Pella

Dominie Hendrik Scholte led about eight hundred Dutch separatists here in 1847 after religious restriction at home, and the town kept the language and the church for generations. The Vermeer Windmill, erected in 2002, was built in the Netherlands and shipped in pieces; at about twenty-five metres it is among the tallest working windmills in the country and it grinds flour. Tulip Time runs three days in early May with parades in which participants scrub the street before the queen passes, a custom carried over. Wyatt Earp's family moved here when he was a boy and their house is a museum. Pella bologna and Dutch letters - almond pastry - are the local food.

What you actually see

• The Vermeer Windmill - built in the Netherlands, about twenty-five metres.
• A settlement of 1847 - Dutch separatists under Scholte.
• Tulip Time in early May - three days, with street-scrubbing parades.
• The Earp boyhood house - now a small museum.

When to go

Early May for Tulip Time. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The festival is three days and the town fills entirely. Bloom timing varies with the spring. Outside May there is comparatively little on. The windmill has limited hours off season.

Nearby

Lake Red Rock is south; Des Moines is west.