Julien, Ulysses, and the wind

Today Shrue, my son, and I made a journey through the lead region of southwestern Wisconsin, tracing our way down from Shullsburg and Benton on down to Dubuque. This was also a journey into history. The very first European into the area in pursuit of lead was Julien Dubuque, who mined lead under an agreement with the Meskwahki native Americans and under a land grant from the Governor for Spain in New Orleans. My son is on an overlook in the Mines of Spain state recreation area. Julien was the first European to mine lead in the area south of modern day Dubuque. The overlook is at the location at which Julien Dubuque was buried in 1810.

From 1810 on into the 1800s with a trip to the Ulysses S. Grant home and statue in Galena, Illinois. Grant would fight in the Mexican-American war and with fellow Illinoisan Lincoln would battle to preserve a union of the people, by the people, for the people. Grant would go on to become the 18th president of the United States.

Moving from the late 1800s to the early 21st century, just east of Galena is the Acciona EcoGrove wind turbine farm. The units are giant with the nacelle 235 feet up, blades 130 feet across, and the tip swinging to 400 feet above the ground.

See the tree at the base? That is the only thing that can give one a sense of scale, otherwise these look like toy propellers.

More photos!

This trip was by design an educational journey for myself and my son. We learned about the lead miners who became known as "badgers" for living in their lead mine caves through the cold Wisconsin winter. We geocached the location of sites such as Wisconsin's Point of Origin.

We learned about Julien Dubuque who first sought lead in the area of the city named for him. He would marry the daughter of a local native American chief and would be an advocate for the native Americans in the late 1700s. He is buried in the Mines of Spain State Recreation area. The area was held by Spain at that time and the Spanish Governor in New Orleans gave Julien permission to mine lead in the area of modern day Dubuque, hence the moniker "Spanish Mines."

We also learned about the Mississippi and its role in carrying goods through the heartland of America. We learned about Ulysses S. Grant in his home town of Galena, the Mexican-American war, and, as the monument noted, "the rebellion" from 1861 to 1865. Grant would go on to become the 18th president.

The learning journey then jumped a hundred years into the future with a focus on global alternative energy efforts and the Acciona wind turbines designed in Spain. Spain is once again a force in the upper midwest, this time for their EcoGrove wind turbine farm.

This journey is reminiscent of the style of education advocated by Rousseau in his book Emile - one-on-one in-situ learning.