Fun: let’s face it, in Wisconsin Feb 14 falls in winter. There is no hint of spring in the air. It’s cold and almost always snowy. We have some favorite winter fun activities that make Southwest Wisconsin the perfect destination. We bring our snowshoes and will spend a couple of hours per day out on a snow blanketed forest trail. The landscape is white and the sounds are muted. The sight of a few cardinals or blue jays in a winter setting is striking. While we’re out getting healthy we will take in some wonderful scenic views. Snowshoeing at Effigy Mounds National Monument (IA) or at Wyalusing State Park (WI) will offer views from 400 ft high ridgetops that overlook the frozen Mississippi River. Winter is a great time for viewing bald eagles, and the Upper Mississippi always holds a large number of these majestic birds. Finally we’ll try to squeeze in a visit to the Amish community near Cashton (WI). Seeing old world craftsmen in action and children sledding on the hills certainly has a romantic, nostalgic feel.

Food: this is not a place of fancy restaurants, but it is a place for great food. Some of our favorite dinner places include the Old Town Inn in Westby (WI), Optimo Cafe in Viroqua (WI), and Old Man River in McGregor (IA). Couple a great dinner with a wonderful B&B breakfast and you will find yourself skipping lunch. Or ask the innkeepers for a couple of scones and an apple to eat on the snowshoe trails.

Romance: you’ve had your exercise and a great dinner. Now you can return to your B&B, turn on the fireplace, and soak in a roomy whirlpool tub. Put on a comfy robe and enjoy an evening glass of wine and perhaps some chocolate. Sorry, but we must stop here because this is a family blog.

Hope this gives you a Valentine getaway inspiration.

Only four hours northwest of Chicago lies a rural landscape full of scenic beauty. There lies the Driftless Area, a ruggedly sculpted land that is home to an increasing number of organic farms, artists, and nature enthusiasts. The Kickapoo River Valley lies at the heart of the Driftless Area. The Kickapoo River winds its way for almost 120 miles as it flows southward into the Wisconsin River. These two rivers are fed by hundreds of cold water trout streams that flow alongside pastoral fields, rugged limestone bluffs, and sleepy villages having fewer than 1000 residents.

For us, this is where we want to spend most of our “alone” time. This is where nature surpasses man. This is where we can take stock of ourselves, or goals, our life plans.

Snowshoe or cross-country ski in Wildcat Mountain State Park or at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. After your invigorating time outdoors, soak in a whirlpool and sip some locally made wine at your rural B&B. Dine at the Optimo Cafe a great new bistro in Viroqua, or at Eddie’s Irish Pub in Prairie du Chien. After dinner make a cup of hot choicolate and walk a few of the B&B’s paths. Enjoy a star show more brilliant and clear than you will ever find in a city, a star show just for you. Simple, quiet, beautiful time alone.

Marie Cimino and Nora Knapik at Bramble Books.

Marie provided samples of her delicious Hot Apple Pie Dip, and Nora provided wonderful samples of gingerbread and pumpkin scones, with lemon curd and pumpkin butter.  

The latest Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast Cookbook features the most requested recipes from Wisconsin’s Unique B&B’s and Country Inns.  Pulished in late 2009, the cookbook features appetizers, soups, salads, lunch and dinner entrees, desserts, as well as delicious breakfast recipes.

Wild West Days in Viroqua

Wild West Days will feature a rodeo, cattle drive, country music concert, and a parade that features more than 100 horses. Many of the Wild West Days events take place at the county fairgrounds in Viroqua, but the music event will be held in the beautifully restored Temple Theater in downtown Viroqua.

The Crowd at Larryfest 2008

Larryfest is an exceptionally good bluegrass festival that takes place on a rural property near LaFarge, smack dab in the middle of the beautiful Kickapoo Valley. This will be the 12th annual Larryfest event, and they just keep getting better. Somehow bluegrass music and the Kickapoo Valley seem to be a perfect match.

Giddup and Dance

Over the past few years many area visitors who have attended these events have stayed at a rural B&B just south of Soldiers Grove, WI – the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com). Rooms are still available for these nights.

Here are some suggested events:

July 4: experience small town Fourth of July in LaFarge or Ontario - both small towns on the Kickapoo River; just a short distance from the Kickapoo lie Hillsboro and Westby which also have interesting July 4 celebrations.

Mississippi Cruise Tour to Effigy Mounds

July 10-12: enjoy the Eighth Annual Gospel and Bluegrass Festival in Viroqua; check out the Viroqua city website at www.viroqua-wisconsin.com.

July 11-12: The War of 1812 in Wisconsin – an interpretive living history camp at Villa Louis Historic Site in Prairie du Chien. Call 1-608-326-2721.

Stiltwalkers at the Country Fair

July 25 and 26: Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic food cooperatrive, presents the Kickapoo Country Fair at the beautiful Organic Valley headquarters building on the edge of LaFarge. Enjoy great food, music, dancing, and artisan vendors. For info go to www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo.

July 31-Aug 1: Prairie Dog Blues Festival. Regional, national, and international blues bands perform on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien. Visit www.prairiedogblues.com for info.

Viroqua Hills golf course is on Hwy 14, on the south end of Viroqua. It has 18 challenging holes spread on both sides of the highway, with a nifty tunnel taking golfers safely under the busy road. The newer holes on the east side of Hwy 14 are laid out well and will only get better with time. Call 608-637-7615 for information and tee times.

One of my favorite courses in the area is F0rrest Hills in LaCrosse 608-779-4653). This public course sits at the bottom of 600 ft high Grand Dad’s Bluff on the east side of the city. The views of the bluff from the course are spectacular.

For the very casual golfers, try Serendipity Golf Course in rural Viroqua (608-637-7708). The simple layout is perfect for new golfers or anyone who wants to work on their game in relative privacy. This is the only golf course that I know that has a class I trout stream running through the course and within 10 ft of one of the greens. 

A final recommendation would be the Prairie du Chien Country Club (608-326-6707). The public is welcome and this course, and like all of those mentioned above, features the scenery of the Driftless Area as a backdrop.

If you stay at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow, www.lonesomehollow.com, you will be centrally located to all of these courses and you can take your clubs and our range balls to our practice golf area at the back of our valley. Total privacy is afforded to those who want to work on their swing in complete privacy.

Pete