Artist Troy Richard Thomas: May 2017

Monday, May 22, 2017

Recreation Destination in the Amana Colonies

The Amana people want to live in the past and not in the future.

An Amana that never changes is a place that fades out and disappears.

An Amana that only allows stealth signage that no one can see.

At one time Amana had a chance to have a resort motel with a new golf course but they turned it down. It did not fit their antique historical motif.

The Amana people don't really want people here, but they want there money. People are a hard concept to swallow.

What they want to do at present is have a festival based economy.

But with a population base of 1,600 people festivals can't thrive.

Out of 1,600 you might have 100 people who are physically fit to volunteer.

Visitors use to come to eat at the Colony Inn (gone), the Ox Yoke Inn, and Brickhaus (gone) and look at a few shops for entertainment. With thousands of new food venues throughout Iowa, those days are over.

Amana could be a recreational resort destination, with multi use recreational trails weaving through the forests, prairies, and farmland.

Trails for mountain bikes, hiking, horseback riding, with various camping areas that serve solitude in nature. Similar to Yellow River State Forest in Northeast Iowa.

We have a whole river (Iowa River) recreation area that basically is unused. The Upper Iowa River in Decorah is part of their economy.

But this would take {Change}.