Then cross the bridge, and the tunnel is called Whoo-Whoo Tunnel.

Kids: Whoo-whoo!

So, we tell the kids when they go through that, we want to hear a big "whoo-whoo!"

Girl: My favorite part about the train was probably in the tunnel, on the train, when everybody, like, starts to scream.

Allen: It's really good when you're down at the lower end going across the bridge, and a big train comes by and the engineer waves to the kids and blows his horn.

Of course, he drowns out my horn.

But it's a lot of fun, and the kids love it.

[ Cheering ] Pitt: The kids enjoy it.

I enjoy it because I like to ride it, too.

And we do it every year.

Every year we come here at least once a year, and then we go over to the park and play afterwards.

It's not just for kids, for all of us big kids, too.

So...[ Laughs ] Sometimes I think the older people enjoy it more than the younger ones.

[ Whistle blows ] We had one lady, 98 years old.

She was our oldest rider that I know of.

Well, everybody likes to reminisce.

[ Train clanging, kids cheering ] Yeah.

Smiles.

I just hope the kids are happy.

And of course I want them to come back.

[ Whistle blows ] If they didn't let me volunteer, I would pay them to work here.

It is so much fun.

[ Whistle blows ] ♪♪ Whoo-whoo!

♪♪ ♪♪ Kohlsdorf: Formed by glacier residue during the last ice age, the Loess Hills are steep slopes of wind-blown dust stretching 200 miles north and south along the Missouri River.

♪♪ ♪♪ Named for silt-sized sediment known as loess, ridges composed of a fine, dusty soil overlook the Missouri Valley floodplain and intersect the Western Skies Byway near Mondamin.

♪♪ Pull over at the Mondamin Hill trailhead to stretch your legs on ten miles of hiking trails.

Take a moment to admire the prairie grass and unique plant life created by thousands of years of transformation.

♪♪ But even more impressive are the views from on top.

♪♪ ♪♪ In Shelby County, fresh, local food is as important as the soil it comes from.

Let's check out a local eatery that brings a simple but high-quality eating experience from their farm to your table.

♪♪ Daniel: The farm is my full-time job.

The beef and the pork are from our farm.

We have a number of different crops, as well, and it's all certified organic.

All of the eggs, any egg dish you have, is either from our farm or if our chickens can't keep up, some other local farms.

Ellen: We collect eggs and wash eggs every day.

I sIt's Daniel.

we.

I bring them to town.

And then they immediately go to the line and we're serving them.

You can't get any more fresh than that.

This is literally farm to table.

Kohlsdorf: When Ellen Walsh-Rosmann and her husband, Daniel, decided to open a farm- to-table café in Harlan in 2015, they were hopeful that a locally sourced menu would be welcomed in their community.

[ Ding ] Their restaurant, Milk & Honey, was such a hit that in 2023 the couple relocated to a larger space to accommodate more diners.

Ellen: An opportunity came up to purchase this building.

It was an opportunity that we couldn't pass.

Daniel: It was originally the Booth implement building, so it was an implement dealer, which became a Ford dealership.

Ellen: Yeah.

The first Ford car in Iowa was sold in this building.

That, like, gives me goosebumps -- how cool.

Daniel: Now it's Milk & Honey.

Calkins: It's a unique place.

There's not many small-town cafés left.

It's all organic, free-range.

You know, it's supporting Iowa farms.

We're hog farmers.

Aanything that you can dom, those things I'm all for.

to promote eating Kohlsdorf: And when your supply chain is this local, your menu is filled with familiar favorites.

It's all in what sounds good that day, you know.

Is it pancakes?

Is it something sweet, French toast?

Or is it a skillet, a burrito, something salty and savory?

Nielsen: I had a BLT.

Reinig: Yeah.

It's reaI had the club sandwich.

ItI would order it again.

I would bring my husband here.

He would like this.

Ellen: Hey, how's it going?

Good to see you.

You know, just taking pause to look around at our neighbors, farmers, whomever, eating a local hamburger that was raised, the beef was raised four miles outside of town.

I mean, how awesome is that?

Kohlsdorf: At Milk & Honey, the food is fresh, and the diners are like family.

But word has gotten out.

Daniel: Our goal was also to get people from Omaha and Des Moines to come out here and, you know, all over the state instead of the other way around, having, you know, people from our town going to the city for a good meal.

And we're seeing a lot of that.

Yeah, the charm of this restaurant comes from it being in a rural community.

I mean, you go a mile out of town, and you're in farming country.

Ellen: Yeah.

You can't replicate this.

Come off the highway and just go explore the towns that are off the byway.

You might be surprised.

♪♪ ♪♪ Kohlsdorf: Just north of the Western Skies Byway, a 45-ton structure towering over the lush landscape has turned commuters' heads for 60 years.

Slater: We are in Audubon, Iowa.

And we are right next to Albert the Bull, our biggest claim to fame.

And he's kind of our most loved attraction here in Audubon County.

Kohlsdorf: Albert stands a colossal 30 feet tall, erected as a gigantic tribute to the nation's beef industry.

Slater: You can see Albert at least a mile down when you come into the community from the south.

