Usual and the unusual sights

I think I mentioned this before but I didn't have a picture. In the back and middle of this picture is a tugboat pushing 15 barges south on the Mississippi River. The area from Nauvoo, IL south to Keokuk, IO is the deepest of the Mississippi due to the dam and locks at Keokuk that replaced the rapids and have helped the river remain more navigable for commerce and safe for property along the river. There are large silos for storing grain (mostly corn) to load onto barges.

 Most of the homes here in the Heartland of the USA are average sized. Some of the farmhouses have been here for 100 years but most are simple ranch homes built within 50 years or so. The River Road that runs south from Nauvoo to Keokuk is a lovely scenic drive right along the water. Most of the homes in this section are on the other side of the road from the river. The picture below is of one of the few between the road and the river. What makes this house most unusual is its palatial size and appearance. It is reportedly owned by a district attorney. There are no cities nearby. Even Keokuk is not what you'd call a "city". It's more like a large town. We were told that the lawyer who owns this house has made a deal with the state in which he will turn it over to ownership of the state in exchange for not paying real estate taxes on it. From what we understand, the taxes are high here but we haven't gotten any specific figures to be able to compare it to anywhere else. The home is lovely to look at but definitely out of place.

 Every Sunday on our 2+ hour drive to the small church group we have been assigned to support, we drive through lots of small towns with populations ranging from 400- 900. In one of those towns is this lovely old stone house. we have been really tempted to stop and ask if we could be shown around the house. We have no idea who owns it but, like the house in the above picture, it sure seems out of place in comparison to all the houses around it.