October 2020 – Adventures in Driftlessness

The Dickeyville Grotto

Grotto front solstice — Dickeyville, Wisconsin’s Grotto on the summer solstice.

The Midwest is blessed with a fascinating legacy of religious structures created primarily by German immigrants. . . . the real architectural gems stemming from the immigrants may be the incredible religious grottoes of the Midwest, which are considered among the most important folk or “outsider” art environments in the United States.”
Peyton Smith, Grottos of the Midwest: Religion and Patriotism in Stone

Yes, it feels strange to use the word “grotto” for structures basically built of stone mixed with concrete then embedded with sparkling glass, shells, and whatever else the builder could find, but let’s just go with it for a moment… and go to one of these grottoes. They are some of the most fascinating specimens of folk art in the area. A grotto (or cave) in this sense means the inside of a shrine, and they became popular about 100 years ago in the Midwest.

My favorite Driftless Region grotto is just off of US 151 in Dickeyville, Wisconsin, about ten miles from the bridge across the Mississippi River into Iowa. It sits on the grounds of the Holy Ghost Parish, right on the main drag in Dickeyville. Entrance to the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin is free, though donations are appreciated. As the Grotto approaches 100 years of age, it requires more than a little bit of upkeep.

Mother Mary — Inside the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin at the Dickeyville Grotto

Typically most grottoes are built around a main shrine, usually to the Virgin Mary, and this one is no different. Inside the building you see at the top, you’ll find the 25 feet tall, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep shrine… yes, it’s large, but it isn’t the size that draws most people’s attention. It is all the shiny items placed around the object of adoration.

Out from the base of the shrine, one may see several huge crystals, the largest of which is more than two feet tall!

Along with Mother Mary holding baby Jesus, you’ll find a collection of objects ranging from stalagmites that seem to be growing up from the floor at her feet, and coral, shells, rocks from around the country, and many other items. This is the handiwork of Father Matthias Wernerus, who was Pastor of the Parish from 1918 to 1931, and built the different shines from 1925-1930. Mother Mary’s shrine was finished in 1929.

Yes, that’s real petrified wood making up the Tree of Life on the back of the shrine.

Father Matthias apparently began collecting things, asked his congregation members to collect things, and before long, he even had Ford Motor Company in Detroit sending him building materials! (Henry Ford sent him those round balls that used to be on top of the Model T stick shifts. They appear most prominently in the Sacred Heart shrine behind the main church.) The church website notes that six or seven truckloads of thirty tons each came from the Dakotas, from Iowa, and from nearby Wisconsin quarries.

Behind the main shrine, you’ll find the stations of the cross, similarly decorated with shiny items ranging from rose quartz to colored glass

The brochures available at the entrance states that it is “a creation in stone, mortar, and bright colored objects” from all over the world, including “colored glass, gems, antique heirlooms of pottery or porcelain, stalagmites and stalactites, sea shells of all kinds, starfish, petrified sea urchins and fossils, and a variety of corals plus amber glass, agate, quartz, ores such as iron, copper and lead, fool’s gold, rock crystals, onyx, amethyst and coal.” Some items, like the large amount of petrified wood, stalagmites, stalagtites and the huge crystal quartz points set out in front of the Blessed Virgin’s feet, would not be obtainable today

If you are Catholic, you might want to learn more about the church and its parish or visit their gift shop. In this piece, I’m addressing the Grotto as an inspired work of folk art, but I do not presume to be an expert on Catholic shrines.

The author having some fun with one of the reflecting balls at the Grotto.

Try to go on a sunny day, and you can get some truly amazing pictures. Maybe Dickeyville can consider the Grotto’s little reflecting balls their version of Chicago’s Bean. Because of the orientation of the building, its much easier to catch the sun reflecting off the back of the main shrine than off the front. In fact, to get the front of the Grotto in the sun, you really have to be there just before high noon and ideally in the late spring or summer! I’ve been told that shrines are supposed to be constructed so that the sun never shines directly inside of them… which means it rarely shines on the front door, either. The very top picture, taken just before noon near the summer solstice, is the closest I’ve ever come to getting the front illuminated by the sun. On the other hand, it is easy to get beautiful sun-lit photos of the Tree of Life which adorns the back side of the main shrine.

The Sacred Heart Shrine, whose banded pillars include old shifter balls from Model T Fords

The grotto has several other works of art. To the left, you’ll see the Sacred Heart shrine, which reproduces an altar erected in Chicago at Soldiers’ Field during the 1926 International Eucharistic Congress. The rock for the four pillars came from New Mexico, and they’re banded in a combination of colored glass and shifter balls from old Model T Fords! (Don’t ask me why the sun can shine on this Corpus Christi altar and not on the Blessed Virgin… as I’ve said, I am no expert on this type of sacred art.)

