My wife and I drove down to Viroqua, Wisconsin to attend a wedding. Today’s main event was a tour of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. The southwestern corner of the state was never glaciated so has hilly terrain unlike much of the rest of the upper Midwest that was scraped flat by glaciers. Most of the day was a bus tour on a laid back bus driven by a guy who looked like a cross between a cowboy and an ex-hippie. None too surprising in the the Driftless Area attracts all kinds. The coop movement is strong here, Waldorf families, and Amish farmers all add to the mix.
We stopped at a nature preserve for some cheese and homemade wine. (The bride holding the wine, my wife in the background.)
And a natural spring to drink water bubbling out of the hillside (duh, didn’t take a pic).
Then off to Driftless Brewery in the town of Soldiers Grove.
I had the yummy milk stout, my wife a fine IPA.
They’re really into local sourcing and cooperative efforts with regional businesses and farmers. Their brewhouse is in one of the earliest solar villages, with a bunch of nearby buildings all having had passive solar units installed in the 1970’s. We got to go into the brew room and hear the brewmaster talk about his craft.
Tomorrow I get explore the town of Viroqua on foot.
