The weekend of June 18-20 will be a busy one in Southwest Wisconsin. Four great events are scheduled. (more…)

During the winter months eagles congregate along the unfrozen portions of the Upper Mississippi River. The stretch of river from La Crosse, WI south to Priarie du Chien, WI always has a high concentration of  these majestic birds. After hitting a population low in early 1970’s the eagle population is once again healthy, and the eagle was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007. Wisconsin now has more than 1000 pairs of nesting eagles, and more than 200 of those nest in the Upper Mississippi Valley.  

Eagle soars over the Mississippi

Many winter guests at our rural bed and breakfast, the Inn at Lonesome Hollow, take the short drive to the big river to view the symbol of our nation. The most spectacular viewing occurs when most of the Mississippi is frozen, and only small areas (often downstream of dams) remain open. The eagles gather in these spots because they can enjoy fine winter fishing. Often one can view eagles soaring, eagles perched in trees, eagles sitting on nearby ice dining on their catch, even eagles swooping down on the water to grab lunch - all in one spot of the river. 

There are a couple of local events that provide the opportunity to view the eagles along with programs, exhibits, and even winter hiking. In Prairie du Chien their Bald Eagle Appreciation Day is scheduled for February 27, 2010 and will be held at the regional tourism center at the Hwy 18 bridge entrance. Bird experts will be there to help inform the public about eagle behavior. Another eagle event, Cassville’s Bald Eagle Days will be held on Januray 30/31, 2010. Cassville is located about 30 miles south of Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi River. 

Pete and Nora

The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is located in the heart of southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. The Reserve offers more than 8000 acres of rugged landscape, a succession of ridges and valleys that predate the last ice age. If you are anywhere near LaCrosse, Wisconsin on January 9, 2010 take the time to drive the 30-40 minutes southeast into the Kickapoo Reserve. The 2010 Kickapoo Reserve Winter Festival includes chain saw scuplture demonstrations, guided ice cave tours, a birds of prey demonstration, horse-drawn wagon and bobsled rides, chili and bread contests, and a candlelight hike & ski.

The Kickapoo Reserve encompasses about a 20 mile section of Wisconsin’s “crookedest” river, the Kickapoo River. You will find the Reserve’s landscapes to be natural, dramatic, and near pristine. More than 20 miles of hiking and cross country ski trails are offered. The Reserve has a wonderful Visitor’s Center that relates much of the history of the Kickapoo Valley, including the failed La Farge dam project.

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow, www.lonesomehollow.com, offers super lodging options (whirlpools, fireplaces, hearty breakfasts) just 30 minutes south of the Reserve. Lonesome Hollow itself offers four miles of private trails through 160 mostly wooded acres. The Reserve and Lonesome Hollow currently both enjoy a solid snow cover (10-14 inches) and more snow along with cold temps are predicted for the week of December 21.

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow

Why be a couch potato in winter when you have great recreation at your doorstep!

When you are able to get away for longer than a weekend, we can recommend several great day trips for guests at our Southern Wisconsin bed and breakfast. It is lovely to have the time to take advantage of our 160 acres of extremely private land. Long walks through the forests, especially at this time of year, will invigorate your senses and give you a new outlook on life. When you feel fully refreshed, consider a day trip down to Prairie du Chien, along the Mississippi River.

The taste of fall is biting into a crisp, freshly picked apple.

There are several interesting upcoming events in and near Prairie du Chien. The weekend of October 3rd and 4th you may choose to spend some time at Effigy Mounds National Monument, partaking in the Hawk Watch and benefiting from one of the best spots to view the fall migration in the state. Or you may head over to the Shihata Orchard Fest, just north of Prairie du Chien, for some apple picking, apple cider, and a pumpkin patch. If cruises are more your cup of tea, look into the Fall Foliage Cruises aboard the Mississippi Explorer Cruises. They depart every Saturday and Sunday in October at noon from the St. Feriole Island river front in Prairie du Chien.

There is a lovely circular route to and from our bed and breakfast Wisconsin and Prairie du Chien. One route takes you along the Mississippi River, and the other through lovely rural Southern Wisconsin. We are currently running a fall special to help entice you to extend your stay. See you soon!

Labor Day weekend offers several interesting activities in Southwest Wisconsin. All of these are within an hour’s drive of the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com), a beautiful, rural B&B located near Soldiers Grove and Gays Mills, Wisconsin.

Effigy Mounds

On September 4 and 5 take a Mississippi River cruise and enjoy two or four hours of folk, blues, and bluegrass music, or explore a relatively unvisited part of Effigy Mounds National Monument to view and hear about the Native American burial mounds. Call Mississippi Explorer Cruises at 877-647-7397 for full information.

On Sept 4-7 spend some time at the Hillsboro Firemen’s 55th Annual Labor Day Celebration. Activities include a farmer’s market, tractor pull, carnival, and the largest Labor Day parade in Vernon County.

On Sept 7, step into the world of Wisconsin Amish at a fantastic live auction in the Cashton Settlement. Amish produce, furniture, quilts, and much more will be available for bidding. The auction site is at S347 Dell Road, just a few miles southeast of Cashton. Phone 608-654-7880 for more information. 

Haying in Amish Country

We have attended the Amish auction several times and have purchased some beautiful quilts at bargain prices.

