Mystery Cave is an experience! This cave has been in the works for millions of years and has so…read moremany interesting stories around it. The tour is an hour long with a knowledgeable tour guide that shares info along the route and takes questions at every stop. This is a must see!

What an experience! We did the 4 hour Mystery Cave wild cave tour (the longer 4 hour one). Mystery…read moreCave is not only a super cool place to see (being 450 million years old, having fossils, being rather "untouched", etc) but the tour itself was amazing. Jake was a friendly, knowledgable, and engaging tour guide. He was very willing to answer questions (and I had a lot) and had lots of knowledge to share. His genuine interest and energy, along with the cool-ness of Mystery Cave made this unforgettable experience. If you're physically able (and do read the disclaimers/etc on the website), I highly recommend doing the wild caving tour!

The Phillips Ridge is so high that a century ago, horses could not carry dairy products from the…read morecreamery in Mindoro to the rail head in West Salem over the ridge. La Crosse County contracted to dig a cut through the ridge, beginning in 1907. The cut was dug with hand tools and dynamite, rubble was hauled down the ridge by men using wheelbarrows on uneven planks. They were paid $1.25 per day and many walked off the job after one day. When completed in 1908, the cut was 74' deep, 25' wide and 86' long. Guard rails went up in 1920 and it hasn't changed since. (Except for additions by local artisans over the years, professing undying teenage love and various other messages.) It was the second deepest hand-hewn cut in the Western Hemisphere and may be the last one still in use without modern improvements. The winding 7% grade going up the ridge with hidden vistas and hairpin turns coupled with driving through the cut and back down again makes the Mindoro Cut a popular destination for motorcyclists, sports car enthusiasts and old car nuts from around the world.

Don't blink...you'll drive right past it. There is a small area to park, just careful pulling out.read more

This place is so interesting and it is HUGE. Be prepared to spend a lot of time here. Some areas…read moreare very hot/humid. I do not deal well with heat so I did have to move thru some areas faster than I would have liked. They do have a cafe half way thru so you can have some food and drinks. I did not stop here but it did smell wonderful. There's many things to see and everything is really cool and unique. The house and infinity room are impressive as well as the HUGE whale but all of Alex's inventions and collections are amazing as well. Honestly, the whole reason why I wanted to come was the world's largest indoor carousel. It is beautiful. I definitely sat there for awhile watching it. Side note on the Carousel, they have no horses but they do have a bulldog and as a owner of a bulldog, I literally bought everything in the gift shop that had a bulldog on it. Till this day, they are still uncovering more items in storage lockers so they probably will continue to add more items. I do think this place is worth the price and it is something you won't find anywhere else. I would love to check this place out again and I do highly recommend it. Also, the gift shop is big and had a lot of different items for everyone.

Immense. Eclectic. Eccentric. Quirky. Bursting. There's not an exact adjective to describe this…read moreplace. You have to go and find out. There's 3 parts. We took part 1 and 2 and it took us 3 hours of walking and perusing and ended up at carousel. Part 3 is another story. If you have hard time walking or claustrophobic, do only part 1. If you want to go all out on "wait wtf is this?!" Go ahead and do 2/3.

I have been looking for a waterfall that doesn't require any hiking and voila this is what I found…read more We went to this place on the way to Galena it is called Thunder Bay waterfalls you just park walk a little bit and the Falls is there they even have a selfie station or a ledge that you can put your phone in and just take your selfies it's a pretty nice place to stop at for a few minutes and just take pictures. Happy sighting!

I really enjoyed this place. Its a great pit stop on your way to and from Galena. There is zero…read morewalking required to get to it. You can see it as you park your car. There's a place to place your phone, and use your timer for a group photo shot.

An excellent showcase of Frank Lloyd Wright's talent and abilities. While the school is not…read moreparticularly large, it is consistently interesting in its vision and style and therefore can give you a great deal to think about. His use of broken symmetry, contrast in elements, infusion of Asian art, and references to his family abounds here. Archetypal organic architecture indeed. Remarkably the school still functions as a school for architecture students summering from Taliesen West. The gallery showcases many of his great designs, and the theater is a lovely place to visit. Sadly the main curtain from said theater is not on site at the moment. It is currently on loan to the Guggenheim. But if you are in Manhattan, right now, you can see that! Go check out his work -- he was quite the genius.

Villa Louis is a great historic visit when in Prarie du Chien. Home to the wealthy fur trading…read moreDousman family from the 1800's until 1913, it's a fascinating tour and site. Stop by the raised (flood proof) Visitor Center for tickets, memorabilia, restrooms, AC, and wait underneath for your tour guide who dresses in period costume. The tour is enjoyable, informative, and tour guide tried to answer as many questions as our group had. The grounds are spectacular, and after our house tour, we were able to wander the grounds too. Pick up the Visitor Guide, which has explanations of each building, and the site's importance as a Fort during the War of 1812, the ups and downs of the Dousman family, and more. Highly recommended.

The tour guide did a great job explaining things and answered any questions that our group had…read more There were a couple of things that she did not know and apologized saying that she did not have the answer. I always appreciate when the guides are honest about that rather than making up some BS.

The tower itself is a bit uneventful, it's tall (120 feet), and it's a piece of history (built in…read more1856). The tower is a registered historical landmark. It is kind of neat how the tower was used in shot production... "Lead was melted at the base of the tower, hoisted to the top, poured through screens of different gauges, tumbling smoothly round as it fell into the water vats below. The shot was then sorted and packed. When completed, the tower could produce between 6 to 8 tons daily" Even if the tower really isn't your thing the nearby Mississippi riverwalk is really nice with several nearby lookout points... Hungry or thirsty when you're over by the George W. Rogers Company Shot Tower...? If you have time definitely check out the nearby winery and brewing company. https://www.cityofdubuque.org/712/Shot-Tower

Very cool part of Dubuques history. This along with its…read moremines of Spain park is always and great walk in the evening . This tower is close proximity to Dubuques River walk . So many great things to see in Dubuque .

This museum has long been on my bucket list My friend referred to it as Valhalla and for a…read morehandweaver it certainly is. The Norwegian immigrants brought with them a rich textile, painting and woodworking tradition and you can clearly see this in not only the artifacts but also the current folk art school. It's certainly a place to return again and again. Considering how close it is to travel here we will be back.

If you're a Norskie, you owe it yourself to visit this beautiful museum in Decorah, IA. Three…read morefloors full of exhibits of well-preserved treasures offer you a glimpse of what life was like in the late 1800's to early 1900's Norway and America. There are also outdoor exhibits to enjoy as well. The museum really does a fine job of explaining what it was like for the early Norwegian immigrants to pack up everything, which sometimes wasn't much, and sailing across the Atlantic to claim their destiny in America. There are large trunks that held their old-world possessions. Beautiful plates covered in rosemaling. Clothing, tools, eating utensils, etc. There is so much to see here, I cannot fully explain it all. You have to see it to believe it. I am already making plans to visit again, to see what I may have missed, especially the outdoor exhibits.