On day 87 of “The Ultimate USA Road Trip” we drive from Oshkosh to Prairie du Chien, the ride takes us through beautiful green Wisconsin. There are several interesting stops along the route. There are not many stops planned for the first part of the route, but there is plenty of opportunity to stop to take photos and to plan a short stop in one of the many villages we pass. We drive west on WI-44 and WI-23 past the villages of Ripon, Green Lake, Princeton, Montello and past Buffalo Lake to Oxford, where we stop for a short break.

The next stop is planned in the town of Wisconsin Dells, take the time to explore this nice town, there is plenty to see and do, you can enjoy shopping and walking. The town is a big, unashamed and fun entertainment center. The city's water parks are among the most daring and exciting in the US. It is also known for its natural scenery, with highlights along the bends of the Wisconsin River, where gorges and forests provide beautiful scenery. Enjoy a stroll through the city and lunch in one of the many restaurants and bars.

A fun way to see the area is at the Riverside & Great Northern Railway, the Wisconsin Dells museum transports passengers in a steam train over a mile along the Dells of the Wisconsin River. This is a beautiful, scenic train ride through the Wisconsin Dells countryside. The trains leave at 10AM, 11AM, 12AM, 1PM, 2PM, 3PM and 4PM. The train ride takes 30 to 45 minutes and costs $12. –

There are also a number of wine orchards along the route, where you can also take a tour, such as the Wild Hills Winery in Richland Center. Stroll through the orchards and vineyards and learn about the grapes that produce the world-class Wild Hills Wine. Guests can end the tour with a wine tasting. Weather permitting. The tour lasts approximately 1-1.5 hours and costs $18 per person. There is an option to book a room at the nearby RD Country Guest House.

We drive along the Wisconsin River to the next stop, Fort Crawford, which was an outpost of the American army in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin in the 19th century. The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien included the existence of two fortifications, both named Fort Crawford. The first was occupied from 1816 to 1832, the second from 1832 to 1856. Both forts were part of a series of fortifications along the upper Mississippi, which included Fort Snelling near Saint Anthony Falls in Minnesota, and Fort Armstrong in Rock Island, Illinois. Fort Crawford was also associated with a series of forts built along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, including Fort Winnebago in Portage, Wisconsin and Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The site of the second fort has been preserved and houses the Fort Crawford Museum, located within the Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital. This is a 1930s reconstruction of the hospital serving the second fort. This building contains the only remaining building fragments from both forts and was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1960.

The first Fort Crawford was on the estate of Villa Louis, which is now a National Historic Landmark on St. Feriole Island, Prairie du Chien. The villa and estate are a historical museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The site was restored to its original state in the late 19th century, when it was the estate of the prominent H. Louis Dousman family, descendants of a fur trader and entrepreneur.

The site was inhabited by Native American tribes, especially the Mound Builders, as evidenced by the large mound on which later structures on the site (Fort Shelby, Fort Crawford, and the homes of Hercules and Louis Dousman) all stood. In 1814, the Siege of Prairie du Chien was fought in the area by American and British forces hoping to gain control of Fort Shelby during the War of 1812. The land was later occupied by Fort Crawford.

After white settlers displaced indigenous communities from their homelands, the land was purchased by Hercules L. Dousman, a man of many professions: a fur trader, a lumberman, a land sculptor, and a frontier entrepreneur. In the mid-1840s he began building the estate from which Villa Louis would be born. The location he chose was perfect because of its proximity to the Mississippi River. Later, Dousman's son Louis established the current estate, at its center an elegant Villa Louis mansion designed by E. Townsend Mix, built in 1871 in the Victorian Italianate style.

We spend the night in Praire du Chien, the second oldest community in Wisconsin, after Green Bay. The first Catholic congregation was founded here by Jesuit missionary Father Marie Joseph Dunand, who came up the river from St. Louis and settled here in 1817. Prairie du Chien is a French expression that can be translated as 'Prairie of the dog'. Prairie du Chien has some unique restaurants and shops worth a visit, and there are some lovely parks, especially St Feriole Island which is a lovely walking area. You can also take a Mississippi cruise and for a pleasant evening you can choose from several good restaurants and cozy bars Downtown.