Dubuque's best Iowa-Wisconsin steel tied arch bridge!…read moretraversing this bridge means trading the low-stress low-wage life of western central america for the higher-wage & cholesterol life style of northern central america or the other way around. in either case you'll get to see for yourself what population density is all about.

There's something satisfying about crossing a state line when traveling but it's even more special…read moreto cross the Mississippi River. This through truss replaced the Eagle Point Toll Bridge that was more romantic and much more of a thrill ride.

Used to be a great place to find out about Galena. However, they were locked up tight on a Sunday…read moreand all the cubbyholes on the wall where info and flyers used to be were gone. No signs in the windows about being moved. The building itself is highly interesting. It was a train station, back in the day... Newsflash: I have learned that the tourist info stuff was moved to the Market House joint in the northeast area of the downtown. West side of river of course.

We went to the genealogy department to get some inflammation on family history in Galena. The staff…read morewent above and beyond helping us for an hour and printing out articles and pulling up pictures on line and in databases. We were so thankful that they took the time to help us.

Who visits libraries when they are in a town for vacation or a short trip? Why, I do! If they are…read moresignificant, anyway. This one is a beautiful Carnegie library from the early 20th century (1908, I believe). Galena's public library is on Bench Street just above Main. It's a very small library but mighty for sure! They have an old fashioned system for their shelves that I wish I understood but it's in great condition. There's a small reading area on the north side of library and it looks very cozy. The fireplace is beautifully decorated as well. Downstairs is the children's library and the historical collection. I wandered into that room and one of the men working there was so helpful! There was one guy working with a couple who was trying to do some genealogical research, and the other man asked me if there was anything I was looking for. Not being from Illinois, there's no particular personal history of interest to me, but I did ask about Masonic lodges; he mentioned there was a lodge just down the street and showed me something in the old records that listed the Masonic organizations that exist(ed) in Galena. He showed me some of the newspapers they still have in their collection. These are the actual newspapers that were printed on the day in question, so he pulled out some that talked about the death of President Lincoln and the aftermath. He also showed me one from when Richmond fell during the war. It was really cool! I don't know if I realized that newspapers were once printed with more of a cloth-like blend as opposed to wood pulp, and these editions were in such good condition I at first thought they were copies of the originals, not the original printing themselves. He invited me to look around at things as well, and I found a notebook that talked to some extent about the history of enslaved people in the area. They're in the midst of a project where they're digitizing the records, so at some point you'll be able to view these items online. They'll retain the original items of course, but it will be a treasure trove that will be more easily accessible to people throughout the world doing research on their families, midwestern history, or this little town home to a few historically important people. The front entrance, as you may have guessed if you looked at the photos, is not accessible. But fear not; there's an accessible entrance in the back, where the parking lot is, and an elevator that can take you up to the main floor.

This is the Dubuque County Freedom Rock. Completing the Freedom Rock tour of all 99 Iowa counties…read moreis something my girlfriend and I have been working on for the past few years. We are four rocks away from the end of our journey at this time. Not only do we learn about the military involvement and the contributions of veterans in each county... A lot of times we stumble on other hidden gems, that we had no idea even existed, as we venture further into our own backyard. As happy as I am going to be when hit 99 and finish our Freedom Rock Tour...a little part of me is going to really miss these trips. We'll just have to find another "tour" to pick up! When you are checking out each Freedom Rock make sure you explore the surrounding area for other points of interest. And please remember to support local businesses...! Visit https://www.thefreedomrock.com/ for more information on Iowa's Freedom Rocks and the tour!

Dubya was awful. He always made me want dubuque. But the taste of bile makes me feel worse so I…read moreresisted. And right now I'm resisting napping. You could say I'm resisting a rest. I really like the city of Dubuque. It's beautiful and it's next to a river. It's old and sleepy and reminds me of the city that time forgot. It has some pretty old buildings and the nice relaxed feel to it. Unfortunately there are a lot of homeless people and there is a drug problem here. It's noticeable in several areas close to downtown. The fact that they have an excellent Gyro in town and a lot of pretty scenery combines with the negative elements to equal four stars. Now I need to go to the library and borrow some buques.

It's all ran down, people we ran into call it depuke. Not a tourist area, unless you want to see…read morethe historical dumps no one appears to care.

Dubuque's best Iowa-Illinois continuous truss bridge!…read moretraversing this bridge means trading the low-stress low-wage life of western central america for the high-wage high-stress life style of eastern central america or the other way around. in either case you'll get to see for yourself what population density is all about.

walked across this. it was kind of exciting going from Iowa to Illinois and looking at the…read moreMississippi River below our feet.. Only thing that was bad about the walk was all the trash. There were soda bottle and shopping bags all over. It would be nice if the city sent someone to clean it up.