Pete and Nora, Inn at Lonesome Hollow

The weekend of August 14-16, 2009 will be very special in the Kickapoo Valley of Southwest Wisconsin.  Two great events are scheduled: Wild West Days in Viroqua and Larryfest in LaFarge.

Wild West Days in Viroqua

Wild West Days will feature a rodeo, cattle drive, country music concert, and a parade that features more than 100 horses. Many of the Wild West Days events take place at the county fairgrounds in Viroqua, but the music event will be held in the beautifully restored Temple Theater in downtown Viroqua.   

The Crowd at Larryfest 2008

Larryfest is an exceptionally good bluegrass festival that takes place on a rural property near LaFarge, smack dab in the middle of the beautiful Kickapoo Valley. This will be the 12th annual Larryfest event, and they just keep getting better. Somehow bluegrass music and the Kickapoo Valley seem to be a perfect match.

Giddup and Dance

Over the past few years many area visitors who have attended these events have stayed at a rural B&B just south of Soldiers Grove, WI – the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com). Rooms are still available for these nights.

One of the largest Wisconsin Amish settlements is located in the southwest corner of the state – between the city of Cashton and the village of Ontario. This settlement in in the heart of the Driftless Area and the landscape is one of successive ridges and valleys that break the useable farmland into small parcels that are not well suited to modern, large-scale farming, but are perfect for the traditional Amish farming that uses horsepower from real horses. We recently drove through the Cashton Amish area during late June, perfect timing to see the Amish mowing hay, pitching it into one huge mound on a horse drawn wagon, then driving that wagon down a local road toward their barn. To see this old fashioned farm work is to step back 100 years in time. Much of it seems to be a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

Amish gentleman hid from camera

The Cashton settlement also offer many skilled craftsmen and craftswomen producing very high quality furniture, baskets, quilts, candy and much more. There are a couple of non-Amish opoerated consignments shops in or near Cashton that offer the products of many of the local Amish. You can also pick up a map of the settlement and make direct visits to the workshops of the individual Amish families.

Amish Goods

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow  is a nearby Bed and Breakfast that can provide area visitors with information about the Amish. Most of the bedrooms furniture at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow was made by Amish furniture makers in Cashton. Amish quilts are on many of the beds.

Room at Inn at Lonesome Hollow

Especially interesting is the Cashton settlement live Amish auction which takes place each Labor Day. Furniture, quilts, hand-made toys, and Amish produce are all auctioned in a 4-6 hr long event that will give a visitor the feel of having Amish neighbors and friends. We hope that many who read this will be intrigued and will tour the beautiful Amish area around Cashton and attend this great Amish auction.

Nora and Pete

If you are in the general area of Southwest Wisconsin this July, check out some fun local events that will take place. The southwest corner of Wisconsin is very rural in character and very rugged in landscape. The Driftless Area is best expressed and best enjoyed in the “Coulee Region” – the area from LaCrosse south to Prairie du Chien and from the Mississippi River east to Baraboo. The land is a constant series of 300 to 600 foot high, wooded hills that rise from picturesque valleys. It is an area of small villages, abundant trout streams, and diverse cultural heritage.

Here are some suggested events:

July 4: experience small town Fourth of July in LaFarge or Ontario - both small towns on the Kickapoo River; just a short distance from the Kickapoo lie Hillsboro and Westby which also have interesting July 4 celebrations.

Mississippi Cruise Tour to Effigy Mounds

July 4: board the Mississippi Explorer Cruise boat for a five hour Mississippi River cruise guided by a ranger from Effigy Mounds National Monument. Call 1-877-647-7397 for information.

July 10-12: enjoy the Eighth Annual Gospel and Bluegrass Festival in Viroqua; check out the Viroqua city website at www.viroqua-wisconsin.com.

July 11-12: The War of 1812 in Wisconsin – an interpretive living history camp at Villa Louis Historic Site in Prairie du Chien. Call 1-608-326-2721.

Stiltwalkers at the Country Fair

July 25 and 26: Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic food cooperatrive presents the Kickapoo Country Fair at the beautiful Organic Valley headquarters building on the edge of LaFarge. Enjoy great food, music, dancing, and artisan vendors. For info go to www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo. 

July 31-Aug 1: Prairie Dog Blues Festival. Regional, national, and international blues bands perform on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien. Visit www.prairiedogblues.com for info.

Mark your calendars for a wonderful small town Wisconsin event, the Gays Mills Spring Festival. This year’s Spring Festival runs from May 8th through 10th. Gays Mills is one of the oldest apple growing areas in Wisconsin, and Gays Mills Spring Festival often coincides with the blooming of the apple blossoms on thousands of orchard trees that surround the small community.

The Spring Festival offers a real rodeo! The Ridge and Valley rodeo will be held on May 9th and 10th and will feature bull riding, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, and team roping.

As much fun as the rodeo offers, the main focus of Spring Festival is music and dance. A square dance is scheduled for Friday at 7 pm; open stage workshops will run on Saturday; and an evening concert featuring traditional Irish music and a West African music and dance group will begin at 7:30 pm on Saturday.

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow, www.lonesomehollow.com, is located only four miles from Gays Mills and offers a range of comfortable lodging accomodations. Four miles of hiking trails and 160 acres of mostly wooded, Driftless Area hills are offered for the relaxation of Lonesome Hollow guests. 

Pond at Lonesome Hollow