The Upper Mississippi

Nelson Dewey State Park, Cassville, WI

The household was buzzing this morning with babes underfoot before 6. Brian was off to camp by 6:30 and Owen needed to leave for his camp by 8:30. I didn't get much time to spend with Brian (although I did get him to give me one more "cutey eyes"), but Owen and I had time for another bike ride, a couple of video games and he helped me pack up the van. Those boys absolutely stole my heart and it was with a bit of sadness that we said goodbye and were on our way. (Cute Owen story: He had worn his socks out to the van and they got wet and dirty. He took them off in the van and said to me, "You can have these to remember me by.")
We headed from the heartland of Illinois back out to the Mighty Mississippi towards the Northern Illinois town of Galena. This quaint town is one of the more bustling hamlets on the Mississippi. We spent a couple of hours walking around town and doing a lot of window shopping.
We are definitely in the Northern section of the Mississippi River now and as we entered Wisconsin the GRR takes us up and over dramatic rolling hills and alongside neat and tidy farms. Often times the road is now high up on a bluff rather than alongside the river. We came upon one rather worn out little town, Dickeyville, that had a pretty strange roadside attraction. It was called The Grotto and can best be described as a shrine made up of everything under the sun (sea shells, pottery, quartz, glass, coal, and any brightly colored object) and was an homage to all things religious and patriotic. It was a created by a Catholic Priest in the early 20th century and today is watched over by the local church. Yeah, try to imagine saints and the Virgin Mary alongside Lincoln, Washington, Christopher Columbus and an eagle all hobbled together by cast off objects. I'll include a picture, but trust me it doesn't do justice to the absolute tackiness of it all.
As we drove along, signs now entice the traveler with cheese, sausage and beer rather than BBQ or catfish. At one point we rounded a corner and saw a group of old brick and rock buildings with a two story size can of beer in its midst. It was a brewery founded in the mid 1880's by German immigrants that had closed down in the 1960's but was now revitalized. Ahh...how could one resist? It was in the middle of a lazy afternoon on a summer day and Ned looked at me and said, "I think it's time for a beer." We spent a good hour walking through the museum, learning about the area, people and beer making history of the Potosi Brewing Company. We finally settled in for a nice cold one (Dopplebock-a dark beer). It was pretty good, but Cello Chocolate Stout at Ol' Republic is still better - call me prejudiced.
We pulled into our campsite late afternoon and were immediately struck with how peaceful, wooded and beautiful this little spot is. I was exhausted from my playdates with the boys and settled down to a nice nap. When we woke up we rode our bikes around exploring the campground. The view from the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi is spectacular. The river looks like a large placid mountain lake. Everyone assumes the mosquitos or bugs were a problem in the South. Not at all! We hardly noticed them and it certainly didn't effect any of our activities. Well, not so much the case here in Wisconsin! The temperature is quite pleasant (mid 70's to low 80's) but the bugs are overwhelming. We're not able to sit outside and even riding our bikes the insects swarmed us. I always heard that this part of the country had two seasons - winter and bug season - and now I know what they are talking about!