Five Great Things To Do In and Around Mount Carroll, Illinois

If the pace of the city has you stressing, consider a break in Mount Carroll (about two-and-a-half hours from the Loop). This isn’t a one-stoplight town—it’s a no stoplight town. Its one-street, cobblestone business district just 10 miles east of the Great River Road Bike Trail, is home to several…

History and Catfish in Dubuque, Iowa

A River Runs Past It
We all know it’s cooler by the lake, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook the charms of river towns. Take Dubuque—no, really: Dubuque—for example. Check into the 171-year-old Hotel Julien ($109–$229), and the history is palpable. The golden era of riverboat gamblers, steamboat captains, and showboats may be gone, but their architecture remains. After the place burned to the ground in 1913, the Julien rebuilt with grand Romanesque elegance…