As you can imagine, one of the most popular secular activities at this sacred site is trying to identify the different components used in the building! The garden and birdhouses in front of the gift shop are similarly decorated with bright, shiny, and often antique objects.

As folk art, most of Dickyville’s Grotto is delightful. There are several other shrines, though I’ve pictured the main ones here. A final shrine, not to God but to patriotism, I personally avoid… not because I’m not patriotic, but because it seems devoted to an outdated sort of “patriotism” celebrating, among others, Christopher Columbus. I understand that this was the view of European Catholic immigrants 100 years ago and part of what Father Matthias celebrated, but since I do not, I’ve chosen to not represent that part of the Grotto in this article.

Instead, I’ll end with some other photos of things I’m happy to celebrate–among them, Wisconsin deer!–then end with a photo of the Grotto in winter.

Tell us about your favorite place in the Driftless Region!

“Little Mound”

(or should we say, “Mootz”?)

Today’s article won’t be long. But for those of you who are interested in the large mounds in the area– a list across three states that includes the Platte, Belmont, Blue, Horseshoe, Charles, Sherill and Sinsinawa Mounds–you sometimes see reference to a, or the, “Little Mound.”

For instance, at the top of one of the Blue Mounds, you even can see a diagram that shows you where “Little Mound” is, about 24.5 miles southwest of the Blue Mound right between the Belmont and Platte Mounds. If you’ve been to either of the latter two places, you may have driven right by it (and if you did, did you try to read that word on the western side? What does it say?)

Signage from the west observation tower on Blue Mound — Helpful though slightly vandalized signage at the top of Blue Mound’s west observation tower points out some of the mounds visible from this point, the highest in the Driftless Region.

Those words on the Little Mound spell “Mootz”

“Little Mound” sits about a half-mile west of the Belmont Mound (and about a half-mile east of the Platte or “M” Mound) on County Highway B. It’s on private property, and was once part of a large farm belonging to Don Mootz… and that, plus the large “M” for “Mining” on the Platte Mound, is probably why it too sports a large “M”… in this case followed by the rest of the “Mootz” name! It was very visible even ten years ago, but has become illegible in recent days.

Below, have a look at the Little Mound in winter… and that’s it for today’s road trip!

Unless noted, all photos by Terry Burns

Tell us about your favorite place in the Driftless Region!

The Belmont Mound

Belmont Mound, just a few miles outside of Belmont Wisconsin near the First Capitol Historic Site, rises from its base of 1,000 feet above sea level 400 feet into the air and is covered with trails used by hikers, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers alike. It’s name comes from French, belle monte or “beautiful mountain,” though most would hardly consider an elevation 1400 feet above sea level to be mountainous!

Hidden away on the eastern side near the picnic area, you can also find some abandoned lime kilns, nearly covered by the profusion of stately oak and walnut trees. More on that kiln later in this article.

Belmont Mound. Photo courtesy of *My Wisconsin*

Belmont Mound is one of many large “mounds” in the area that are actually worn down mountaintops capped with dolomite, like the nearby Platte, Sinsinawa, Blue, and Horseshoe Mounds (and not to be confused with the conical, linear, and effigy mounds created by the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk, Potowatomi, and other native peoples of this area.)

To get there, take either take County Road G from Platteville or take the Belmont exit from Highway 151. Then, um… look for the large mound! The Belmont Lion’s Club maintains the park and you’ll find parking and shelters at the entrance. The road after that is now blocked to cars, but you use this easy paved road as a pedestrian path to where the observation tower used to stand.

These larger mounds have served as navigation markers for humans for hundreds if not thousands of years: in fact, the reason the 1836 Wisconsin Territorial capitol was located where it was, near Belmont, is likely because it was easy to find and locate the spot in what was then the state’s most populous area, the southwest Wisconsin lead mining region. (The Territorial Legislature only met at that capitol once, in 1836, then after two sessions in Burlington, Iowa they moved to Madison, Wisconsin.)

As we’ve talked about in earlier articles on the nearby Platte or Platteville “M” Mound, the geology of these mounds is what makes them so great to hike upon. On the north side of the mound, you’ll find structures like “Devil’s Dining Table” and “Devil’s Chair” . . . and you can have some fun making up names of your own, since the trails are marked, but without names.

“But wait,” I imagine someone saying, “didn’t you say something about a great observation tower there?”

Belmont Mound Observation Tower — The observation tower still stands, but the Lion’s Club plans to dismantle it for liability reasons.

