Waterloo, Iowa

Above the plush tables set for dinner is a ceiling covered in a glowing version of the Sistine Chapel ceiling that would have made Michelangelo proud. Paco Rosic, a Bosnian rufugee and reformed grafitti artist, used 5,000 cans of spray paint to recreate the Sistine Chapel ceiling at his family’s restaurant in Waterloo.

Gladbrook, Iowa

Patrick Acton, a college counselor who has built incredibly detailed models with wood matchsticks including a 12-foot long model of the US Capital that took 478,000 matchbooks and looks as if it should have ant-size politicians sitting inside. The photo above is a replica of Hogwart's School of Wizardry from Harry Potter.

Elden, Iowa

The modest white cottage that Grand Wood used in his American Gothic painting of a somber-faced farm couple with a pitch fork.

Madison County, Iowa

There are six covered bridges made famous by the book, and later the movie, titled The Bridges of Madison County. The 1995 film starred Clint Eastwood as a photographer and Meryl Streep as a farmer’s wife.

Fairfield, Iowa

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became world famous as the guru of the Beatles. He was looking for a place to set up a school for his followers of transcendental meditation when he purchased the old Parson’s College in Fairfield, IA.

Burlington, Iowa

German founders of Burlington built Snake Alley in 1894 to get their wagons and carriages from the top of Heritage Hill down to the city’s business district. It has 7 curves and is over 275 feet. Ripley’s says it is the World’s Crookedest Street

Winterset, Iowa

This tiny four-bedroom home was the home of Marion Robert Morrison, born May 26, 1907. His family stayed in town for only three more years and Marion became better known as John Wayne.

Audubon, Iowa

You can see Albert, the world’s largest bull, where he was built by the local Jaycees in 1964 to honor the state’s beef industry. He weighs in at 45 tons.

LeMars, Iowa

This town is home to Wells Dairy which makes more ice cream – nearly 120 million gallons a year most of it under the Blue Bunny name – in one location than any other company. Obama actually made a stop here for some ice cream while on the campaign traill.

Sac City, Iowa

Displayed in a red shed with a picture window, the 3,100 pound behemoth was made by forty-four volunteers at the Noble Popcorn Farm in 2004 and certified by Guiness as the planet’s biggest. A giant can of Coca-Cola stands nearby to wash it down.