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

Vernon Vineyard

The winery, the first ever in Vernon County, now offers nine different table wines and two dessert wines. These wines are a delight to drink, and are so consistently tasty that Vernon Vineyard wine is now exclusively offered to guests staying at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com), a  beautiful, rural Bed and Breakfast near Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Pete and Nora, owners at Lonesome Hollow regularly offer Vernon Vineyards Ridge Red and La Crosse White wines. They consider it a very special treat for visiting guests to relax over a glass of locally produced wine.

Tasting Room at Vernon Vineyards

If you are a wine lover, visit southwest Wisconsin to taste the product of other local wineries as well: Wegge Winery in Richland Center, Wisconsin; Spurgeon Valley Winery in Highland, Wisconsin; and Eagles Landing Winery in Marquette, Iowa. The Inn at Lonesome Hollow is centrally located to all four of these wineries, and the beautiful Driftless Area landscapes will provide rustic, scenic drives as you travel to any or all of these wineries.

photo courtesy of Len Harris

On March 7, 2009 the catch and release trout season opens in Wisconsin. For those who are not aware of the great streams in Southwest Wisconsin, you are in for a sweet surprise. Brook, brown, and rainbow trout abound in the hundreds of coldwater streams that course through the Driftless Area, most of which are found in Wisconsin. The 300 to 600 ft hills (some call them the Ocooch Mountains) create elevated water tables that literally “spring” out of the ground all over and meld together into cold water streams that flow into the Mississippi, Wisconsin, or Kickapoo rivers. If you come to the Kickapoo Valley, you will find yourself in a 1200 square mile subset of the Driftless Area that is known for its peace, seclusion, and incredible scenery.

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow, www.lonesomehollow.com, is located smack dab in the middle of the

photo courtesy of Len Harris

Kickapoo Valley. We offer B&B rooms, a cabin, and two large suites that constitute some of the best lodging available in this part of the state. When you’re not on the streams you will relax in style on 160 acres of wooded hills. We can direct you to some great restaurants, or you can grill your catch right on the cabin deck.

The pictures on this page are courtesy of Len Harris, who will be here in May with folks from the Simply Fishing TV show, filming a day of trout fishing on our local streams.