Yes, there is one, but not for long, and please don’t use it. The 64-foot observation tower at the Mound’s top is scheduled to be dismantled soon. Once, from the top of the tower at night, you could see the lights of Dubuque, Iowa and Galena, Illinois. During the day you could see Lancaster, Wisconsin, 20 miles away. Most prominently, you could also see the back of the Platte Mound in nearby Platteville (to the west) and the largest of the two Blue Mounds, in Blue Mound State Park, to the northeast.

road to observation deck — You can walk up the old car road the the now-closed observation tower.

Unfortunately, three people have committed suicide at different times by jumping from the Tower. Along with those tragedies, according to Lion’s Club members, were other problems, such as people pitching everything from televisions to rotten pumpkins off of the top of the Tower and leaving it to the Lion’s Club to clean up. Because of that, even before the most recent suicide, the Lion’s Club had decided they could no longer maintain the Tower, and it is closed.

(Well, that was a major downer. Let’s shift to some of the hikes and other things you can find at the Mound!)

Platte Mound from Belmont Mound — The author took this picture of the back of the Platte or Platteville or “M” Mound a few years back, before the observation tower was closed.

As mentioned, there are a host of hiking trails around Belmont Mound. Like the other large mounds in the Driftless area, Belmont Mound sits on a deep granite base and was likely a mountain millions of years ago. About 500 million years ago (during the Cambrian geologic period), a very thick layer of mainly sandstone with some limestone mixed in blanketed the granite, followed a few million years later (during the Ordovician Period) with additional blankets of shale, limestone and sandstone. All that was then covered by a particular kind of limestone, Niagara dolomite, in the Silurian period. Since no glacier covered this area during the last ice age, the mountain was never totally eroded… and since limestone in particular holds its form even while very, very slowly dissolving in places where there’s water, its particular chemical structure lends itself to the creation of lots of caves, gorges, and rock outcroppings.

The geology of Belmont Mound resulted in lots of rock outcroppings, like this one: the “Devil’s Dining Table,” about 100 yards downhill from the drive up to the old observation tower. To see more of this particular trail, check out this video by local hiker Harry Kies.

One of several possible cave entrances. . . but please, don’t go caving alone!

The most-noticed cave is located just a few yards north of the Devil’s Dining Table. Take a flashlight and a friend if you want to go through it… its an unlit passage of about 25 feet through a huge rock, and hard to miss. No, that picture on the left is not it. That’s just to tempt you.

The best time for hiking or horseback riding is early spring or late fall, as some trails tend to get overgrown in summer and if you’re horseback riding, your horse won’t appreciate all the thorny berry bushes. On the other hand, if what you’d prefer to do is pick gooseberries or black raspberries, you’ll find them all over the place in late summer, and morel mushrooms a month or so before that. Don’t hike during hunting season, as the area is also a favorite destination of local hunters.

The picnic shelter sits on the site of an old lime quarry. To the far right of it, you’ll see another mini-shelter. That’s the trail to the old lime kilns.

If you aren’t up for caving, berry-picking, or hunting, and you don’t want to hike too far, you might want to explore the history of the area a bit. There’s a mysterious old lime kiln that is within 100 yards of the picnic area. In fact, the picnic area itself is the site of an old lime quarry.

While I have not been able to find the name of whose lime kiln it was, I’m certain that’s what it is, and the type of construction makes it appear that it was made by early settlers from the British isles. (If I find out who operated the kilns, I’ll post that here. However, British isles settlers–Cornish miners but not only them–came with knowledge of how to make kilns to extract lime for use in agriculture and manufacturing processes, because they’d made similar ones in their native country. A similarly constructed lime kiln can be found over in Grant county near British Hollow, on Hippy Hollow Road.)

The old lime kilns — Two old lime kilns sit about 100 yards behind and uphill from the picnic area, which itself was an old lime quarry.

Path to Kiln — The path to and from from the lime kilns to the picnic area. After this point, it zigs and zags a bit before arriving at the kilns.

Getting to the kilns is simple: if you’re at the main picnic area facing away from the road, you should see another small shelter to the right. The trail is right behind that. You may not see the kilns until you’re almost upon them, but if you’ve gone more than a quarter-mile you’ve gone too far.

Belmont Mound is also a great spot for bird-watching, thanks to the huge old oaks that populate its sides. I’ve seen Cooper’s hawks and bald eagles there both, especially in November and December.

The park’s trails are not maintained in winter, but are nonetheless sometimes used by snowshoers. There is a 2.5 mile cross country ski trail nearby. The trail pictured below, which you’ll intersect on the way to the lime kilns, is just over a mile long and usually called “Mound Loop Trail.”

