I live near the old Lincoln Highway in central Iowa, and I've driven past the Lincoln Prairie Park rest area west of Ogden countless times, but never have stopped -- until last week. I'm so glad I took a few minutes to look around. It's really a cute little place to visit.
I was surprised to find an original Lincoln Highway marker on display. See the arrow? It tells travelers what direction is west, back before highway signs.
I found another marker in the shadow of the Lincoln Highway post. I think it's an elevation marker?
I'm not for sure, but I've heard that there's a place in between Boone and Jefferson where you can see three different bridges, built in different eras, in view of each other along the old Lincoln Highway. One of the bridges pictured below is a pedestrian bridge, but I think I saw all three of the highway bridges when I drove out of the park. There's a walking path to get a closer look, but I was in a hurry and didn't go exploring.
The road that looks to be the original Lincoln Highway is in pretty bad shape. You can see the potholes if you closely in the picture.
Of course, it's also spring planting time in Iowa. As I was driving out of the park, a tractor drove by. I saw dozens of tractors and pick-up trucks full of seed bags on my drive in the country.
It's a fun time of year to explore Iowa!
I live just 5 miles from where the Hwy goes through Jefferson. The town of Jefferson area is full of all kinds of historical points of interest. I live right along the bike trail which has a lot of history involved in it.
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