Located just 25 miles south of LaCrosse, Wisconsin along the
Mississippi River and just 3 miles north of DeSoto, the park is very
well-maintained by the Park Service and offers direct access to the river for
the many fishermen who come to the area.
There is quite a bit of history in this area, dating back to
the early 1800s, when skirmishes and battles were fought between the white man
and Winnebago Indians over land rights. For about 100 years prior Winnebago
Indians had migrated north and west across the Mississippi River to hunt,
returning in the spring to their summer homes east of the river to plant crops.
An 1831 agreement, most probably misunderstood by the Indians, had the Indians
staying west of the Mississippi allowing the white man to settle east of that great
river. In April 1832 about 1000 Indians, many of them women, children and the
elderly returned to their homes east of the river only to find them destroyed
and the land claimed by white settlers. Black Hawk, a prominent Winnebago war
leader, moved his band of about 300 warriors north to try to obtain support
from other Indian tribes in the area. Failing to obtain that much needed
support, Indian raiding parties terrified the white settlers when they went
seeking food from the settlements. With
no food, and after four months on the move, Black Hawk’s people began dying of
starvation. Needing an interpreter, and none to be had, fighting broke out
between Black Hawk’s band of warriors and the 1700 Illinois militia. Over the
course of just a few months, Black Hawk’s people were decimated: 150 shot, 150
drowned (many were women carrying young children on their backs as they tried
to cross the river), 30 taken prisoner. 300 were able to cross the river, but
were killed by Sioux who were instigated by General Henry Atkinson. Not more
than 150 survived to tell the tragic story of the Black Hawk War (The Battle of
Bad Axe).
Eleven interpretive markers indicate sites of skirmishes and
battles between Black Hawk and the militia. Sad.
We noticed that most of the campers in the park were from
Wisconsin and came often to rest, relax and fish. The upcoming weekend was the
beginning of Oktoberfest and area apple festivals so the park was filling up
gradually as the week went on. At the entrance to the park was a very eclectic
trading post where one could pick up various sundries as well as fishing
licenses, if needed.
What a beautiful Tuesday morning in Blackhawk Corps of
Engineers Park! We woke to bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s at
7:30 a.m., warming to the high 70s by afternoon. No cell or WiFi, but we did have good TV
reception. The closest WiFi was the very small library in DeSoto, Wisconsin,
population 287.
Wednesday brought dense fog off the river, until about 9:30
a.m., sometimes so thick you couldn’t see the trailer three sites from us!
After the fog lifted, the temperatures warmed nicely so we could comfortable
ride our bikes around the park: 2.2 miles through heavily forested areas and
low lying boggy areas. The Mississippi River sort of divides in this area with
small islands between the Wisconsin mainland and the main river, thus creating
small ponds in the park.
Thursday we decide to take a motorcycle ride through the
hills and farmland east of DeSoto, to Viroqua and Genoa, Wisconsin. The ride
was about 60 miles through beautiful—and huge—farms, where Guernsey and Jersey
dairy cattle and Angus beef cattle were grazing peacefully interspersed with
field after field of corn and soy beans. Halfway through our ride we stopped at
Culver's for a burger and fries, in Viroqua. As we were riding along, we passed
a huge red barn, with the words “Uff Da” painted on the side. Wish we had
stopped for a photo; we chuckled… That night we begin packing what we could for
our departure Friday, to head to Illinois and our next stop.
Friday we finished packing up and get on the road by 9:15.
We weren't definite on our departure date, and with no cell coverage, we didn't
make reservations for our next stop, which we thought would be Mill Point Park,
east of Peoria, Illinois. Once on the road, and when we did have cell service,
we called the park to reserve a spot but were told that they were totally
booked, as were all the other RV parks in the area due to a pipeline going
through the area and the sites booked by pipeline workers. Now what? We
contacted our RV clubs and were told the closest park with availability was in
Cerro Gordo, Illinois, just 15 miles east of Decatur, Illinois—but 400 miles
from where we were! Ugh!! (We like to travel no more than 300 miles at a
stretch.) The only good thing about this is that we're only 175 miles from our
next destination.
We arrived at “Tom & Carol's RV Park” in Cerro Gordo
(population 1500) at 6:15 p.m. What an eclectic park! They have just 6 sites,
with full hook-ups. Still no WiFi, but we do have cell service and TV reception.
They have a garage converted into a club house, offering laundry facilities,
games, and satellite TV. Due to their proximity to the fair grounds and high
school fields, we were “entertained” that night by loud speakers announcing
moto-cross races, the high school football game, marching bands, and fireworks.
Oh, and at least hourly all day and night long, trains go through the town
blowing their whistles. Thankfully all the noise abated—except the trains—by 10
p.m. so we were able to get to sleep without interruption. We were so tired
(especially Dick) after driving that long distance.
Saturday morning we met Cecil from Charlotte, North
Carolina, who had the site nearest us. He and his wife Grace were in the area
for his 65th class reunion. Unfortunately, we didn't meet Grace until Sunday
morning when they were heading out. What a darling couple: she does ancestry
research and creates photo notecards; he crochets. We hope to catch up with
them again down the road somewhere.
Sunday was a day of relaxation.
While I stayed around the trailer, Dick took another motorcycle ride around the
area, about 50 miles, through Amish country. We plan to visit that area on
Monday, so photos will be posted next week.
As I looked out the window this
morning before we left Cerro Gordo, this rose was right in my line of sight. How beautiful; it brought a
smile to my face, so thought I’d share it with you.
Thanks for joining us on our
trek. Next stop: Kampers Supply in Carterville, Illinois to see our good
friends Marvin and Shirley. We leave for Carterville on Tuesday morning. Here's a map of our travels since September 23.
Hugs 'n' love,
Dick and Gail
.
A. Cloquet (my mom's)
B. Blackhawk Corps of Engineers Park, DeSoto, WI
C. Cerro Gordo, IL
No comments:
Post a Comment