Reading “Driftless” Everywhere…
Books, magazines, outdoor adventure, gear, music, food… the Driftless moniker has embedded itself into the genus loci of the Upper Midwest.
The Paleozoic Plateau or Blufflands area covers about 50,000 square kilometers (~19,300 square miles) and was surrounded by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the most recent period of glaciation, ending about 11,000 years ago. As glaciers retreat, rocks and debris both large and small are left behind — this is glacial drift.
The Upper Mississippi River valley from northwest Illinois and northeast Iowa through southeast Minnesota and all of southwest Wisconsin is name for something it is not. “Driftless” was first applied as a geological designation by J.D. Whitney in his 1862 “Report on the Upper Mississippi land region physiogeography and surface geology.”
It wasn’t until the 1990s that regional entrepreneurs embraced the name, starting around the Viroqua, WI, area. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was common to hear references to the “Coulee Region” around La Crosse (taken from the French-Canadian fur-trade era use of coulée in to reference the area’s steep canyon-like valleys; like a holler down south).
But today, we call it what it’s not — Driftless.
There are likely more, but below is a list of 45 Driftless products, places, groups, destinations, and provisioners:
Big Driftless — Backpacks and outdoor gear (Decorah, IA)
Decoding the Driftless — award-winning documentary film “of science exploration and adventure” (Sustainable Driftless, 2018)
Driftless — book by David Rhodes, Milkweed Editions, 2006
Driftless Angler — fly-fishing & guide shop (Viroqua, WI)
Driftless Area Art Festival — Summer arts fair (Soldier’s Grove, WI)
Driftless Area Land Conservancy — Land trust of southwest Wisconsin
Driftless Area Magazine — Media organization (Richland Center, WI)
Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Iowa & Wisconsin)
Driftless Area Wetlands Centre — Environmental education (Marquette, IA)
Driftless Area Scenic Byway — 144-mile route through Allamakee and Winneshiek counties, northeast Iowa
Driftless Artifacts / Adventures — Vintage clothes and imagery (Kickapoo, WI)
Driftless Brewing — Brewery and tasting room (Soldier’s Grove, WI)
Driftless Books & Music — Used book store and record shop housed in a massive former tobacco warehouse (Viroqua, WI)
Driftless Café— Farm to-table cafe (Viroqua, WI)
Driftless Chocolates — Chocolatier shop located in the historic Paoli Mill (Belleville, WI)
Driftless Curiosity — Experiential education, farming, arts, and social justice organization (Viola, WI)
Driftless Depot — Organic market, deli & cafe (Spring Green, WI)
Driftless Dreams — Certified organic hemp & CBD products (Madison & “Ocooch Mountains,” WI)
Driftless Dreamers in Cuca Country — Collection of regional songs and musicians originally recorded at Cuca Records (Sauk City, WI) from the 1950s into the 1970s
Driftless Film Festival — Annual autumn film festival (Mineral Point, WI)
Driftless Fly Fishing Company —Trout fishing guide services (Preston, MN)
Driftless Glen Distillery — Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, Vodka, Brandy, Moonshine, and Gin (Barabooze, WI)
Driftless Gold — Pure organic maple syrup (Kickapoo valley, WI)
Driftless Grown — Farmers, makers, + producers collaborative (Houston, MN)
Driftless Journal — news + media company (Winneshiek County, IA)
Driftless Land Stewardship — Natural Areas Management (Bagley, WI)
Driftless Now — Media company focused on southwest WI (Oxford, WI)
Driftless Folk School—Classes in land stewardship, woodworking, arts and crafts, organic ag., herbalism, wilderness skills, and more.(Viroqua, WI)
Driftless Market & Deli — Local & organic foods market (Platteville, WI)
Driftless Music Gardens — Outdoor concert venue (Hillsboro, WI)
Driftless Organics — Organic produce (Soldier’s Grove, WI)
Driftless Pathways — Archaeological consulting, tours, and curation (Lodi, WI)
Driftless Provisions — Delicious cured meats & charcuterie (Viroqua, WI)
Driftless Randonneurs — Bicycling in western Wisconsin
Driftless Recovery — Recovery, counseling, and housing services (La Crosse, WI)
Driftless Social — Restaurant …opening soon (Mount Horeb, WI)
Driftless Solar — Solar power installation company (Spring Green, WI)
Driftless Trading Post — Outdoor-recreation convenience store (Peterson, MN)
Driftless Troubadours — Performing songwriters’ trio (Winona County, MN)
Driftless Traditional Tannery — Small, woman-owned and operated hide tanning company (Argyle, WI)
Driftless Wisconsin — Regional tourism promotion (Prairie du Chien, WI)
Driftless Writing Center — Literary arts organization (Viroqua, WI)
OFF The Driftless — Wellness and adventure company (Decorah, IA)
Southern Driftless Grasslands — Grassland conservation (Dodgeville, WI)
The Driftless — multi-layered event space (Dubuque, IA)
The Driftless Area Karst Trail — National Speleological Society collaborative effort to celebrate 2021 and 2022 International Year of Caves and Karst
The Driftless Half Marathon, Relay, and 5k — (Lansing, IA)
The Driftless Project — Photography by Randy Larson (Iowa County, WI)
The Driftless Reader — Terrific edited volume compiled by Curt Meine and Keefe Keeley (UW Press, 2017)
More??? Drop me a line with other “Driftless” items for this list…
