Out West 2016 - Day 9

June 4, 2016 (Saturday)

The day started with a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa. We checked out the museum but did not take the Masters Hotel tour. The Ingalls Family lived there in 1876-1877. The Masters Hotel is the only childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder that remains on its original site. The hotel tour was $8 for adults.

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Our last National Park site, for this trip was the Effigy Mounds National Monument, located in Northeast Iowa. We watched the video and learned about the reason why the monument was created.  There are over 200 American Indian mounds located in the area of the National Monument. The interesting aspect is that some of the mounds are shaped as animals – bears and birds being the most popular. The history behind the mounts is very much unknown; however, archeologist believe that the mounds delineated territories of choice gathering and hunting grounds. The visitor center also has some displays that are interesting.

Madison Capital Building

One last state capitol to visit, the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. The capitol campus was very nice. There was a lot of people activity in the area.  The current Capitol building is the third one since Wisconsin became a state in 1848. The building is the tallest building in Madison and was constructed between 1906 and 1917 for $7.25 million. Interesting fact: the exterior dome in the largest granite dome in the world! Another interesting tidbit is that per state law any building within a one-mile radius of the capitol must not be taller than the base of the columns surrounding and supporting its dome.

Summary: We drove a lot of miles and gas cost us between $2.16 - $2.44/gallon. Our total gas cost was $443.37.