At The Homestead House. There are two bedrooms upstairs. Both have a private bath and hardwood floor. The Homestead Room is the larger room with a king size bed. It is the bedroom in which Grandfather Howard Reese, and Father, Donald Reese were born. The Ivory Room is furnished in ivory and blue. It has a queen size bed with matching dresser, desk and rocker. It has a separate, spacious bathroom with claw foot tub and large shower. Rates for double occupancy: Homestead Room -- $95/night. Ivory Room -- $85/night. There is a 10% discount on the second night's stay. Or a 10% discount for members of: Center for Rural Affairs. Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The Nature Conservancy. Practical Farmers of Iowa. A Chalet, 900 foot floor space. 100 yards from Homestead House. Set back from the road. Surounded by tall pine trees, with a charming one-room Bunkhouse. An ideal venue for families or those who prefer to have time away by themselves. Wheelchair acccess at the front door. Knotty pine walls with built-in closets. Fully equipped kitchen. Air conditioner, furnace. Stack washer and dryer bedroom - queen sized bed bedroom - small bunk beds living room - queen sofa-bed. Shared Bathrooms: first floor and basement. Shower in basement bathroom. Bunkhouse - Backyard of the Cottage. Bathroom is in Cottage basement. Cottage -- $85/night. Cottage and Bunkhouse -- $95/night. If you desire breakfast at the Homestead House, add $6 per adult/teen. As guest you will receive: A night's stay for two with a full farm breakfast. Loess Hills Publicity: a Scenic Byways pamphlet and map, and information on nearby touring opportunities. During your stay you will have a chance to: Enjoy antiques handed down through the family for 150 years; e.g. pump the player piano or listen to the Edison. Sit on the front porch with morning coffee and listen to the birds sing, or sip a cup of tea and watch the sun set. Tour, hike, or bike in the Hills. There is Loess Hills prairie right out the back door. You are welcome to hike on your own. If you desire a resident guide, we will join you. Listen to the cacophony of the birds at dawn. Find yourself surrounded by a night sky full of stars. Celebrate a special occasion-- an anniversary or a birthday--with some reminiscing and claiming promises for the future. When the occasion arises we join our guests in recovering the lost art of conversation. We always find this genuinely rewarding. Some city dwellers have claimed it's so quiet they have difficulty getting to sleep! Inquire about a Gift Certificate for a special occasion-wedding, anniversary, birthday, retirement. The house is a smoke-free environment. Our pets stay outside. Plan to bring a group for the weekend. Inquire about a discount on group rates. Check the to determine which weekend you would prefer to reserve. Away from home on mid week business? Weary of the impersonal look-alike motel room? There is in-room telephone access and space to work on your computer, and DSL airport. We can accommodate State employees at your State rate. As society at large continues it's hectic, high-tech pace, the discerning traveler will continue to seek the intimacy and careful attention that is the hallmark of the Bed and Breakfast. Stay at Country Homestead Bed and Breakfast. One guest volunteered, You're just 10 miles off Interstate 29, and hundreds of miles from the hustle and bustle.. It is clean, comfortable, cordial, and offers: Warm genuine hospitality. Personal service and attention to detail. Lots of reading material. TV, VCR, DVD players in the living room

The only thing a turkey hunter likes to do more than hunt turkeys; is tell about hunting turkeys. The voice of Don came over the phone. He had returned my call to hear all about the turkey I had just shot. I was such an amateur that I did not even own a shotgun. I had borrowed one from him. I had left the message with his wife earlier that day and now he had returned the call. I was certain that he had heard these kind of stories before and that he would be concerned about spending too much time on a long distance phone call. He was oblivious to the fact that it was long distance and he was paying for the call. He wanted to hear the whole story. The whole story started long before I met Don. Our tenant, Howard, is a person who lives to work. He is at work by sunup in the summer time, and before dawn in the winter time. He works until the tasks that need to be done are done. It is becoming more and more difficult to find a person who has that kind of relationship to work. From my vantage point there are two exceptions to his devotion to his work. The first is his church work, and the second is turkey hunting. If you notice carefully each spring and fall you can observe a week when he is not as punctual with the chores in the morning. Or perhaps there are several evenings when he sneaks away before sunset. He is busy scouting out the site where he will do his turkey hunting when the season arrives. His is a veteran turkey hunter. He even subscribes to a Turkey Hunter magazine. I have learned that any time I open the subject of turkeys or turkey hunting in casual conversation I must give careful forethought. If it is necessary for me to do something else important within the next 30 to 45 minutes I avoid bringing the subject up. It can happen more than once in the course of several weeks. There is no end to the amount of turkey information that can be discussed. There is always something new to learn about turkeys. And there is an inexhaustible supply of turkey hunting stories. I finally decided that in the spring of 92 it was time for me to go turkey hunting. I engaged Howard regularly in story telling, I gleaned all of the helpful hints that I could stand to glean. I borrowed his turkey call box and applied for a landholders license in January. The landholders license came in the mail in late February. Now the only obstacle was a weapon. I had nothing with which to hunt a turkey. I had met Don and discovered his interest in turkeys