The Iowa Photo: Greencastle Avenue a visual treat of a road

Path through Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area at times has water on both sides

Cyclists make their way past Wisniewski Pond along Greencastle Avenue NW in the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area in Johnson County, Iowa on Sunday, May 19, 2024. Cyclists completed a roughly 60-mile loop as part of a training ride for the annual core4 multi-service bike race in August. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette) — Cyclists make their way past Wisniewski Pond on May 19 along Greencastle Avenue NW in the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area in Johnson County. The cyclists were completing a roughly 60-mile loop as part of a training ride for the annual core4 multi-service bike race in August. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Greencastle Avenue NW is one of the more interesting roads in The Gazette’s coverage area. The Iowa River and the wetlands of the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area make for a unique setting. The road runs north to south, crossing the Iowa River on a historic bridge and then passing several ponds and wetlands, at times with water on both sides.

I have photographed in this area many times. I once spent a morning photographing specially trained dogs taught to seek out box turtles as part of a wildlife population survey. When the northern lights were visible in Iowa earlier this year, I went to Greencastle Avenue first, knowing that the darker skies in the area and reflections on the water could create compelling images. But, I had never made a picture of the road itself. A group bike ride was an excellent opportunity to do just that. The cyclists in this photo help provide a sense of scale and add a sense of motion to the photo. My goal was to capture a little bit of that feeling of traveling down a strange road to an interesting place.