We said goodbye to Madison on Wednesday morning. Now our big adventure begins!
What a beautiful day! We've had a blue sky and warm breezes all day long. Wonderful.
Our destination today was Iowa City, with stops on the way in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and in Dubuque, Iowa.
Our first stop was Governor Dodge State Park. We went straight to Stephens Falls, and the remains of the Stephens family farm.
Marie Therese and Anne Marie climbed down the steps to the base of the waterfall.
After more walks in the park, we went into town to the Quality Bakery, where we purchased hot pasties to go.
We managed to avoid getting any of their sweets.
The bakery's front window is filled with Easter treats.
Et a tous Joyeuses Paques ! Pendant ce temps nous traverserons le Mississipi en route vers le grand Ouest!
We took our pasties to the county courthouse where we found a few picnic tables outside in the sunshine. Perfect!
A pasty is something like an empanada — pastry dough wrapped around meat and potatoes. They taste good but they are very greasy! Pasties are a traditional food in this part of Wisconsin. Miners and stonecutters from Cornwall, England, came to southwestern Wisconsin in the 1830s. The men took their lunch to work in this way, so they wouldn't need a bowl or a spoon to eat their meal.
We drove on to Mineral Point, a town on the way to Dubuque. Here we saw examples of the kinds of houses built in the mid-19th century by the stonecutters from England.
For more information about the history of Mineral Point, you can look here: http://mineralpoint.com/history
Less than an hour later, we crossed the Mississippi River and found ourselves in Dubuque, Iowa. We stopped at the home of Paul Schultz and Mary Sack, my very good friends, and had a delightful time talking with them!
We continued driving for another hour and a half until we reached Iowa City. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow for Iowa City photos!
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