Vacation to Prairie Du Chien and Northeast Iowa

We recently experienced the beauty of the Mississippi River as we vacationed in Prairie Du Chien and toured neighboring areas in Iowa.

One of the first things we did was to visit Effigy Mounds National Monument. The monument contains 2,526 acres with 206 mounds of which 31 are animal effigies ( shapes of animals).



Effigy Mound ( conical) at Harper's Ferry Iowa

 The area is sacred because the mounds contain the bones of the Native Americans who were buried there. There are many different shaped mounds: conical, linear, compound and the animal effigies.

The views at Pike's Peak State Park were incredible. This state park is located on the highest bluff of the Mississippi River. It is interesting to note that Zebulon Pike actually discovered this area before the more famous Pike's Peak in Colorado. 

Pike's Peak State Park, McGregor Iowa

We had been wanting to tour the Mississippi River for quite some time and got our chance on this vacation. We took the Mississippi River Explorer Wildlife Cruise and got to see the "off the beaten path" areas along the Mississippi. We saw Bald Eagles, beaver lodges, muskrat areas, turtles and awesome beauty.

Mississippi River Explorer Cruise, St Feriole Island

Our captain and first mate had made many trips down the river and were a wealth of knowledge of the history of the river and surrounding areas.

View from our boat

We also visited the estate of one of Wisconsin's most prosperous families. The Villa Louis was the country home of the Dousman family. Hercules Dousman grew up on Mackinac Island and became wealthy due to his experience with fur trading and later lumber and railroads. His son, Louis, led the re-building of the residence in 1872.

12 foot entry doors at Villa Louis

The villa did not allow inside pictures to be taken, but each room had beautiful hand painted wall paper, 10 foot book cases and wardrobes, electric and oil lighting, bronze busts of the owners, and a table setting that included 5 glasses for each person: a  water glass, white and red wine glass, a cordial glass, and some other beverage glass.

Front gate at Villa Louis

The villa is now owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society and guided tours are given daily.

The rich history of the area was captured at Fort Crawford at Prairie Du Chien. The Fort was built in 1816 and was one of five forts stretching from Rock Island to Green Bay. The purpose of the fort was to project a presence and power of the United States to the Native American residents to maintain order on the frontier.

Fort Crawford Hospital, Prairie Du Chien

The hospital wing of the fort is all that is left and was restored in the 1930s. This museum offered a glimpse into life where operations without anesthesia was common, and medical instruments were somewhat crude by today's standards.

Transparent Twins exhibit ( each body part highlights during narration)

We also tried our hand at gambling at the Lady Luck Riverboat Casino. This was a unique experience as we had to walk through a long walkway to reach the casino on the river. We played a few penny machines and won a bit!

Lady Luck Riverboat Casino, Marquette Iowa

Of course, we ate at some fun restaurants, shopped the down towns in some of the neighboring communities, did a wine tasting at a local winery and antiqued! We had a great time.