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Nelson Dewey State Park, walk in campsite D
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Mississippi River Sunset, Nelson Dewey State Park – Cassville, Wisconsin
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Video of Nelson Dewey State Park – Cassville, Wisconsin
Nelson Dewey State Park is a land of incredible vistas overlooking the Mississippi River valley. On the site is the home of Wisconsin’s first governor, Nelson Dewey. His 2,000 acre plantation was considered the state’s first large scale farming operation. The governor’s first home was gutted by fire in 1873. The current building was built on the original foundation. Across the road, the State Historical Society operates Stonefield Village and the State Farm Museum. There are a number of effigy mounds constructed by the Hopewell Indian group along the bluff trails and overlooks in the 750 acre park. The trail through the dry lime prairie restoration along the edge of the overlook is very scenic. Tent campers will be impressed with the four walk-in sites overlooking the Mississippi River valley.
YouTube video of Nelson Dewey State Park
Nelson Dewey State Park picture gallery
Nelson Dewey State Park Campgrounds
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Aztalan State Park, Wisconsin – Fortifications and Platform Mound
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Video of Aztalan State Park – Lake Mills, Wisconsin
Aztalan State Park is one of Wisconsin’s most important archaeological sites. It contains an ancient Middle-Mississippian village and ceremonial complex that existed between A.D. 1000 and 1300. The site was rediscovered in 1835. In 1850 Increase A. Lapham investigated the site. It became a state park in 1952, a National Landmark in 1964 and listed in the National Registry of Historic Places in 1966. The occupants of Aztalan built large, flat-topped pyramid shaped mounds and a stockade around their village.
Aztalan; Mysteries of an Ancient Indian Town by Robert A. Birmingham and Lynne G. Goldstein
Indian Mounds of Wisconsin by Robert A. Birmingham and Leslie E. Eisenberg
Excerpts from the Antiquities of Wisconsin by Increase A. Lapham, 1855 (electronic edition)
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Video of Devil’s Lake State Park – Baraboo, Wisconsin
Landscape architect, John Nolen, recommended in 1909 that this site be set aside for a park. Established in 1911, this 9,000+ acre park near Baraboo, WI draws over 1.2 million visitors a year. The 360 acre lake is spring fed giving fishermen, paddlers and swimmers a crystal clear water environment. The lake was formed by glacial activity during the last ice age. What was once the Wisconsin River is now a dramatic gorge cut off at the north and south ends by glacial debris. The quartzite rock formations of the park are over 1.5 billion years old and rise over 500 feet above the lake. The park takes its name from a mistranslation of the Ho-Chunk “Ta Wa-cun-chuk-dah, meaning “Sacred Lake”, “Holy Lake” or “Spirit Lake”. According to Ho-Chunk mythology the lake was the birthplace of the Buffalo Clan and is the site of the legendary battle between the water spirits and the thunderbirds. A number of effigy mounds are located throughout the park.
YouTube video of Devil’s Lake State Park
Devil’s Lake State Park images from the Wisconsin State Historical Society
Devil’s Lake State Park blog postings
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Belmont Mound, Wisconsin
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Lake Waubesa, Capital Springs State Park, Wisconsin
©2008 John Wanserski for Creative Juice LLC
Capital Springs State Recreation AreaCapital Springs State Park video
Weather forecast for the Madison vicinity
Blog entries for the Capital Springs State Recreation Area
