George Maier Rural Heritage Center and Museum

This place is a little hard to describe. It's sort of like a museum, but it's also sort of like going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and snooping around in their basement, attic or garage.nApparently George Msier liked to collect things, spent a very long lifetime collecting things, and at some point he decided he wanted to share the things he had collected with as many people as wanted to come see it. It's like a museum in the Raw, no fluff no Fufu just a bunch of really neat old stuff from,the local are; not restored or fancy, just kind of the way he found it.nIf you're not from this area you might as well spend a minute in downtown Elkader which has a beautiful courthouse and Stone Arch Bridge across the turkey River .....what the heck, just renta a canoe or kayak and make a day of it. Just a few miles up the road you could visit Motor Mill which is a gorgeous Stone Mill built in the 1860's on the banks of the turkey River ( you could kayak or canoe right to the mill which also has a campground).nAlso not far away is Osborne County Park with Nature Center, trails, animals the whole sha'bang.nWhile there's a lot of great scenery in Clayton County, it also easy to hop on the Cassville Car Ferry and ride across from Iowa to Cassville Wisconsin, then take a short trip up the road to the Potosi Brewery which is another neat Historic Site that's been renovated and has a small,museum and tours. After your belly is full, head north to Prairie Du Chein, then cross back over the great river to Effigy Mounds National Park, McGregor, Spook Cave, and BOOM! 18 miles later you'll be right back where you started in Elkader.