Near Dubuque, Iowa

The trip from Madison to Kieler (just north of Dubuque, Iowa) passed through beautiful farm country. We saw lots of dairy farms as well as a few cattle ranches and, of course, corn everywhere. We are in Grant County to do genealogy work on some branches of my family. While we are here, we are touring some interesting towns and parks. We have hopes of taking two days to drive 400 miles south to view the total eclipse. It will depend on the weather.

Chris introduced me to New Glarus Brewery where several beers and ales are brewed, in particular, Spotted Cow. This beer is wildly popular with the Millennials in the area and, I have to say, it is very tasty. The brewery is not far from our campground, so we drove over for a tour. I ended up choosing to do the tasting while Russ took the tour. It was a very nice day to sit outside in the brewery’s tasting garden and sample several different brews. Russ wasn’t impressed with the tour, looking at lots of stainless steel pipes and vats with little explanation. I kind of expected this after I found out that the facility is brand new and they were still setting up, including the self-guided tour. Enjoyed myself immensely. The brewery is a woman-owned business, her husband is the master brewer and she is the marketing/public interface. He is a genius in his work and she is likewise, a genius at marketing.  One thing she decided was to limit the sales to the state of Wisconsin so that they could ensure the quality of their product. We watched a very interesting and inspiring video of how the couple met and grew their business and their pride in their workers and business. Definitely a rags to riches story.

The brewery is situated in the Swiss town, New Glarus.  Many of the town buildings reflect the Swiss heritage.

We visited a couple more towns who are proud of their heritage, one being Mineral Point. This town was settled by Cornish miners who came to mine the zinc and lead mines around 1820 and they initially built their homes exactly as they were built back in England. Pendarvis is a set of homes from the early 1800s that have been restored and are available for tour.

The other interesting town is Mount Horeb. Known as the Troll Capital of the World, the residents have used their Scandinavian heritage to put a unique touch on the village. We had a good time seeking out the trolls on display and the beautifully restored businesses and homes.

One beautiful afternoon, we picnicked at Eagle Point Park, first established in the early 1900s. The park sits on the bluffs of Dubuque and has a walking path that overlooks one of the many locks and dams on the Mississippi River. We looked for but did not see any eagles – they use the area as a stopping place on their migration paths.

I have a separate blog on the eclipse that I will be posting soon.  Spoiler alert – we did not go south, but still had a good time.

Details of one of the trolls at Mount Horeb

We saw lots of well kept farms, but occasionally we would see an abandoned farm home, many in worse condition than this one.

The southwest part of Wisconsin is called the Driftless area. The last glacier (10,000 years ago) bypassed this area. There are lots of rocky crags and hills. Mining was heavy in this area.

Occasionally we would see herds of cattle (I call them box cows or McDonald's cows), but the bulk of the herds were dairy.

Lots of barn quilts. It seems that they are more complicated designs than what I have seen in the past.

New Glarus Brewing Company is one of the hottest craft brewers in the Midwest.

This is the public tasting area - a flashback to old time German buildings.

The area was designed to host private parties and festivals.  Very well thought out.

A beautiful outlook is part of the brewery grounds.

A hotel just down the road from the brewery was a beautiful depiction of Swiss architecture.

Downtown Mineral Point.

This zinc dog is original to the building (around 1850s). Identifying buildings using statues is a tradition brought over from the old country. 

Beautiful flowers were everywhere.

This so reminded me of Doc Martin's home and practice in the show.

The buildings host several artists with eclectic styles.

One of the fancier decorated Little Free Libraries.

Some of the buildings were made of brownstone, quarried in Wisconsin.

There were several Victorian style homes that have been restored to beautiful condition.

At Pendarvis, several of the original homes have been restored.

Restoration is ongoing throughout Mineral Point.

The First United Methodist Church, from the 1800s.

I thought this was an unusual Victorian style in this area of the country. I've seen these more in the South.

In Mount Horeb, several buildings sported detailed painted scenes.

This is called a Stabbur and usually sits in the center of a farm courtyard. It houses food stuffs and valuables.

Even the local pub gets into the Troll spirit.

The Municipal Building showcased two main industries - farming and dairying.

Thought it would be a nice blend of culture to automate the waving hand so it could become a Lucky Walton.

Beautiful Victorian and ugly Troll - perfect blend!

We had the fortune to see a barge go through the dam. It was not a quick process because they had to separate the  individual barges into two groups so that they could fit through the lock.

A beautiful afternoon on the Mississippi.

The landscaping at Eagle Point Park was a CCC project.