jim wrote:The southwest corner of the state is imo the most beautiful. A land untouched by glaciers, the geology of the area is one of the most interesting in the world. If you hunt hard enough you can still find fossils from sea creatures, this was once a shallow warm water ocean and the lack of glacier activity has left the land in tact. The hills are as dramatic and unusual as I have seen anywhere - they use the term "hidden valley" alot and it's a fitting description. As you drive on the ridge tops, the land looks fairly flat because the hills are so steep, the valleys so narrow (almost crevices) that you can't see them. You drive for a few miles and there is no sign of something dramatic coming up except a warning sign of an impending 10% grade, and then woosh - down you go. You lose 400 feet of elevation in a minute, your ears pop, and you look around you and the hills are enormous. Where did they come from? You climb out shortly, get on the ridge top, look around and wonder where it all went and then another dive into yet another hidden valley greets up. At the bottom of these valleys runs spring fed creeks, enriched with limestone that allows a high alkalinity which means weeds and bugs - a good biomass. The 48-50 degree spring water (which is drinkable by the way if you get it right at it's source), keeps the streams cold in the summer and warm in the winter - perfect trout water. This time yesterday, in July, I was standing in 60 degree water catching rising brown trout on a dry fly up to 14" in the most serene and peaceful setting you can imagine. Not a fisherman in site, just me and the birds and the fish. I felt like I was encroaching on their secret world, like I shouldn't be there.
I love SW Wisconsin, but really the entire tri-state area of Illinois/Iowa/Wisconsin is great. I've been all over Wisconsin (Door County, Wolf River, NW part, etc) but that area around Dubuque/Galena and North of there is still my favorite for some reason. The Galena area is one of a handful of naturally scenic places in Illinois worth seeing.
Door County is beautiful but parts of it are a bit Chicago-ized with the resorts and golf courses. It can get absolutely packed there at peak times. I guess I prefer going more off the beaten path when I am going for natural scenery, but it was worth seeing.
If you haven't been there yet, go to the McGroegor, Iowa / Prairie Du Chien, WI area. It's where the Wisconsin River joins the Mississippi River. Pike's Peak State Park in Iowa overlooks that junction of the two rivers. I try to go up there for the Fall colors every year. The drive from Dubuque along the river to get there is full of great views, too. When I get home tonight, I'll post some photos.
This may sound over the top, but we hit some road construction about 45 minutes North of Dubuque once, and we went exploring backroads. We got lost for a bit and ended up on some gravel roads in an extremely hilly area. The only other place I'd seen that type of terrain was on some of the roads we drove on in Southern Germany near the Black Forest (only difference is that you won't find any gravel roads left in Germany). And Jim there is a brew pub in McGregor, so you'd be all set.
