Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Knoxville & Pella, Iowa

May 27-30.  We were staying in the Elk Rock State Park on Red Rock Lake.  From here we visited Knoxville and Pella.  Knoxville is the site of the Sprint Car Hall of Fame and racetrack.  Winged Sprint cars race here and we went to the races on Saturday night.  We had a great time watching 3 classes of winged sprint cars.  We are race fans and this high speed dirt track driving was teriffic.
Pella is a dutch themed city.  We saw 3 windmills and toured one of them.  The Vermeer Windmill was huge and had all the workings of a grain to flour mill.  We got to go to the top of the windmill and see all of the inner workings.  We went to the museum below the windmill as well as the Wyatt Earp house next door.  We got to see the Klockenspiel work at the top of the hour. (4 puppet like figures come out and play for you to dutch chimes)   We toured the Scholte house, who was the Domini (Preacher) who settled Pella, naming it after a town in Holland.  We bought fresh ring bologna and cheese at the local meat market and coffee cake and pastries at the Jaarsma bakery.  Many of the houses in Pella are still built with the Dutch influence. We took the holiday off and just relaxed.
 
Vermeer Windmill
Deb in big wooden shoes



                               
Local Bank
Dutch Style house

Original 1st Pella home    
Shoemaker's shop

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