Inside the Shantyboat through the Driftless Area

Jeremiah took a nice panoramic photo of the inside of the shanyboat. Scroll right to see the whole thing.

Shantyboat Sunset Interior. Photo by Jeremiah Daniels. (Scroll right >>)

Currently Hazel and I are on the loose on the streets of Prairie du Chien. One of many adorable little towns on the Mississippi River through the Driftless Region.

Did I tell you about the Driftless Area? Referred to geologically as the “Paleozoic Plateau,” it is an area near the intersection of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois untouched by glaciers in the last major ice age. Because the area escaped the deposits of drift and scouring effects of glaciation, it is marked by high sudden bluffs and deep valleys (called Coulees locally, a French Canadian word associated with low places where water flows). This gives the area a dramatic geography, wholly different from the flatlands surrounding it.

Driftless Area from the back of the shantyboat. (Scroll right >>)

People here are mighty proud of it, and it’s not just geology nerds who sport bumper stickers that say “driftless.”

driftless sticker

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