Aug 5, 2011 - Illinois

We looked thru the brochures for LaCrosse and it appears all they have to offer is shopping and dining with beer, so we passed and left heading southeast. We stopped at a creamery in Westby, WI hoping for a tour of cheese making, but alas no. We settled for some cheese at good prices. Did you know the cheese curds squeal when you chew them, yes they do. We continued looking around the downtown area, going thru an antique store looking for old beer signs, they were to proud of them at $150.00 plus. Stopped at a Norwegian store and the ladies...

Jun 25, 2011 - The Town That Time Forgot.......Galena, IL

From Rustic Barn Campground & RV Park – Kieler, WI Today we stepped back in time in the small town of Galena, Illinois. Organized as a town in 1826 and given the name Galena, Latin for lead sulphide found in the area. Today it has a mere population of 3,600 but in the mid-19th century amid the lead mining rush and being a major commercial port on the Mississippi River with a large steamboat industry Galena became the social and cultural capital of the Upper Mississippi basin. In 1840 while Chicago was still a mean collection of tents in a...

Jun 26, 2010 - A Visit to Grant's Home in Galena

We took a little trip to Galena, Illinois today. It is quite the tourist town these days as there are lots of B & B's and motels. The main street is full of shops and restaurants. The 19th century buildings and homes are very well preserved. We were not interested in shopping and so we went to Ulysses S. Grant's home. It was given to him when he returned after the Civil War by some prominent businessmen in town. That was a nice reward for what he had accomplished as a general during the war. It was from this house that he ran for President...

Oct 11, 2008 - Galena,IL / Dubuque,IA

We stayed 2 nights in the Palace Campground on the out-skirts of Galena. We took a narrated Trolly tour of the historic town and ate lunch at DeSoto House Hotel, the oldest operating hotel in Illinois. This 5 story hotel was the largest and most luxurious hotel in the West in 1855. Galena's Post Office is also the oldest continually owned and operated Post Office in America. We crossed the river into Dubuque, Iowa for a tour of the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium and then dinner and narrated 2 & a half hour cruise up the...

May 11, 2008 - Towards Chicago

From Wyalusing State Park in southern Wisconsin to northern Chicago where our friends Jim & Sally live is only about 5 hrs drive but since they are just returning from Arizona we needed to spread it our over 2 days in order not to arrive before they did. Although we joked about getting there before them and setting up camp in their driveway. Fortunately there was one fabulous place to spend some time – Galena, Illinois. Named after the mineral galena ( a lead ore), Galena at one time had 10,000 people and was a real booming river city with...

Jul 8, 2007 - Galena, Illinois

From Pike's Peak State Park, near McGregor, in the NE corner of Iowa. The last 2-3 days at Thomson were mostly spent just enjoying the breeze blowing off of the river, chatting with our neighbors, reading, working crosswords & Sudoku, etc. We did go into Clinton on Friday for a hair day, at....you guessed it, WalMart. Hair care (my cutting, Vicki's "treatment"..wink, wink) was one issue about which we had some trepidation as we contemplated hitting the road. We are not that vain, but we both are a little bit picky about our hair. Kelly had...

Apr 20, 2007 - Galena, Illinois

Galena is in the northwest corner of Illinois. Thanks to its sheltered location just a few miles up the Galena River, it was a major port of call for Mississippi River steamboats. Today its gentle crescent Main Street has many shops. It is an attractive river town which we enjoyed walking around and of course doing a little shopping. It was also the home town of Ulysses Simpson Grant.