5504. Go to the Clark County Old Jail Museum in Neillsville

 The hubby and I kept seeing signs for the Old Jail Museum when we drove through Neillsville. Of course, I had to Google it. It turns out that it is only open a handful days a year but nevertheless I added it to our short list of things we wanted to do. 

The Old Jail Museum is located in Neillsville just off of Hwy 10. It is open 6 days a year -- the 2nd and 4th Sundays of June, July, and August from 1-4. That is what made it so tough for us to stop. We decided we were going this year and made sure to get there. It was $3 a person to take a guided tour. Last tour left at 3:30. 

The Old Jail Museum was built in 1897 and was used as the county jail and sheriff's house until 1978. At that time, it was turned over to the Clark County Historical Society and turned into a museum.

Each sheriff brought their own furniture and belongings so none of the pieces are original to the house but there are pieces from the era. You saw the parlor, the music room, kitchen and the living quarters for the sheriff and his family. It was all very fascinating. 

After we toured the living quarters, we were passed on to another guide who led us through the jail. The first floor housed the drunk tanks or holding cells and processing room. 

The second and third floors held jail cells. All but one was converted to show different business in the county. The one cell was left as a jail cell.

The details of the different cells were amazing. They really put a lot of work into the museum and collecting of artifacts. 

Along the corridor of the 2nd floor were various radios and TV sets through out the years. 

Also on the 3rd floor was display of different military uniforms starting with the Spanish-American War. 

I was figuring since the last tour started at 3:30, the tour was going to be about 30 minutes. We were there over an hour. Our tour guides were phenomenal and we probably could have been there longer if there was not another tour behind us.

I would highly recommend going to Clark County Jail. However, we might have visited on the last day ever. The roof is in desperate need of repair and might be too costly. The whole building could be condemned. I really hope not as it is amazing museum that was well worth our time to stop. The hubby said it was probably the best thing we did all summer. I find it hard to believe it beat out the Illinois Railroad Museum but you never know. Keep an eye on their website and hopefully they can get some funding to save the building so more people can enjoy this time capsule. 

5106. See the Big One in Kaukauna

 As we walked towards the Grignon Mansion, I noticed a giant piece of a tree trunk. I mentioned to the hubby that I want to check that out. After we checked out the car show, we made our way across the street to figure out what this piece of tree was all about.

It turns out it is "The Big One". It is a section of a Douglas Fir from Tacoma, WA. Menasha Corporation originally brought the section of the tree back to the headquarters in Menasha. Eventually in 1969 it found it's way to Lock #4 in Kaukauna.

The Douglas Fir lived to be 586 years old. It even pre-dated Columbus coming to America by over 100 years. It grew to be 238 feet tall with a circumference of 34.75 feet. The diameter alone was over 13 feet. 

Although there is no sign other than the facts of the tree telling you about this random section of a tree, it is pretty cool to see. We were not the only people checking it out. I would recommend that if you check out the Grignon Mansion, to walk across the street and measure up to the Big One. 

Checking out the Grignon Mansion Car Show

 Since our summer did not go as planned, I tried to make the most of it by trying to find things to do around the area. I saw a Facebook post about a car show at the Grignon Mansion. I knew that it would be something the hubby would like. So I put it on the calendar. 

The Grignon Mansion was a wedding gift to Charles Grignon's wife in 1837. The home became known as the Mansion in the Woods to weary travelers. I have only toured the mansion at Christmas time and the hubby never has. We thought about going on a tour but opted against it. We will save that for another day.

The Grignon Mansion is located along the Fox River in Kaukauna. It sits next to a park and has plenty of open space to host a car show. Parking was mainly street parking unless you were lucky enough to snag a spot in the small lot. As we drove down the hill to the mansion, we saw cars parked several blocks away and decided if we couldn't find a close spot, we would not stop. We got lucky and spot was open less than a block away.

Like most car shows in the area, there were a lot of Chevies and not many Fords. The hubby is a big Ford guy. I just like looking at all the cars... makes and models don't really matter to me. I really prefer the old cars like Model Ts and that era. The hubby gravitates to the 50s and 60s cars. There was a good mix of them all. 

I also like unique looking cars like this little VW. I joked the hubby won't get into it.

Besides house tours ($8/person), you could take a free horse drawn wagon ride around the field. I didn't even bring this up to the hubby since the line was long and it probably wasn't his thing. 

Food and drink was also available. 

It was actually a very nice car show. We might have to add this to list to visit every year. It is free to attend and there were plenty of people checking out the cars. If you like old cars, this is definitely a good show to check out. 

