Day Trip to Effigy Mounds National Monument

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Ah, spring! The forecast looked promising, not too hot, not too cold, no snow or rain. The perfect day to take a drive south of the border to Iowa. It's about a three hour drive from the southern metro to Effigy Mounds National Monument in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. I went with my pal, TB2, my usual accomplice on these road trips (our last trip was an excursion to South Dakota in October). Normally we try to find those little roadside treasures, like oversized sculptured animals or balls of twine. There wasn't a lot on the way down, so having left around 8:15, we arrived about 11:30 or so at the park. The park is free to enter, and under normal conditions has a visitor center/museum. There are two parts to the park, but we focused on the northern section. The hike begins with a 350 foot ascent, which felt like 1,000 feet, but we have been less active than we would like, and that's our story. The views of the Mississippi River are really stunning. You can almost imagine the Hopewell Indians living on these heights, looking out, hunting, foraging, fishing in the river. 


It is hard to photograph the mounds and really capture what they represent (a large bear, a small bear, etc.) but it's still interesting and beautiful. There are benches along the paths and near the view points; we met quite a few hikers, but nothing overwhelming or approaching a crowd. We heard a couple of woodpeckers and saw two snakes and a couple of eagles (on the ride out of the park).







The path we took was a little over 4 miles; going down was tough on the knees. We considered rolling downhill and let gravity do it's thing, but the possibility of being punctured by a tree branch put the kabosh on that brilliant idea.

On the way home we went via the Wisconsin side of the river, towards La Crosse and did find a couple little treasures.




Pinky the Elephant in Marquette, Iowa, in the parking lot of the Lady Luck Casino. Be careful getting in and out of the parking lot, the streets at odd angles combined with the railroad tracks are a little wonky.

Years ago, I went to the Heilemann Brewery in La Crosse, WI; it has since changed owners and names, and now the world's largest six pack is kind of a blah gray and white, instead of the blue and red of yesteryear. You used to be able to take a tour, but we didn't really look into that as an option.


We continued home, along the Mississippi, through Winona (stopped for an early dinner at El Patron Mexican Grill - very good), Wabasha (along Lake Pepin) and Red Wing, and then home by 7:30. It wasn't one of our more wacky adventures, but we got in a great hike, great weather, and all really for two tanks of gas and the cost of dinner. If you're in the Wisconsin-Iowa-Minnesota area and you're looking for an inexpensive day trip (you could make a weekend of it and also stop by the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, or even hit Niagara Cave in Harmony, MN), I heartily recommend making plans.

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