Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NorthoftownonWIS144andHighwayAistheawe-inspiring
Lizard Mound County
Park
(2121 Hwy. A, 262/335-4400, daily Apr.-Nov., free), along with Aztalan State Park,
one of the state's most important archaeological sites. The Mississippian Indians here pred-
ated Aztalan's by perhaps 500 years and built amazingly detailed earthworks in geometric
and animal forms.
Food
You'll love the made-on-site sodas and beers at
Riverside Brewery
(255 S. Main St.,
262/334-2739,
www.riversidebreweryandrestaurant.com
,
11am-midnight Mon.-Thurs.,
11am-12:30am Fri.-Sat., 10am-8pm Sun., $15-30), which also has dependable pub grub.
The kitchen is open until 9pm Monday-Thursday, and until 10pm Friday and Saturday.
At the delightful
Cafe Soeurette
(111 N. Main St., 262/338-2233,
www.cafe-soeur-
ing for a farm-to-table, French-inspired (but very homey) menu.
One of nine nodes of the
National Ice Age Reserve
, the Horicon is divided into two parts:
the
National Wildlife Refuge
in the north and the
Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area
in the
southern tier of the greenery. Spreading over 32,000 acres, the marsh was formed by the
Green Bay lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier beginning around 70,000 years ago. The result
was a shallow glacial lakebed filled with silt—the largest freshwater marsh in North Amer-
ica, often called the “Little Everglades of the North.” (And it's the largest cattail marsh in
North America.)
The marsh was populated originally by nomadic paleo-Indians, who hunted animals
right along the edge of the receding ice floes. Europeans showed up and began felling the
region's deciduous forests. A dam was later built to facilitate floating timber logs on the
RockRiverandtocreatemillpower.Thewaterlevelsroseninefeet,resultingintheworld's
largest artificially made lake. Around the time of the Civil War, far-thinking conservation-
istssucceededinhavingthedamremovedandreconvertingthemarshtowetland.Itbecame
a legendary sport-hunting paradise; private clubs removed whole wagonloads of birds after
hunts.
Around the end of the 19th century, agricultural interests once again lobbied to drain
the marsh and reestablish farming. What couldn't be drained off was going to be used for
profit-rich muck farming or moist-soil agriculture. The efforts failed, though the dikes the
companies built still exist in a gridlike pattern today. Citizens' groups finally organized in