Let's Go Wine Tasting -- Wild Hills Winery

 Besides Taliesin, my cousins wanted to go wine tasting. I am always up for wine tasting. I gave them a list of wineries near Taliesin and let them decide which one we would visit. They tossed around the idea of heading down towards New Glarus but decided it wasn't really worth it. They opted to visit Wild Hills Winery.

Wild Hills Winery is in Muscoda, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. Even it has a Muscoda address, it is in the boonsticks. Wild Hills is a fitting name as you need to take hilly, curvy roads to get there. I think we were in Richland County not Iowa or Grant Counties. It is all very rural and hard to determine which county you are actually in. The winery is open Thursday-Sunday starting at noon. 

Since they tout on being an Agri-Tourism business, the winery is in an old barn. They have 17 different wines to taste. You can taste 6 wines for $7 or get a flight for $14. We opted for the tasting. We were the only people in the small winery. 

I choose

Driftless Sunset -- A Semi-Sweet Orange wine. It definitely had orange under tones. I wasn't overly impressed.

La Crosse -- A semi-Sweet White with notes of pear. This one wasn't bad. It was probably one of my favorites of the day.

Wild Meadow White -- A sweet tropical white. It was definitely too tropical for me

Apple Cranberry -- This one wasn't too bad either. Cranberry was the bigger flavor.

Apple Blackcurrant -- This wasn't bad. If I had to pick, I would go with the apple cranberry.

Wild Irish Girl -- I think this is the one we all tried which we saved to the end. It was bad but it was definitely too sweet for my cousins.

None of the wines wowed us enough to bring home. Our wine cabinets are overflowing with wine so we need to be selective on what we buy until we start knocking off some of what we each have. 

Even though it is it the boonsticks and the roads are an adventure, this is probably one of the few wineries in the area. If you find yourself at Taliesin or the House on the Rock, take a detour and check out Wild Hills Winery if you have the time. It is worth a stop for some good wine and chocolates. 

5809. Go to Taliesin in Spring Green

 Usually my cousins make an annual trip to Door County. This year they decided to skip Door County and visit the Driftless Region on their yearly trip to Wisconsin. When I saw their itinerary, I asked if I could join them the day they were going to go to Taliesin. They agreed and we made plans to meet up.

Taliesin is Frank Llyod Wright's Home and Studio in Spring Green, WI. It is open for tours April-November. There are four different tours you can take each of varying lengths and costs. We opted for the Highlights Tour which was 2.25 hours and cost $70. They do not allow kids under 8 are allowed on any of the tours. 

The tour starts at the Visitor Center where they go over ground rules before busing you over to the property. 

Our tour started with a visit to Hillside, which was Frank Lloyd Wright's school. We saw the assembly hall, drafting studio, and the expansive theater. Our tour guide was wonderful and explain the design behind everything plus all the unique features of each of the rooms. 

Of the three rooms we saw, the theater was my favorite especially since it was uniquely designed. Even the seating was very unique. The curtain was designed by the students as a gift and illustrated the property.

After finding Frank's boot print in the stone and learning about the windmill and Japanese bathing tub, we headed up to the Taliesin home.

Taliesin was built, rebuilt, and added on to from 1897 to at least 1957. We saw several rooms of the house. A guide led us to each room but our tour guide was the same one from Hillside. He was just as informative here as he was at the school. He continued to tell stories about Frank Llyod Wright and his family. You really learned a lot of him as person and an architect.

Frank liked low ceilings as you came into a room. I mean really low.

We saw his personal drafting room and hidden safe.

The living room and Loggia. We joked about how uncomfortable and difficult to get out of the chairs were in his house. These chaise lounges were probably one of the more comfortable looking pieces

Mrs. Wright's Bedroom -- the last Mrs. Wright I should say. As well as Frank's bedroom.

At first I gulped at the $70 price tag at the tour they picked out. After taking the tour, I felt that it was definitely worth the price. We decided the Highlights Tour was the right choice for us. We saw just about everything, didn't have to do too much walking, and nothing really was skipped over like some of the less expensive, shorter tours.  

After our tour, we grabbed lunch at the restaurant on site. This was the best option since there really is not many places to eat at in Spring Green. I had a grilled cheese and my cousins had club sandwiches. Everything was very good and reasonably priced. The cookies were amazing.

There was a list I saw on Facebook earlier this summer about the Highest Rated Things to do in Wisconsin according to Tripadvisor. Of the 30, I now have done 23 or 24 since Taliesin was on that list. If you have never been, I highly recommend checking it out. You will learn some interesting facts about Frank Lloyd Wright and his legacy. Next on my list is to complete the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail in Wisconsin and see Taliesin West in Arizona.