the previous year. When I indicated that I was going to try turkey hunting in the spring he asked what I was going to do for a weapon. I indicated that I was not certain. He volunteered that he would loan me his 16 gauge shotgun. I willingly accepted the offer, however, I said nothing about it to Lin. She was adamant that we should not have a gun of any kind in the house or on the property. Turkey hunting was one of those things which I knew I had to do. I also knew that there was no way she would understand that I needed to do it. And for that reason she would not give it her blessing. So there was no reason to discuss it further. There would never be a meeting of the minds; a family agreement about what I was doing. So I picked the shotgun up one afternoon and spirited it away to the bee house. She isn't fond of honeybees and so she seldom, if ever, frequents the place where I keep my apiary equipment. There are some principal rules which govern turkey hunting. I had noted these from my conversations with Howard. The first is to get yourself in place and well hidden well before the sun rises. The second is make no movement. The turkey is apparently not much concerned about scent. But her/his eyesight is acute, and she/he can see minute movements at long distances. If you are in a turkey's line of sight, and you lift your gun to fire the turkey will be gone before you ever have time to take aim. Closely related to this is the fact that the turkey is able to sense danger from something as simple as a face, and perhaps even more specifically, the eyes of a face. Experienced turkey hunters wear a veil. This is usually hanging from the bill of their cap, and is colored in camouflage colors. The color of the garb is known to be another important. Camouflage colors are known to be the best. A hunter naive enough to wear any semblance of red in his outfit would be the laughing stock of turkey hunters everywhere. It is well established in turkey hunting lore that turkeys will run when they see red. I have always wondered if there was research done on this subject. But it was obvious from conversations about the subject that it would have been poor taste to query the issue. Since receiving my first turkey hunter's license I have been placed on a mailing list. Each year I receive a 50 page catalogue of turkey hunting garb and paraphernalia. Now to dress for the occasion. The previous spring I had been using my imagination to anticipate what turkey hunters went through. I observed that the first two seasons of the year take place in the last 20 days of April. I watched to see what I would have to go through to get into position by 4:30 or 5:00 am in the morning. I wasn't happy with what I discovered. The month of April was wet and clammy. I knew that the hills would be like grease when trying to get over them to the hollow behind my house. It was warm enough during the day for mosquitoes to have started to breed and to sit motionless in one position for any length of time would be extremely difficult. In addition to that the temperatures dropped to 35 or 40 degrees F overnight. That meant that I would have to go out in what seemed to be the middle of the night with a shotgun in one hand, negotiate my way up a 200 to 300 foot climb on wet Loess soil which seems more like Vaseline than soil. And since the ambient temperature at that time of the morning would be no more than 10 to 12 degrees above freezing, I would need to be dressed in insulated underwear. I could choose to ignore the temperature. But I have discovered, as I have grown older, that sitting motionless for any length of time in chilly weather usually leaves me with an uncomfortable chill long after I have come in out of the exposure. I had no desire to subject myself to that kind of exposure. Having stored all of these observations away in my head I applied for a license which would begin the 1st of May. I may not be out with the first of the hunters and get the first turkeys, but I will have the advantage of being a little more comfortable. I borrowed Don's 16 gauge shotgun and 6 shells. I had hoped to mimic Howard and make some reconnaissance trips to observe where the prime turkey hunting spot would be. We ended up with house guests for the last week of April. We enjoyed their company, but they were not outdoor enthusiasts, and we did not once get over the hill. I also chose not to call attention to myself by getting up to hike over the hills at 4:30 in the morning. The evening of day our company left I carefully rehearsed the steps I would need to take to go turkey hunting. I went to the laundry room and laid out my insulated ski pants and vest. I checked the parka to see if the pockets would hold the shotgun shells. I made sure that I could find both of my insulated leather gloves. I went to the bedroom and laid out my thinsulate underwear, my sweatsuit, and heavy orlon socks. I set my alarm for 4:30 am. When my alarm went off in the morning Lin complained What are you doing, its only 4:30? I broke the news to her. I'm going turkey hunting. She mumbled something and fell back into a deep sleep. My comment was obviously so far fetched that it could not be taken seriously at this time of the morning. Besides, she knew that I didn't own a shotgun. I felt ridiculous dressing as if I were going out into sub-zero winter weather. Not only ridiculous, awkward with the amount of excess clothing I was wearing. As went out I met Julang, our Red Heeler dog, who wa...

 Guest rooms have air conditioning
 Luggage storage
 Clothes dry cleaning
 Conference and meeting room
 Hairdryer
 Heating
 Access to internet
 Ironing facilities
 Kitchen
 Laundry services/washing machine
 Smoke-free guest rooms
 Around-the-clock recetpion
 Parking lot
 Private park, garden, courtyard
 Quiet surroundings
 Clock/radio
 Fridge
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Animation, entertainment
 Tea and coffee making facilities
 Phone at reception
 Phones in rooms
 TV sets in rooms
 Cheques accepted
 Common room with a TV set