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News about the rise of the covid delta variant influenced us to cut our trip short. Our ages and comorbidities were risk factors we couldnt control. Nevertheless, we had a fabulous time at all the places we did see. Our country is so beautiful and we can't wait to get out on the road again.

Circus World

Baraboo Wisconsin was the hometown of the Ringling Brothers. Then it was the winter home of the circus every winter. The Circus World Museum has a big top and multiple buildings that used to house the animals. The buildings have been refurbished and now hold exhibits of posters, costumes, and circus wagons from many different circuses. It was really interesting to see a rail car that transported animals and read about how the circus was such a big part of entertainment culture in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Wisconsin: it’s not what you imagine

If you think Wisconsin is all farms and dairies and cheese and average people, you haven't seen the Wisconsin I've seen. I am not a minimalist but our visit to House on the Rock, triggered a panic attack from being surrounded by so much stuff. Alex Jordan was an eccentric genius who designed a home on a big rock just down the road from Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesan. He incrementally proceeded to expand it and fill it with countless collections that he acquired or had built. (actually that is quite an understatement) He was a collector and commissioned the largest carousel in the world. You just have to read about it. Then we stopped by Dr Evermor's park with his Forevertron. Here's what Wikipedia says: "The sculpture incorporates two Thomas Edison dynamos from the 1880s, lightning rods, high-voltage components from 1920s power plants, scrap from the nearby Badger Army Ammunition Plant, and the decontamination chamber from the Apollo 11 spacecraft.[2] Its creator, Tom Every (1938 - 2020),[3][4] was born in Brooklyn, Wisconsin and was a demolition expert who spent decades collecting antique machinery for the sculpture and the surrounding fiction that justifies it. According to Every, Dr. Evermor was a Victorian inventor who designed the Forevertron to launch himself, "into the heavens on a magnetic lightning force beam." The Forevertron, despite its size and weight, was designed to be relocatable to a different site—the sculpture is built in sections that are connected by bolts and pins." I got to talk to his widow, Lady Eleanor, who was absolutely lovely and clearly misses her husband who passed away last year. In addition to art, we visited the International Crane Society's sanctuary with the 15 different types of cranes that are in the world. We ended our day by staying at the Ringling House B and B in Baraboo. This is where the Ringling Brothers Circus began.

Saturday in Wisconsin

Our day started with dark skies that opened up and it ended with a tornado siren and even darker skies. In between we drove through fields of Queen Anne's Lace and visited two more folk art sites: the grotto at Holy Ghost church in Dickeyville and Nick Engelbert's Grandview. Both are very different examples of what untrained but motivated men with concrete,shells, and shards of glass can make.

Pies and Visionaries

Pies: what the monolith was in the movie 2001: - a space odyssey , this pie carousel was to me. After years of Bob bringing back peach pies to Virginia from Norse Nook in Wisconsin, i finally got to visit the mothership. The blue ribbons crowning the pie carousel attest to the perfection within. Luckily there are 3 NN locations in the state so we may have another visit ahead in the next few days.

Visionaries- In the 1950s Herman Rusch got bored with retirement so he bought a dance hall and some land. He proceeded to mix up cement and paint and other materials and create a sculpture garden. The Kohler Foundation preserved the garden and the Prarie Moon Sculpture Garden is now open to the public in Fountain City, WI. So now I have both good news AND bad news for our neighbors. I will return home inspired to bake pies and mix up batches of cement.

Waters of the Dancing Sky

Waters of the dancing sky This most beautiful name has been given to Minnesota's northernmost scenic drive. It travels from Voyageurs National Park along the Canadian border. The “dancing sky” refers to the northern lights. We visited the National Park and learned about the Voyageurs. Voyageur is a French word, meaning “traveler”. From the beginning of the fur trade in the 1680s until the late 1870s, the voyageurs were the workhorses of the fur trade. (Working for John Jacob Astor) Each man was responsible for approx 180 lbs of materials. They would paddle canoes or portage the canoes and goods over water land 16 to 18 hours a day. Astor wanted to create a string of trading posts across western North America that would funnel furs for shipment to markets in China. Washington Irving was commissioned by Astor to Write up his story. “Astoria” is available to read for free on Project Gutenberg.com

Roadside Art With a Message in Hovland, MN - North Shore Explorer MN

Roadside Art With a Message in Hovland, MN - North Shore Explorer MN

South of the (Canadian) Border

Whether it's natural beauty like the sunrise over Lake Superior in Lutsen MN or human made art along the side of the road, travel is such a fountain of inspiration and learning. Covid restrictions kept us south of the Canadian border which was closed. But we spent the whole morning at Grand Portage where we learned about the Objibwe, French, American and other traders that had a thriving community and businesses here after the French Indian War. Traveling has made it evident that there is always so much to learn. It seems that everywhere we choose to travel, the WPA amd CCC programs of the New Deal have left their mark. Here the WPA funded programs enabled the Ojibwe to practice their traditional skills and crafts. Driving back to the lodge after Grand Portage we decided to make a stop and investigate a sight that was unbelievable when we speeded past earlier. Its the second picture which is yard art that is quite an assemblage. In a separate post I've included a link to a great article about the creator.

Wisconsin to Minnesota

Mural in Ashland Wisconsin

Leif Erickson Park and Rose Garden in Duluth 

 

Smoke from the fires in Canada was pretty bad so we cancelled our boat ride around the Apostle Islands.  That makes 3 boat tours cancelled due to weather or air quality.  Luckily, we could lessen our disappointment by eating.  In Michigan it was the fabulous cherries in/on everything- duck, fish, jams, pies.  Wisconsin was tough because so many food places we went to were closed. Finding enough staff is said to be the problem.  Help wanted signs are everywhere. Fast

Food places now pay their workers daily.  No need to wait 2 weeks to get a pay check. In Wisconsin there is a pay differential depending on the worker’s age.  Not much incentive for teens to work. If a place IS open, there is probably a long wait to be seated.   Repeatedly finding closed  restaurants  really builds the appetite.  Luckily, we have the pies of the Midwest.   Pies are the nectar of the gods here. 

Pie menu at Rustic Inn

These pies are served without ice cream or whipped cream. No problem. They stand on their own.

Marquette MI

 

I love “outsider,” “self taught “ “visionary artists” or whatever you call us untrained makers. Bob found this gem of a sculpture park outside of Marquette, MI.  Tom Lakenenland, an ironworker, used his skills, imagination, and scrap metal to create art and social commentary.  Here’s a link to see it:

Lakenenland Sculpture Park

Mushroom Houses

We arrived in the charming village of Charlevoix, MI just as the drawbridge was being raised to allow a big boat to go through to Lake Michigan.  We had a tour of the Mushroom Homes designed by Earl Young (also the name of a former neighbor of ours.) He was a self trained architect who would go find the stones he used to build the houses. The buildings have an organic, fairy tale quality to them and also shared some characteristic with Frank Lloyd Wright homes. This was Young’s hometown and he built 26 homes and 4 commercial structures  during the 1920- 40s. Many of the homes are now available to rent via vrbo and there is the Hotel Earl. During most of our time in Charlevoix I inadvertently paid homage to Young’s quirkiness by wearing my shirt inside out.  The people behind me on the tram must have been very impressed.  Other stops included the Kilwin’s (candy and ice cream) manufacturing facility, a sailboat race on Little Travers Bay and a stop for pasties.  Each of these meat and potato hand held pies weighed about 1 pound. Somehow we were able to each (almost) finish one.