The Grant Wood Scenic Byway begins at Iowa's eastern border in the town of Bellevue and heads west through America's Heartland for 80 miles. Traveling westward on IA 215 the scenic byway makes a loop between the cities of Andrew and Maquoketa following a few back-country roads. Back out to the main highway in Maquoketa, the scenic drive picks up U.S. Route 64 and heads west through Baldwin, Wyoming and Anamosa, taking sightseers by rolling hills, prominent limestone outcroppings, scenic farmlands and small towns. The succession of hills, slowly rising upward from the Mississippi Valley, eventually broaden out as they roll westward. The byway ends at Stone City where you may easily guess it was a company town for the workers of nearby stone quarries. Known for its Anamosa limestone, Stone City residents also used the local natural building material in its own historic architecture.
   This scenic byway is named for the artist Grant Wood, who spent his years applying his eastern Iowa memories to canvas. If the name Grant Wood eludes you, surely his American Gothic painting of a stoic farmer with pitchfork in hand, standing beside his daughter, will remake the connection.
   This morning scene was found in Jackson County, nearby Route 64, and reveals a bare tree-line that was affected by drought, well before autumn had taken the leaves. The natural expectation of seeing a corn crop in the Hawkeye State is certainly fulfilled in this roadside view.

     Byway Map