And he's just kind of like, what is that giant red Hereford on the horizon?

Kohlsdorf: It takes 65 gallons of paint to cover the concrete Albert is made of, primarily brown and white.

However, his eyes are a little bit disputed.

Slater: Over the years, there's been a little bit of controversy between blue and brown eyes.

It has changed.

So, the cattle producers want the eyes to be brown because cattle's eyes are brown.

Some of the community members like them blue.

And so, every once in a while you do have to check and see what color his eyes are when he gets repainted every 3 to 5 years.

I think Albert's bull just represents.

Like, it's home.

Like, when you see him or you see a photo of him, it's home.

We get a lot of visitors that travel through the area.

You know, they're going up to Okoboji and Minnesota or Kansas City, and this is an annual stop that every year that they remember stopping here as a child.

So, it's just kind of a nostalgia.

And it's just kind of one of those fun things that how can you not stop and check out a roadside attraction?

♪♪ ♪♪ Kohlsdorf: South of Audubon, in Shelby County, sits the Danish Villages of Elk Horn and Kimballton.

We're pulling over for a little history on Iowa's Danish pioneers.

The Danish Villages, in general, we pride ourselves in being sort of a tranquil area, a place to relax, a place to just kind of kick back for a bit and get away from the noise of the cities and the crowds.

It's very quiet out here, but there's still a lot to do.

Brandt: This is the Museum of Danish America.

We are the national museum that is dedicated to telling the story of Danish immigration to the United States, Danish-American experience of all of the generations up to today, and also the ongoing story of how Denmark and the United States work together and influence one another.

Our museum has something for everybody.

We have some wonderful history and culture displays, changing exhibitions.

We feature art, both historical art and contemporary art.

We have a 35-acre campus, much of which is a restored prairie.

So, for bird watching and wandering and just enjoying the native ecosystem of this area of Iowa.

We have a Lego play area.

A lot of people don't know that Legos were started and continue to be headquartered in Denmark.

And so, we have an area where anyone, no age requirements, can play with Legos.

Sayers: So, in 1975, Harvey Sornson proposed this idea to get a windmill from Denmark.

He brought it up to the Better Elk Horn Club, which at the time was kind of a civic club.

They voted on it and, you know, it wasn't unanimous, but it passed.

They said, "Let's look into getting a windmill here."

They went and found one in Norre Snede, Denmark.

The windmill was originally built there in 1848, and the family agreed to sell it to us here in Elk Horn.

Arrived in New York in 1976, put on flatbeds, and driven over here, where it finally got to Elk Horn in February 1976.

And finally in November 1976, the sails were put on.

♪♪ As an organization, our mission has always been to preserve Danish heritage, enlighten people about windmills, renewable energy.

But it's also, again, getting back to community about bringing people to Elk Horn and western Iowa and just being not only a tourist attraction but kind of a symbol of everything that our communities have stood for, for so long.

It goes without saying that it's a scenic drive, but it's just those rolling hills and there's something familiar about them to a lot of people, but they don't quite realize it.

And so, when you think about, you know, the Danish Villages and why Danish immigrants, settled in western Iowa, the big thing I tell people is if you ever go to Denmark, you'll immediately understand why.

It looks like Iowa.

If you want to feel Denmark without flying out of town, stop by, you know, see what the windmill looks like and see just kind of how it almost just meshes right in as if it's always been here.

♪♪ Kohlsdorf: Just off the byway, near the town of Brayton, a strange roadblock has attracted traffic for decades.

A 100-foot cottonwood tree obstructs drivers from all directions, offering a unique sight and a good spot to get out and stretch your legs.

Legend has it that a surveyor marking the lines between Cass and Audubon counties relied on the only tool at his disposal -- a walking stick made from a cottonwood sprout, which was placed into the ground and took root.

Today, the tale and the tree stand tall still, at this tucked-away spot near the Western Skies Byway.

♪♪ Motsick: There's a lot of beauty here.

We have wildflowers in the ditches, and there's a lot of natural beauty as we drive along the roadways.

And the scenery changes all the time.

Kohlsdorf: As you travel along the Western Skies Scenic Byway, it won't take long to notice vibrant colors stamped on old barns, peeking over ridges of corn, and sprinkled amongst lush, rolling hills.

Motsick: You're driving along and whoa, there's a barn quilt, you know, and they're just a lot of fun.

Kohlsdorf: Barn quilts were made popular in Guthrie County by a group of locals who wanted to add a little artistry to the community.

But to these residents, barn quilts represent much, much more.

Arganbright: We're standing at the Arganbright farm.

It's over 150 years.

The barn behind me has always been here.

It has been in our family the whole time.

My great-great grandparents all came over during the famine from Ireland and somehow ended up here in Guthrie County, Iowa.

And I always thought it had to have reminded them of home with the green hills and a thousand shades of green.

Well, when I do turn around and look at it, I think of all of those who preceded me here.

It was a lot of hard work, a lot of prayer, which got them through, and that's a big part of enjoying looking at it.

♪♪ But it's my identity.

There's no doubt about that.

All of this is -- I identify with it very much.

And... Wood: It's not a typical quilt.

