Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas
We stopped for a literal “cup of coffee” in Dubuque Iowa and came away impressed by this beautiful river walk along the Mississippi River.
A family wedding on Wisconsin brought us to the Midwest. We flew west from Boston and spent a few days in Chicago before heading to the wedding venue in Fond du Lac WI. Over the next several days, we explored parts of Wisconsin, traveled through Iowa and Kansas and stayed in Omaha, Nebraska for a couple of nights before meeting friends in Missouri.
This was our first trip to these states, and our first opportunity to explore the Midwest country side, rather than staying in the large cities. Any one of these states could be a place to explore for years, but we often only had hours to gather our impressions and experience what we found there! What follows is not our traditional of a “go see it” travelogue, filed with tips and links about what to see and do, but rather a photo essay of our experiences in the area during a late fall weekend. Enjoy!
Wisconsin
An iconic WI farm near Fond Du Lac
In keeping with our desire to stay in boutique properties, we stayed in the historic Hotel Retlaw in downtown Fond du Lac, one of many towns we learned were “founded” when French fur traders arrived to trade goods with the long time native residents.
Hotel Retlaw in Fond Du Lac
Greater Fond Du Lac
We explored the historic downtown area and the beautiful neighborhood that developed during the hey day of the railroads. We also explored the local Le Clare goat cheese farm and the High Cliffs State Park where the natural limestone cliffs dropped to Lake Winnebago.
High Cliffs State Park
Natural limestone cliffs
House on the Rock and Taliesin Spring Green
We found an interesting contrast in architecture in Spring Green- Taliesin, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece sits just up the road from House on the Rock, a folly of architecture designed by Alex Johnson, an heir with lots of time and money, but no formal training. We had been gifted the Atlas Obscura, a fun book lists unusual “sights” and oddities that can be found everywhere in the world by the friend we were headed to see and House On the Rock, was listed as an attraction to see. So of course, we had to stop!
Dubuque, Iowa
We traveled from Wisconsin into Iowa and crossed the state from East to West. We stopped in Dubuque because it was listed in the Great River Road map we obtained before we left on our trip. This group collects a list of attractions along the Mississippi River in all of the abutting states.
Omaha, Nebraska
On our way to Missouri, we had been told by friends from Missouri and Nebraska that Omaha is a fun town to visit for a couple of days. We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel, another now cooperate owned boutique hotel located in the Old Market Area of Omaha. This was a convenient walk to the shops and cafes that line the brick streets of the Old Market area. We were also only a 10 minute drive from the Henry Doorly Zoo.
Kansas City and Atchison, Kansas
Lewis and Clark explored these rivers when they were settled by only Native Americans, long before there was a state line between Kansas and Missouri, but I still think Lewis might be telling Clark here, “we aren’t in Kansas anymore”
While exploring Kansas City MO, you inevitably also explore Kansas City Kansas! The GPS routed us back and forth over the Missouri River between MO and KS to avoid traffic or construction and there is even a “State Line” road where one side of the street is Missouri and the other is Kansas that we traversed several times in a day exploring and visiting friends. It gave us the opportunity to repeat the famous Wizard of Oz movie line “We aren’t in Kansas anymore” over and over to our own great hilarity! Did I mention that long road trips can also make you a little punchy?
