Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Motor Mill Area

From Brush Creek Canyon my husband and I drove on to the ghost town of Motor, located east of Elkader, Iowa.  Its focal point is the six-story limestone grist mill building which towers over the Turkey River.  Remnants of a now non-existent bridge can be seen in this first photo.   

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (7) 

We strolled down Motor’s one and only thoroughfare.Motor Mill 10.16.11 (11)

The interior of the mill was not open for touring.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (16) 

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (66)

Once past the mill, we glanced across the river and noticed a wagon drawn by mules….standing there stubbornly refusing to cross a river that has no bridge!  Actually, there is a riding trail on that side of the river.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (27)

Nestled against the hillside was the old limestone cooperage:

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (19) Behind the cooperage, we noticed some stone steps leading up the hill.  On such a beautiful day, why not take another hike, they seemed to beckon!

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (24) Up the leaf-covered trail we traipsed.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (53) This sign soon informed us that we were walking through an “oak savanna”---a sort of wooded prairie area.  Click the photo to enlarge it.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (42)

Near the top of the hill was an old quarry site.  We tried to envision stonecutters at work and how they might have transported the limestone blocks down the hill to be used for construction of the Motor buildings.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (50) At the top of the hill we were rewarded with a nice view, looking in a somewhat northerly direction.  I should carry a compass along on these trail walks.

Motor Mill 10.16.11 (51)

A little ways down the road past Motor is a campground.  It looked like a nice peaceful place and if I were a camping person I’d probably like to stay there.  Once past the campground, the road became a one-lane track.  This final photo was taken through the windshield.  It’s SOOC and hopefully helps to show what an absolutely gorgeous day it was! 

Near Motor Mill (7)

7 comments:

Gail said...

I absolutely love adventures like this. Fantastic buildings...I don't see any as beautiful as those being made today.

Nancy said...

A great find -- that's a gorgeous structure Jeannelle. Love the photos. :)

Pat said...

Thanks for the tour. Those are beautiful photos. I love the roughness of the bricks on the mill.

Michaele said...

What a perfect place to visit on a fall day. The buildings just seemed to fit right in with the fall setting.

Ms. Becky said...

Hi Jeanelle, I'm so happy you stopped by my blog to say hello - you led me here! when the page loaded and I saw Elkader, Iowa I squealed with delight. Many years ago I lived in Guttenberg. I was living there during the great flood of 1994. I'm very familiar with Elkader - it had a movie theater and that's where I saw the movie Benny and June. ah, the memories. that's a beautiful area. I think I may have even walked this trail. I loved my time living in Iowa. it has a lot of rivers and they seemed to always be over-flowing their banks. The Turkey River is especially beautiful. you've taken me on a gorgeous trip down memory lane, so thank you for that. Happy day to you Jeanelle.

Window On The Prairie said...

Looks kinda like the area where I grew up in MO. I miss trees....(I live in Kansas)

DesertHen said...

What a fun fall day adventure! The photos are wonderful! I love that last shot! There is just something about a dirt road that meanders through the landscape that I find intriguing.