Waterloo

• Farther east near Nashua, Iowa, is the Little Brown Church in the Vale, associated with the popular hymn, “Church in the Wildwood”:
  

  

  The church was completed during the Civil War. When it came time to paint the building, the cheapest paint to be found was Ohio Mineral Paint, which protected the wood but which was, unhappily, brown. It’s been brown ever since. Not tucked away in a forest somewhere, it is RIGHT ON the road. Thus, the prayer on the front step is more than apt.
  

  

  The church is still in use for parish functions and, as might be expected, for weddings:
  

  

  
  Arriving in Waterloo at last, we were treated to an effortless “riding tour” of the sprawling John Deere Tractor Assembly Plant:
  

  

  The Electric Park Ballroom was another reason we encamped in town for three nights:
  

  

  An evening “barn dance” on a large, smooth dance floor had us singing the praises of Waterloo.
  
  And yet there was more --- a ride on an excellent biking trail near that same ballroom:
  

  

  What’s not to love about a path almost as smooth as a dance floor that bobs and weaves through beautiful scenery?
  

  

  

  The path’s name is the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail and sections of it are atop the town’s levee. The Cedar River lies below:
  

  

  

  Waterloo has another wonder few would expect in a midwestern town: a re-creation of the Sistine Chapel:
  

  

  In 2006, a then 27 year old Bosian refugee named Paco Rosic covered the ceiling of his family’s restaurant with 2000 cans of spray paint! On the Saturday evening we entered, this is exactly what the Galleria de Paco looked like:
  

  

  Unfortunately, for us, having no reservation meant we could only feed our eyes in the fully-booked restaurant. Business is good at this popular spot.