Tag: Carriages

2025 Villa Louis Carriage Classic

As soon as I learned of the Carriage Classic, I knew I wanted to attend.  A few years ago we toured the 1871 historic home, Villa Louis (on the National Register of Historic Places), on St. Feriole Island on the Mississippi River.

It is there where I learned the Carriage Classic is an annual event, going on 45 years, and is always held the weekend after Labor Day. 

We visited with the owner and learned this restored carriage was a 1864 Studebaker Trap, originally owned by the Studebaker family.
Carriages came in all colors: black, yellow, cranberry, green…
…and a beautifully restored wooden carriage.

Folks from all over the United States trailer their horses and carriages and gather together in the park across the lawn from Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They come to participate in contests and to show off their pride and joy, their horses and carriages. 

This is one of my favorite photos.
Many of the carriages had an area for picnic baskets and/or luggage in the back.

The idea of yesteryear with horses and carriages, and my fairly new interest in horses, encouraged me to put the date on the calendar earlier this year, so as not to miss this event. I’m glad we made time for it.

It was a wonderful drive down the Mississippi River on our first day, stopping to take a bike ride on the Root River State Trail and discovering lefse chips. We continued on to stay overnight near the Carriage Classic so we could be at the entrance soon after it opened on Friday morning. Friday was the first day of the three-day event. We enjoyed our one day attendance a lot.  

A modern horse in the front of this line…

It was unusually cold and windy. Due to the wind, I did not wear my “fancier” straw hat that I had brought along, but many of the Classic participants did wear their hats, and some dressed in costume, which is part of the tradition we were told. 

Joy abounds…another favorite photo.
There were several miniature horses too.

Many of the carriages were restored, and shone beautifully. All the horses were groomed impeccably. The carriage drivers meandered on a wide-open field before participating in their special events. Spectators could meander along with them, and take photos. That was special.

This carriage was pulled by four horses…we only saw one with four horses this day.

I enjoyed taking over a hundred photos, of the horses, carriages, hats, temporary stables, historic hotel, flowers and more…there was so much to see. It was all so picturesque.

Waiting for their turn.

There was a food stand with delicious breakfast and lunch items for reasonable rates so we didn’t have to leave the grounds. There were table and chairs set up for comfort, and small bleachers were at some venues. There was live music – a man and his synthesizer – playing tunes during the competitions. There was no entry fee, and no parking fee. 

Even though the temperature was chilly, the sky was mostly sunny and it was a delightful day to be at the Carriage Classic watching the nuances of “another world” go by. 

The large open field where we could walk among the horses and carriages.

Root River Trail and Beyond

It was a sandwich board that caught my attention while biking on the Root River State Trail.

I saw the words “lefse chips” and, being the Norwegian that I am, all things lefse makes me curious. So we veered off the trail and biked a block into the small town of Peterson, population 227. 

We found the store (not too difficult) and walked through the middle of the magnetic screen door – a great invention.

This screen door is flexible. The two screens come together in the middle and latch with magnets. One can easily walk through the door. It was unique.

Tiger Trail Lefse Chip Co. is a small store that makes and sells lefse and lefse chips. I had never heard of lefse chips (much like Mexican tortilla chips) . They sell mainly online, and mostly to breweries and wineries. However, in this small storefront there were several samples of the lefse chips to taste. We liked them all. We bought a bag of the Hot Honey BBQ chips to bring home (and support this small business).

More cyclists stopped to explore the store too, and it felt festive on this chilly morning in this small town… that has big displays of gnomes, including statues, flags and wall murals.

This mural is painted on the side of the Post Office.
The light poles in the town of Peterson have banners with gnomes on them, in multiple colors.

After a good rest, we got back on our bikes to ride the “rail to trail” bike path that runs along the Root River. Yellow coneflowers, goldenrod and black-eyed susan’s were blooming along this beautiful portion of the trail.

Along the Root River.
Up close.
Scenic barn along the trail.

Even though it was a chilly morning, the sky was partly sunny and the trail was busy with hardy bicyclists. Earlier in the morning we left Northfield and drove a couple hours to get the trailhead. It was about 50* when we started to bike.

After our ride, we ate our picnic lunch outdoors, at the Rushford trailhead (it had warmed up by then).

An old jail house. Through the windows you can see the bars of the small, cell inside.
A portion of an old chapel.

The old train depot, in Rushford, is currently being renovated. Next door was an old school, a chapel and a jail house. Presumably those three buildings, along with the depot, will be part of the trailhead museum when all is finished. The town of Rushford, population 1,852, seems to be growing.

The Root River trailhead in Rushmore, Minnesota.

After lunch we continued to drive to Marquette, Iowa for an overnight stay. The drive took us through southeastern Minnesota bluff country and along the Mississippi River.

It was picturesque with green bluffs, the blue skies and puffy white clouds. A great day for a gorgeous drive. The place we stayed had some beautiful annual hanging baskets that are still vibrant.

We stopped to observe an interesting boat while driving back from the restaurant that evening.

The L. Wade Childress

It was intriguing to see this “pushboat” resting on land on the banks of the river, near Prairie du Chien. (This is when the internet is so useful. We found the faded name of the boat, on the outside of the bridge, so we looked up Wade Childress and found information.) We learned it had sunk near Fort Madison Iowa in 1985.

It was a fun day of discoveries.