The trails aren’t maintained in winter, but most of them stay open.

One last thing… if you’re driving to the Belmont Mound from Platteville on County B, you’ll probably drive by the “Little” or “Mootz” mound. It’s on private property, but mentioned here since its yet another of the large mounds in the area: a list across three states that includes the Platte, Belmont, Blue, Horseshoe, Charles, Sherill and Sinsinawa Mounds.

Unless noted, all photos by Terry Burns

Tell us about your favorite place in the Driftless Region!

Fall Color in the Driftless Region

One of our favorite fall activities is just driving around the Driftless Region and looking at fall color. This week’s post will be long on photos and short on text! If you’d like some suggested routes, scroll to the end.

Fall color Pike's Peak — Fall color on one of the trails at Pike’s Peak State Park in Iowa

Fall color Wyalusing — Overlooking the Wisconsin River from the camping area Wyalusing State Park

Fall Color Yellowstone — Geese at Yellowstone State Park in Wisconsin.

Fall color Wiota church — This Lutheran church in Wiota, Wisconsin is the oldest Lutheran church is the United States. (Yes, we’re shamelessly using it as a backdrop for fall color pictures.)

Fall color Mitchell Rountree — The historic Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage in Platteville, Wisconsin. Look for an article on it this spring!

Hay bales fall color — A frequent fall site along country roads. We’re traveling between Platteville and Livingston in this case.

Fall color driving north Sauk City — Driving north towards the Wisconsin River. A shout out to our tour guides, Dick and Laurie Graney!

Fall color old barns — Fall color drives are an easy way to “discover” picturesque old barns like this one near Sauk City

Fall color Taleisin — The drive past Blue Mound towards Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen near Spring Green will take you through some of the best valleys for fall color viewing.

Fall color Mining Museum — Behind Platteville’s Mining and Rollo Jamison Museums. (Check out Mary Franklin’s article on this from last fall!)

Pumpkins for sale somewhere along the road to Sauk City

Cresting one of the many hills in the Driftless Region: in this case near South Wayne, Wisconsin. We’re playing around with photo saturation levels, as you can probably tell.

Fall color Hyde's Mill — Hyde’s Mill near Ridgeway. (We have an article on Hyde’s Mill coming out tomorrow!)

Fall Color near Baraboo — The hills around Baraboo make for beautiful fall color driving

Platteville Mound fall color — This is a wonderful time of year to hike the Platteville Mound! Thanks for the pic, Monica Nordgren.

Sometimes its easy to just get lost in the beauty of the leaves!

We did say we’d share some of our favorite fall color drives. Here are our top five:

This first one is only for serious hikers! If you love to hike, you to Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harper’s Ferry. Iowa, and take any or all of the north trails. Each one ends with a stunning Mississippi River overlook.
If you’d rather sit on a boat, take the Cassville Ferry. You can board in Iowa or Wisconsin, and it connects two national scenic byways. (Trouble is, the ferry ends its season at about this same time, but they usually end with a fall cruise. Check the above link for more information.) If the ferry is closed, then just try the road to it: U.S. 52 drom Dubuque IA north through Balltown (home of the oldest restaurant in Iowa, Breitbach’s) and on to Buena Vista.
Take any drive along the Mississippi Bluffs! You could drive out to Potosi Point then drive north up the Mississippi to Glen Haven, Wisconsin; you could drive north from Prairie du Chien towards LaCrosse on Wisconsin 35; you could even cross over the Mississippi at LaCrosse (ha, ha) and drive north on US 61 into the gorgeous Minnesota Blufflands! If you do, be sure to go as far north as the “island city” of Winona and drive up to the Garvin Heights overlook.
If you’re in Illinois, you can head south from Galena down Blackjack Road towards Savannah, or east on US 20, stopping at Horseshoe Mound Preserve and Tapley Woods Conservation area. Be sure to stop at the rest area just after Tapley Woods– the views from there are some of the best in Illinois. Also, you might google “Stagecoach Trail,” in northern Illinois, which is nearby and also has wonderful views.
Two state parks that are particularly beautiful during fall leave change time are Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin and Pike’s Peak State Park in Iowa… both are pictured above. Yellowstone State Park in Wisconsin is beautiful, too, and also pictured above.
If you aren’t driving along the Mississippi or Wisconsin rivers, then probably the most gorgeous drive inland on Wisconsin 23 north of Dodgeville heading towards Spring Green. That will also take you past Frank Lloyd Wright’s Talieson and near American Player’s Theater… both sights were chosen for their natural beauty, and in our opinion the fall is when they’re most beautiful.

Unless noted, all photos by Terry Burns

Tell us about your favorite place in the Driftless Region!