Heron's Landing on Avoca Lake

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

🎉🎉🎉

08/08/2026

Vince Lombardi arrived in Green Bay in 1959 to take over a team most of the league had written off. Born June 11, 1913, in Brooklyn to an immigrant Italian family, Lombardi grew up playing football at Fordham University as one of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" offensive linemen, then spent years coaching at the high school level before working under Colonel Earl Blaik at West Point, absorbing a military-style discipline that would define his entire coaching philosophy. His only NFL experience before Green Bay was five seasons as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

The Packers he inherited were coming off a 1-10-1 season, their worst record ever, and hadn't posted a winning record in eleven years. Lombardi took the job on one non-negotiable condition: he'd only coach if he was also handed full control as general manager. "I doubt if I would have come just as coach," he told reporters. "This is a better challenge, a better opportunity." At his introductory press conference, he made his intentions plain, declaring flatly, "I've never been associated with a loser and I don't expect to be now."

He backed it up almost immediately. Lombardi's first season ended 7-5, a stunning turnaround that earned him NFL Coach of the Year honors. After a narrow loss in the 1960 NFL Championship Game to Philadelphia, Lombardi gathered his team and made them a promise: "This will never happen again. You will never lose another championship." Over the next seven seasons, from 1961 through 1967, the Packers won five NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls ever played, and capped the run with three consecutive league titles from 1965 to 1967, a three-peat no other NFL team has matched since the playoff era began in 1933. His overall record in Green Bay finished at 89-29-4.

Lombardi resigned as head coach after Super Bowl II to focus solely on his general manager duties, then left the organization entirely in 1969 to take the head coaching and GM job in Washington, leading the Redskins to their first winning season in fourteen years. He died of cancer on September 3, 1970, at just 57, cutting short what many around the league believed could have been a second rebuilding miracle in Washington. He'd been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the year before his death was even announced, formally enshrined in 1971, and the NFL's championship trophy has carried his name ever since, a permanent marker of what nine seasons in Green Bay turned a struggling small-market franchise into.

08/08/2026

The Wisconsin River gave the entire state its name, stretching roughly 430 miles from Lac Vieux Desert on the Michigan border down to the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien, making it the longest river running entirely within Wisconsin. Jacques Marquette first recorded the name in 1673 as "Meskousing," an Algonquian word whose exact original meaning has been lost, though it may have referred to the river's reddish terrain. French explorers who followed reshaped it into "Ouisconsin," and by the early 1800s that had simplified into the "Wisconsin" that got attached first to the territory and eventually to the state itself.

Marquette and fellow explorer Louis Jolliet used the river as their actual route into the unknown, paddling down it from Portage all the way to the Mississippi in 1673, becoming among the first Europeans to travel this stretch of the continent. That route through Portage wasn't arbitrary either. The Wisconsin River comes within a mile and a half of the Fox River there, separated only by low marshy ground, a natural near-connection between two entirely different watersheds that made the spot a critical portage point for centuries of canoe travel long before any canal formalized it.

Geologically, the river carries a genuinely strange history buried in its own path. Roughly 14,000 years ago, before glaciers reshaped the region, part of the river's ancient flow actually ran north toward Lake Superior instead of south, and it took the last ice age to flip its direction entirely into the route it follows today. That glacial reshaping is also what created the Wisconsin Dells further south, where the river cut through sandstone left behind by a terminal moraine, carving the dramatic cliffs and rock formations that turned the area into one of the state's biggest tourist draws.

The river still does real economic work today, 25 dams along its length harness a combined 645 feet of elevation drop for hydroelectric power, and reservoirs like Lake Wisconsin, Petenwell Lake, and Castle Rock Lake support fishing, boating, and flood control across central Wisconsin. Its Lower Wisconsin stretch, protected as a State Riverway since 1989 and designated a Ramsar Wetland of international importance in 2020, remains one of the longest undammed sections of any river in the country, a genuinely wild 93-mile run through the exact landscape Marquette and Jolliet paddled through 350 years ago.

08/08/2026

12 Most Beautiful Miles of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway

Avoca ▶ Muscoda ▶ Blue River

So does Avoca have to offer? First off, you will find one of the most unique shopping destinations in the area, The Avoca Mercantile. Seasonal gifts and decor everyone will love. After you shop, head down to the Whiskey Row Saloon,LLC where the burgers are amazing and their Sunday bbq chicken is finger licking good. Oh, and they have meat paddles every Sunday at 4pm. If you'd like to stay and explore more than one day, you can camp at Avoca Campground or book Heron's Landing on Avoca Lake.

