Blog
Keep up to date on what is happening in the Driftless
Driftless Dark Skies: Roaming Mars
Mars has long sparked my imagination. I think it was that map of the Solar System I had as a kid showing canals and vegetation. Only when I learned Roman numerals did I discover that the map was out of date. But I was left with a favorite planet. Now Mars is...
Driftless Dark Skies: Evenings with Venus
Venus will be bright and beautiful after sunset in the western skies of the River Valley this spring and summer. Venus outshines all the other planets and stars. On March 1, Venus is fairly low to the horizon and sets around 6:50 about an hour after the Sun. If you...
Driftless Dark Skies: State of the Milky Way
It is good to know and love our home. We live in the Driftless Area of North America on Earth. Our planet is just one of many worlds circling that one star we call the Sun. Our Solar System, full of planets, moons, asteroids and comets, is one of hundreds of billions...
Driftless Dark Skies: Two Full Moons in a Month
January opens with the Full Wolf Moon and ends with a Total Lunar Eclipse. It is unusual to enjoy two Full Moons in the same month, but it can happen because the time between Full Moons is 29 ½ days. That means no Full Moons for February but two for March. There is no...
Driftless Dark Skies: Northern Lights
By 7:30pm on November 7, I was already a pretty happy stargazer. I had been out for an hour and a half with a good astrobuddy touring the clusters, galaxies, and nebulas of the autumn sky at a dark site near Governor Dodge State Park. Our hands and feet were getting...
Driftless Dark Skies: Occultation and Conjunction
Two special events this month let us experience the Moon and planets moving across the sky. We are familiar with the daily motion of Sun and Moon and stars and planets rising in the east and setting in the west as our planet rotates about its axis. But we can also...
Fall Arrives
The fall season arrived officially on September 22, but fall colors arrive on their own time. I am out on the Kickapoo River to survey for a deadfall removal project. I am in the front of the canoe, mapping and fidgeting with my GPS locator. Then I look up and...
Driftless Dark Skies: Autumnal Dawn
We think of evening as the ideal time for stargazing. The sun sets, the sky darkens, and one by one the stars and planets emerge. If you look to the east just after sunset, you can see Earth’s shadow just above the horizon. Darkness does not fall—it rises! We spend...
Driftless Dark Skies: Be Awed!
I’m told that I use the word awesome a lot. I’m usually content enough with the everyday experiences of hiking in the Driftless Area, biking its back roads, and enjoying outdoor music and plays. But I love those moments of awe when they happen. I’ve been reading some...
Request our Brochure!
Whether for a weekend, a week, or longer, you’ll enjoy your stay in Driftless Wisconsin. Love using our map while exploring the Driftless? Leave us a Google 5-star review!