A trip to the driftless region...

It was an awesome weekend of camping, fishing, and seeing live music in the driftless area of Wisconsin. I'm pretty new to fly fishing, so it was great to get a few more fish under my belt. 

It's amazing how many people have had no contact with the driftless area. I was fortunate in that my in-laws were born and raised in that area. We spent many a weekend walking the hills in that area, driving the back roads, and eating freshly made cheese. I eventually learned how to take back roads all the way to the Mississippi River, seldom seeing another vehicle.

We gathered walnuts and other nuts in the fall, fished the streams for trout and thoroughly enjoyed what each little town had to offer. There was a special restaurant as you left La Crosse that was in the middle of nowhere but served great food. I know it is no longer there, the result of a fire. 

The area is beautiful, especially in the fall. When you're in the Kickapoo Valley, you feel like you're in the foothills to mountains. Don't let those hills fool you, given that when I would hunt morels they seem to go up and up forever.

Fortunately, I still make it out there every opening day to fish the trout streams.

The only problem with that area is the lack of work. The locals have very little in terms of employment opportunities.

Thanks for the memories.

Glaciers did not plow over that area during the most recent ice age.

I'm going to ask a REALLY dumb question.  I went to UW-Platteville in the '80's and never heard of this area called "Driftless" until the last decade or so.

How did that term come about?