Six miles away is the Village of Muscoda. The community has added so much over the last three years. Let's start downtown. A community staple for many years has been Sportsmens Lounge and Supper Club. Specials, salad bar, and huge outdoor patio with room to enjoy a cold drink. Across the road is one of only a few distilleries in our region, English Prairie Distilling Co. If you're a spirits connoisseur, stop and try one of their many handcrafted drinks. Also, their outdoor live music scene is one of the best in the area. Just down the sidewalk is another newer business, Foggy North LLC. You can get coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, and even ice cream at their shop. A retail section is attached to the coffee shop with gifts, decor, and some lovely handmade wood workings from Foggy Bottom Woodworks, LLC. If you're looking to take in a sporting event, Honkers Dining, Lodging, and Spirits is your place. Their 12 big screen TVs allow you to catch all the action. Honkers is also a top-notch supper club beloved by all.

Muscoda offers a few other retail locations in addition to Foggy North LLC. The Muscoda Vendor Mall is downtown and showcases a variety of vendors. With Muscoda being a rural community, it should be no surprise that great meat and cheese can be found. Studnicka Cattle Co. offers grass fed beef for all to shop. If you visit their page, you can find a link to order online or pickup at the farm. Lastly, do not leave town without a stop by Meister Cheese Company retail store. Why? They produce AWARD WINNING cheese and a few unique flavors you have to try.

If you're looking to get out and stretch your legs. Check out the Muscoda area Chamber of Commerce "Muscoda Mile". Here you can learn all about the history of the area. This project was recently completed. You don't just have to come for a day, stay a while. The village offers extremely cheap camp sites down at Victoria Riverside Park. If you're not a camper, English Prairie Distilling Co. has some Airbnbs above the bar.

Six more miles away is the village of Blue River. Don't just speed through town, stop at The Farmer’s Daughter LLC for a tasty meal. They also have live entertainment almost every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Finally, if you'd like to take in the areas most unique attraction, visit Eagle Cave, Wisconsin. It's the state's largest onyx cave and it's open for tours Thursday-Sunday until Labor Day. You can also camp or rent a cabin at Eagle Cave. If you want to get out on the river, you can also rent canoes from Eagle Cave and have them drop you off and pick you back up.

There's a lot to do along the river, so what are you waiting for?

Grant County WI Tourism

07/27/2026

Do you think we have rain heading our way? We could really use it. The lake is perfect for kayaking, floating and swimming right now🌞 a great way to cool off.

07/25/2026

What can I say...Heron's Landing on Avoca Lake ❤️

07/23/2026

Visiting "the kids" at the farm. They are enjoying the cooler weather.

07/23/2026

Heron's Landing makes the perfect home base for exploring the tri-counties of Richland, Iowa and Grant in the Driftless Area of Southwest Wisconsin.

Richland County - A Day Well Spent

The vast countryside is best viewed by kayaking the Pine River. You can rent a kayak from Thirteen Pines RC and float/paddle your way past gorgeous rock features and wildlife areas. Another great location to view the countryside is Wild Hills Winery. The view from the vineyard is stunning and when you couple that with their summer live music lineup/wood fire pizza, this is a night you'll surely remember.

Famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center and designed the AD German Warehouse. The lounge is available for entertainment on Friday evenings, with tours are available on Sundays through the end of October.

When your taste buds are craving a delicious meal, two locations to check out are Christy’s Sunny Side - Bakery & Cafe and Honkers Dining, Lodging, and Spirits. Christy's offers a specialty menu with made to order wraps and sandwiches. Honkers will serve you up a nice home cooked meal. Honkers often has specials and don't forget about their Friday night fish fry.

If retail therapy is what you're yearning for, there is no shortage of great stops for you to check out. Start at The Creative Outlet where you can find consignment clothes, toys, and bolts of fabric from Quilt Basket 'n' Creations. Across town, Robins Nest Blooms & More has hand-selected home decor to peruse as well as lovely bouquets to take home and set on your table. The Red Door Gallery has a collection of local and regional artists with their creations available for sale. If you're in the market for a good steak or a great liquor selection, Richland Locker Co. is a can't miss stop. Lastly, if speed is more your thing, Vetesnik Power Sports has every mode of transportation you can possibly imagine for all outdoor seasons.

When the fall rolls around, Richland County really comes alive. Oakwood Fruit Farm opens, offering a wide array of apple options and Oak Shade Greenhouse will have mums as far as the eye can see.

If you want to extend your trip for more than a day, two campgrounds are available, each with cabins for rent as well. Fireside Campground outside Lone Rock and Eagle Cave, Wisconsin will both welcome you with open arms. Oh, and if you've never been to Eagle Cave for a tour, what are you waiting for? It's the largest onyx cave in Wisconsin. If you don't know what that means, I guess you will have to book a tour.

If you really want to see the town in style, check out New Tech Golf Carts LLC. Rent a golf cart for the day or a whole weekend. Numerous other options also available.

Whether you're here for a day or a weekend, there's plenty for you to do.

See you in the "rich land" for Richland County.

Greater Richland Tourism

07/23/2026

15 miles away to see performances in a Tony Award Winning Outdoor Theater located in the beautiful Driftless Area...Priceless!