It's just something we came up with.

My folks were big travelers, and memories growing up was always vacations and traveling and stuff.

And the compass rose, I don't know, that's how we're going to get our way home or that's how we're going to find our way.

And I got four older siblings and two younger, so that when the older ones would come home, they'd always want to get out to the farm.

And it was just -- that was kind of like the beacon, that barn quilt.

"Here's home."

Donahey: My barn quilt started because my husband's Irish, and I knew that someone here in town had an old, old quilt that came from Ireland.

It was given to a young woman when she emigrated from Ireland to the United States in the 1800s, and it came down through numerous people.

And this is the quilt that originated in Ireland.

I connected with the people who had the quilt, and that's how I came up with my design on the farm.

I wanted to honor the Irish heritage here.

Arganbright: I couldn't convey to you the sound means as much to me.

It is home.

I know the sound that the air makes through the trees and the meadowlarks, the redwing blackbirds.

That's all part of this.

So, it's made up of a huge canvas of belonging to and, again, the word "identity."

Yes, it's my identity.

I've done a lot of things in my life, but this is home and a strong sense of belonging.

Motsick: They are a form of Americana folk art, and I think the more people see them, just like me, they just decide, "Hey, I'd sure like to have one of those."

It's just a nice, little outing to find these.

They're all cool.

[ Laughs ] Travelers will notice Guthrie County is filled with barn quilts.

Charlene Watkin uses her creative talents to add a little history and color to the horizon.

Let's learn how barn quilts are made.

♪♪ We are here with Charlene inside her studio talking barn quilts today.

I'm curious because you're so young, but you've been doing this for quite a while.

Tell us about your business.

Well, I learned how to make barn calls when I was 14 through 4-H, and back then they were really starting to take off and getting really popular.

So, I decided to make one for the county fair.

It went to state fair, and then I decided, "I want to make this a business."

So, it first started out as a family business.

That's why it's called Watkins Barn Quilts.

But from the last decade plus, we've been able to make barn quilts and ship them all over the state and all over the country, as well.

What is a barn quilt?

So, a barn quilt is actually just wood and paint.

There is no fabric involved.

Okay.

The only reason they're called a barn quilt is because the patterns are quilt patterns.

So, I see so many different colors and designs.

How do you decide what goes into a barn quilt?

So, I have a lot of people who have quilt patterns that mean something to their family, and they also like to incorporate colors from their heritage and things like that.

Okay, so for viewers who are watching, I sent you some inspiration for a quilt we're going to make today.

So, this is the flag from the Netherlands, from the province of Friesland, where my family comes from.

And you came up with a design, correct?

Yes.

So, I wanted to kind of start with a traditional barn-quilt pattern, and I sketched it out, and then I did a little color-up with some colors.

I pulled some of the white, blue, and red from the flag that you sent me.

And on that flag there are some tulip kind of heart shapes.

And so, I thought these would kind of pull that in really well.

And then the black and yellow is also from the Netherlands.

So, the next step will be sketching this onto the board.

So, since this is on a grid, each of these little squares represents a different amount of inches.

So, since we're doing a 3-by-3 barn quilt, each of these little squares will be about an inch and a half.

♪♪ ♪♪ How does it look?

It looks great.

That didn't take too long.

No.

Once you get going, it goes by pretty quick.

Okay, so what's the next step?

So, the next step would be taping and painting.

You've got one started, right?

Yes.

So, I went ahead, and I started painting one.

This is a 2-by-2.

So, it's going to be a little bit smaller.

But I already painted a few of the colors so that we can get going.

The only ones that are missing would be the red and the blue.

Okay.

Well, I can help you with that.

All right.

Sounds good.

Yeah.

♪♪ ♪♪ How many coats do you usually do?

For reds, it kind of depends.

I try to do three coats for everything just so it gives it a good coverage, solid color.

You can really change a lot about a barn quilt in the way that you color it and the way you hang it.

That's why some are hung as diamonds and some are hung as squares because they're different each time.

All right, let's do it -- from paper to paint.

I love how this came together.

I love the colors.

It's really beautiful, Charlene.

Thank you.

For me, barn quilts are the perfect mix between Midwest culture and art.

And I love, like, driving through the countryside and seeing them out on the horizon.

I'm sure that is very gratifying.

Thank you so much, Charlene.

Set on an expansive and pastoral landscape, the Western Skies Scenic Byway offers a variety of cultural pit stops to explore.

We pulled over and rode the rails at the Watson Steam Train Depot in Missouri Valley.

Learned about the importance of farm-to-table dining at Milk & Honey in Harlan.

Visited the one-of-a-kind tree in the middle of the road, and learned how to capture culture and creativity in a barn quilt.

There is so much to see and do along this stretch of west-central Iowa.

So, pull up a map and hop in the car today.

For more on the history, culture, and landscapes along Iowa's scenic byways, join us next time for "Road Trip Iowa."

♪♪ ♪♪ Woman: Kwik Star is proud to be a part of Iowa communities across the state.

Family owned for over 50 years, we're dedicated to treating our guests, employees, and communities as we would like to be treated.

Man: Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the U.S. and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments, and more.

While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.