We're all from the Driftless Region

The lead article on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal this morning was about a proposal to create a National Park out of Crawford County. The proposal would seem to have some merit since Crawford County is at the heart of the geologically famous driftless region. The proposal is made in a beautifully illustrated book by Bryan Stanley. Despite the beauty and the quality of the book the proposal is probably fatally hampered by the fact that Stanley is a resident of the Mendota Mental Health Institute.

Crawford County is one of the most beautiful counties in Wisconsin, but also one of its poorest counties. I'm not sure why its poverty rate is so high but creating a national park would surely change the economy in the region.

I've found myself thinking lately about a much less ambitious park plan, creating a park on the blufftop surrounding the Brisbois gravesite overlooking Prairie du Chien. I wonder how many classmates have actually hiked up the bluff trails to those graves? I wonder if they're even accessible like they were when we were growing up? Apparently it is, since a Brisbois grave tour is part of the cemetery tour being promoted for October 6th. Creating an access road from the farmland just to the east, and adding some additional park amenities, would open the way to a beautiful vista of the Mississippi River valley, and give the city one more promotable attraction.

Another great vista, deserving of a park to promote and preserve it, is on county highway F on the crest of the bluff just above Lynxville. A whole 15-mile sweep of the Mississippi River is spread before your eyes. If you're taking a visitor to see the Mississippi, this should be their first glimpse of it.

Just a couple of weeks ago another article in the WSJ focused on a cave near Eastman where prehistoric Indian inscriptions have been defaced. I wasn't even aware of any significant caves around Eastman.

Despite the steep hillsides, Crawford county still has a lot of fertile farmland (it would appear). Asking farmers to give that up would be a big obstacle to any park plan, in addition to the cost. On the other hand, farming in Wisconsin hasn't been all that lucrative lately, even on flat land. Hundreds of farmers across Wisconsin leave the business each year. That's one of the reasons that more and more Amish can be seen on the roads of Grant County.

Additional note: heavy rains this weekend have caused heavy flooding and evacuations in the Kickapoo Valley villages of Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove, as well as around the region.

8/20 update: Crawford County has been declared a disaster area, along with Richland and Vernon Counties, due to heavy rains and flooding.

Final note regarding Bryan Stanley and another class connection to this story from classmate Amelia Lochner Dittman: Bryan Stanley is in the Mendota Mental Health Center because he shot and killed our parish priest, deacon and custodian (St. Patrick’s, Onalaska) in 1985.