UPDATED AUGUST 2025 Flat. Boring. These are two common words that come to mind when people think of much of the Midwest. But there's a special place in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin that features limestone bluffs, rolling hills, wooded valleys, waterfalls, creeks, wetlands, rivers, caves, Native American Effigy Mounds, and rare ecosystems and plant … Continue reading Author and Professor Discusses the Magical Driftless Area
Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. Marching Bear Group. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” UPDATED 2025 Where: Northeastern Iowa. The monument is located three miles north of Marquette, Iowa, on Highway 76.Phone: 563/873-3491, ext. 123 (visitor center front desk)Web, FacebookDistance From Downtown Chicago: … Continue reading Effigy Mounds National Monument: Massive Bears, Stunning Views, and Thousands of Years of Native American History