Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santiago Calatrava

The wingspan of the sunshield atop the Milwaukee Art Museum is six feet longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747-400.

Milwaukee Art Museum
 
 

Great River Road: Taking on the 'Mighty Miss'

by Pat Dillon

Every woman should at least once take on the Mighty Miss. This is a girls’ weekend that abandons all notions of the spa-pampering getaway. You don’t need candles and massage oils to weave your way west to the Mississippi River where the wildlife naturally calms the senses and the water’s current reminds you of who’s really the boss. And for couples who crave to click off their Blackberry devices to give needed undivided attention, if the landscape doesn’t ground then, the frequent cell phone black-outs will.

This trip is in a travel league all its own, by land or by sea. To navigate the river by water, you have to seriously know your wing dams from your lock and dams, and have the water craft and patience to keep you afloat. It can be done. But to take on the 40 mile stretch of Hwy 35 between Fountain City and Stockholm, you only need to know what town’s up ahead and what you’ll find once you get there – and even that’s not a must.

With my husband’s family in Alma, at Lock and Dam 4, I’ve done it both ways scores of times and the common thread is always the scenic miles that string these largely artisan-enriched river communities together - a veritable View Master of wildlife: the undaunted Great Blue Heron guarding the backwater shoreline, the undulating pelican dipping and tucking for the original sushi lunch, the migrating Tundra swan fueling up at the same river-side park autumn after autumn, the soaring bald eagle confidently circling the tip of an island’s tall stand of trees as if his only predator in life is the river herself. And the bluffs, nature’s look-out tower, top off the panorama as they call out for photo opportunities from their sensational cliff-side views. And with the artists flocking to live in this plein air painting come-to-life, the shopping is as locally made as the landscape.

Where to Start

 Fountain City, 38 miles north of La Crosse, is the oldest river town in Buffalo County. It’s a good anchor for navigating the pack of historic villages along the way up – two and three level terraced streets stacked along the river valley hillsides. With other towns along the river, Fountain City has only been made sweeter over the years by savvy local lodge-owners and restaurateurs who know that the only thing better than quality hospitality is when it’s served up with a Mississippi River view. It’s small and slow but as quaint as a river town gets with a Main Street that hosts notable artists – some well schooled like Leo Smith’s nationally recognized wood carvings that depict life along the river; or outsider folk artists like Herman Rusch whose currently Kohler-owned concrete sculptures at Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden and Museum, five miles north of Fountain City, are the testament to his belief that ‘a guy should leave a few tracks’.

Fountain City is also home to Eagle Bluff, the highest point on the Upper Mississippi, and the Rock in the House, a natural disaster that ended up one of the kitschiest (and lucrative) riverside tourist attractions in the area. And The Monarch Tavern is home to Fountain City Brewing Company with a historic past and features a traditional Irish menu. It is also a great spot for a burger and to interact with some very friendly river road locals.

Where to Stay

The wooded Hawks View Cottages were built on a Fountain City bluff, a hillside drive straight up. Some can be a hike to access, but each cottage overlooks the river and has a bird’s eye view of the hustling wildlife and deceptively pokey barge activity that defines it. Anchor there and the rest of Hwy 35 is open for exploration, starting with Alma just 20 minutes up the road and ending as far north as you care to travel in a day.

Here’s a short list guide, but there’s much more to explore along Wisconsin's Great River Road:

Alma
Eat at Pier 4 for a local short order breakfast or Kate and Gracie’s for upscale lunch or dinner. But for a real adventure take the ferry to the Great Alma Fishing Float and have breakfast with the local guys who had their poles in the water before you were up. Shop at The Commercial for top-notch local and regional art - the shop is in itself a work of art. Up the street is Alma Leather, a family-owned business selling quality leather goods made on-site.
 
Nelson
Buy Wisconsin-made dairy products at Nelson Cheese Factory and shop for Amish Furniture. But Nelson is also the gateway to the Tiffany Bottoms Wildlife Area.

Pepin
Eat the popular Harbor View Café, then saunter the streets loaded with artisan shops and metal-smith galleries. This is also the birthplace of Little House on the Prairie author, Laura Ingles Wilder.

Stockholm
Eat at the Bogus Creek Café and Bakery before or after exploring the many artisan shops that define this riverside town, like the Abode Gallery for regional representation and the Green Gables of Stockholm, a charming and eclectic collection of antiques, art and home furnishings.