Fun vacations in Dubuque, IA, and Galena, IL? Not a destination the average family traveler would find on the top of his list. Yet, we found they are a rare opportunity to strengthen and explore family relationships. In an age of high-tech, high pressure activity, that’s a bonus that few vacations offer to families.
Dubuque, a 19th century town, lies on the upper Mississippi River at a point where Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa are all visible from the high bluffs above “Mighty Miss.” Dubuque’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has worked closely with its sister bureau in Galena to develop a fun-filled package of spectacular vacation options. Each community can offer activities that will keep a family busy for a full week or two without repetition.
Depending on your vacation tastes, you can do anything from playing world-class golf at Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort near Galena, to watching and betting on Greyhound Racing in Dubuque. Riverboats (one offering Vegas style casino gambling with an Old South flair) are berthed right on Dubuque’s river front.
But let’s start at the beginning. We decided that we wanted to test the theory that enjoying the feeling of an extended family outing is still a possibility in the 21st Century. In a time when everyone had to pitch in, grandparents, parents and kids all had a stake in creating a comfortable environment. Today, the family has splintered. To borrow from sociologists’ lingo, it has become nuclear. Kids take their career goals to other cities, neighborhoods change and the ‘burbs offer newer schools and open space that aren’t a part of our aging cities.
We had discovered Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort while writing a series on weekend getaways. It was a perfect choice to test our theory. With more than 400 rental houses of varying sizes, we could find exactly the right space for our brood. The houses are available for rental by the night and the week. An idea was born. We wanted to know if our family could live and play together in harmony—could we enjoy each other and rekindle the closeness we had once felt?
Each house is immaculately maintained. All have full air conditioning and fireplaces with an ample supply of properly dried cord wood for cooler evenings. TVs, VCRs, and a kitchen with almost every imaginable appliance and all the china and glassware a family might need are ready on your arrival. There’s even a washer and dryer. To give Moms a rest, maid service is provided and the staff is on call 24/7 to repair anything that might go wrong with the house or the appliances. But we weren’t locked in the house. We were there to explore the area and have fun together.
Eagle Ridge offers a broad range of amenities—certainly enough to satisfy every taste that a family might have. Our family jumped at the chance to spend a week together and plans were made for a week in early August. Airline tickets were bought and we reserved one of the larger, two level, four bedroom Eagle Ridge houses. Rates are seasonal and are set on a nightly basis, though there’s a discount for a full Saturday/Saturday week. Sixty-three holes of championship golf, spa therapy, swimming, hot-tubbing, tennis, antiquing, horseback riding, and gourmet dining were all on the agenda. In fact, all those things and many more became part of a truly memorable week—one we’ll treasure.
Besides all the warmth that comes with togetherness, there’s also reason for celebrating by spending a night out with dinner at the Inn’s Woodland Restaurant. If parents want to share a round of golf or a couple of sets of tennis, kids are accommodated in Camp Eagle, an attended program that lets them interact with other guests’ children. Riding at the Shenandoah stable, bike and canoe rentals and paddle boats are also available. Winter offers cross country skiing and ice skating. Your activity schedule at Eagle Ridge can be as full or relaxed as you might want.
Galena is an old town founded in the 1830s and originally known as a source of lead ore. In fact, Galena ore is still sought after by miners. Then, the town became the post Civil War home of General (later, President) Ulysses S. Grant. His house continues to attract tourists and Civil War buffs. It’s a National Landmark and open to the public.
The Civil War is very important in the region and while we were there, Eagle Ridge was being prepared for a Civil War reenactment, as well as several corporate meetings and golf outings. Several hundred folks arrived and set up their encampments near the Inn. They conducted close order drills, set up cannon and engaged in mock battles on Saturday and Sunday.
Encampments of this sort are common throughout the country and participants use every available piece of reference material to make their uniforms, camp sites and battle tactics as authentic as possible. We spent some time with Rich Beauchamp who—during his 21st Century hours—works in the flight operations department of a major airline. On weekends, though, he harkens back to the 19th century and his Southern roots and wears the uniform of a Confederate officer. We asked him who wins the battles. “We usually decide in advance,” he told us, “with the Union winning one battle and the Confederacy winning the next day. We go to these reenactments every other week and we miss as many as we attend, but Eagle Ridge is one of our favorites because we have access to very modern conveniences—hot showers and the swimming pool—things like that.”
Galena also is a working community with a large supermarket for shopping for the essentials for your house. There are no national chains in Galena and, in fact, Galenans were successful in fighting construction of a proposed WalMart that locals felt would affect the ambiance of the town.
Galena is a reminder of America’s past. Ice cream parlors dot the street along with antique shops and bakeries. At Nelson’s, the town bakery that appeared in the movie “Field Of Dreams,” a cup of coffee and a homemade donut still only cost a buck. Besides the extensive Eagle Ridge Inn installation, two historically interesting local hotels and several bed-and-breakfasts provide housing in town.
In the wintertime, both downhill and cross-country skiing are available at Galena’s Chestnut Mountain Resort. Downhill skiing is the specialty at Sundown Mountain, a few miles west of Dubuque, and cross country skiing is also a part of the package offered at Eagle Ridge. During the fall color and springtime seasons, hiking in Illinois’ nearby Apple River Canyon State Park will provide plenty of outdoor activity to visitors. Simply driving through the beautiful rolling hills of the terrain’s descent into the core of the Mississippi Valley is a memorable return to nature.
Dubuque represents a range of alternative choices. Located on the banks of the Mississippi, it sports the riverboat gambling casino, a greyhound track with pari-mutual betting and literally dozens of other activities. It’s a much more citified ambiance, yet there’s still a strong touch of 19th century America. A riverboat ride for a few hours or a couple of days along the shoreline of The River will bring visitors back to the era of Mark Twain and Gaylord Ravenour. A lunch or dinner cruise on Iowa’s only authentic paddle wheeler can be fun for adults and kids as well.
There are other excursions from Dubuque. Baseball fans can visit the site of the movie “Field of Dreams.” There’s a well marked 26 mile biking trail, maintained by the county, offering views of the River, some railroading artifacts and some deep woodlands—all with a maximum one percent grade. A short drive into Wisconsin brings the family to the “House on the Rock,” an amazing complex of buildings that have become a Midwest tourist attraction. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen is also open to visitors. The Taliesen house, cantilevered over a river bluff, is a world famous architectural achievement because of its ability to blend into the surrounding landscape and its engineering and design beauty.
Dubuque offers cultural activities as well. A symphony orchestra, a modern art museum featuring many of the paintings of Iowan Grant Wood (who painted the world famous “American Gothic”), and a professional regional theater presenting contemporary productions and revivals are all part of Dubuque’s vitality.
Eagle Ridge Reservations and information are available by calling (800) 892-2269. For information on Galena, call (866) 442-3200. Dubuque’s CVB number is (800) 798-4748.
Midwest vacations help bring folks back to their nation’s heartland. We found that our family reached a better level of understanding and appreciation for each other. Even in an age of computers and cell phones, our family is closer now than it was before our week of togetherness. To paraphrase the Master Card commercial: “Eighteen Holes of prime time golf on the Eagle Ridge Championship ‘General’ course, $136; Captain’s Dinner for two on a Mississippi Riverboat, $57.90; ‘Field of Dreams’ Louisville Slugger bat, $30. A chance for a three generation family to spend quality time together—priceless.”
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