#4340 Go to Buena Vista Park and Overlook in Alma

The last stop on the Inner Elementary Teacher/History Geek Road Trip was not a historical site, didn't tie back to a Kiddie Lit book, or required an admission. It was merely added to the trip to get me to another county in Wisconsin (64 out of 72). Honestly I didn't care if it was even on the bucket list. I wanted to cross of Buffalo County and originally planned on just driving back through Mondovi just to cross it off. However, while exploring the Internet, I discovered Alma wasn't all that far from Pepin and that I would get to travel part of the Great River Road (Hwy 35). Then I saw that you could actually stop at an overlook in Alma, it sealed the deal. Later I discovered that Buena Vista Park and Overlook was on the bucket list.

 Great River Road

This was the best part of the entire trip. The drive and the views were amazing. My original plan was to hike to the top of the overlook and back down. However, some how I missed the the Nature Center where the trail began and ended up driving to the top of the overlook. In hindsight, this was probably for the best. It probably would have taken me longer than I had time to hike to the top. It was a long way up and I wasn't prepared for quite a hike.

The view of the dam.

Once I made it up windy road to the overlook, I was greeted with an amazing view of the dam and the Mississippi. There was no guard rail at the end of the over look and I was afraid of slipping and tumbling down over the steep embankment. So I didn't get very close to the edge. I don't think the hubby would have been too happy if I killed myself by trying to get the perfect picture.

The Mississippi

When I got to the top, I found the end of the trail, I thought for a second to hike down and back up. Then I realized that once I got to the bottom, I would have climb back up and that just didn't sound like fun. As I was heading back down into Alma, I saw a hand written sign for winery up another windy road and I thought as much as I like to visit a winery, it didn't sound a fun thing to do alone. Nor did I want to navigate the windy roads after some wine.

Unless you're afraid of heights or get motion sick, go for a Sunday drive over to Alma and check out the views from the Buena Vista Overlook. All it's going to cost you is gas. If you are real ambitious try hiking the trail to the top. Alma seems like a quaint little town that I'd check out too. I didn't have time to find a parking spot and explore. The dam looks to be worth checking out. There's cute shops to stop in and don't forget that winery on top of the hill. One day I will get back and explore the little river town.

#4346 Go to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Pepin

The second and third stops on the Inner Elementary Teacher/History Geek Road Trip were the Laura Ingalls Wilder Cabin and Museum.  Both of these made complete sense after visiting Caddie Woodlawn's Cabin since both Laura and Caddie lived in Western Wisconsin in the mid 1800's.

After a topsy-turvy drive on a few country roads from Caddie's cabin, I arrived at the Ingall's cabin near Stockholm.

Again it was a modest little homestead. This one was a modern reconstruction of their cabin on their original land. Imagine Pa, Ma, Laura, and her 2 sisters lived in this cabin in the Big Woods. The woods are no longer there but if you follow Hwy CC in Pepin County from the Cabin to Pepin you probably are on the same wagon trail Laura and her family took to get to "town". 

The first thing I did when I went into the cabin was to check for Pa's Gun rack. Pa hung his loaded gun over the door of the cabin (gasp..with young children in the house. Laura and her sister even helped their Pa make bullets and load the gun).  No hooks for the gun. I guess they missed that detail when reconstructing the cabin.

No hooks for Pa's gun

After checking out the cabin, I headed into Pepin to check out the actual museum. I was thoroughly disappointed. The 2 main room, plus 2 side rooms museum was not worth the $5 admission price. It probably took me 10 minutes to go through the museum. I am not sure what I was expecting but I thought they would have been more actual artifacts from the Ingalls family. There were a lot of period items donated by other people that the Ingalls may have had similar items. It did show the kinds of tools and household items Laura would have had while growing up. There were a couple items of interest if you paid attention to the books... Laura's red mittens, her doll that she received for Christmas, Pa's fiddle.

One side room was a set up as a kitchen and the other was set up as a school. The kitchen was behind the room that had all the period tools. The school was set up on the other side of the museum behind the transportation room. In the transportation room, kids could be a river boat captain in a model river boat. I personally liked the covered wagon. It was probably the same kind of wagon that Laura would have traveled in from The Little House in the Big Woods to the Little House on the Prairie. The schoolroom was your typical one room school house display. 

 Again I think I had too high of expectations and was disappointed but anyone that has read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder should check out both her cabin and the museum. Even though I wasn't impressed I think kids who read the books for the first time, will be able to visualize the book better. It's not every day you can see a book come to life and see exactly where and how the main character lived. And for that reason alone, it's worth the trip (and the admission cost). 

# 4337 Go to the Caddie Woodlawn Historical Site in Downsville

When the hubby asked what I wanted to see while in Eau Claire for the Babe Ruth Regional Tournament, I consulted the List and decided on a Inner Elementary Teacher/History Geek Road Trip sounded like fun. However it would be a 2-3 hour adventure and the hubby couldn't spare the time so I went on a solo mini road trip to see a few cabins, a museum, and a bluff. The first stop was Caddie Woodlawn's Cabin near Downsville.

After the GPS took me to the wrong place, I arrived at a little county park in Dunn County along Hwy 25 outside of Menomonie.

And this is what I found

It was a lot smaller than I expected. Caddie, her 2 brothers, and 2 sisters lived in this tiny little house with her parents while growing up on a farm. They also had a barn and a farm hand. 

I won't say I wasted my time but if this was the only thing I wanted to see on my road trip I would have been thoroughly disappointed. It probably rated a 2 on the fun factor. However, anyone that has read Caddie Woodlawn's story should take the opportunity to see how she lived if you are in the area. 

Catfish Concert 2015 -- Alabama

A few years ago, I saw that the Beach Boys were playing at the Greenville Catfish Concert. I wanted to go and the hubby reluctantly went along. Every year in January or February, Greenville Lions post teasers of who is their headliner for the Concert is on the Catfish Website. This year it said something about “Song of the South” and “Mountain Music” which meant that Alabama was coming. I mention this to the hubby and he said he never seen Alabama and would like to go. I’ve seen Alabama’s farewell tour but didn’t mind going again.

Tickets were $35/person. It is all general admission seating. Lion’s Park in Greenville has a great set up for concerts. They built the stage at the bottom of a stepped hill. Then you bring your lawn chairs/blankets and sit on the hill. There are flat areas built into the hill place your chairs, so it’s you aren’t sitting on a slope. Near the front of the stage is a standing area for those die-hard fans that want to be up close and personal. The earlier you get there, the closer to the stage you can get. We don’t mind sitting at the top of the hill and were about 4 rows from the back.

Parking was $10 and the Lions and Fire Department did a really good job of parking everyone in a big grassy field. They leave room for people to get out. You just have to remember where you parked. Leaving at the end of the concert was a little more difficult as no one was directing traffic until we got to the road. Everyone was leaving at the same time but for the most part everyone was really good and patient. It took us probably a good 30 minutes to get out but we were in no hurry. Once we got to the highway, cops directed traffic and only let you go certain ways. Good thing the hubby knows every road, highway, dirt path, and ditch in a 5 county area.

Before Alabama came on, there were two opening acts – a local band, Grand Union Station, and The Kentucky Headhunters. Grand Union wasn’t bad but there were pretty much a cover band. Kentucky Headhunters were not my kind of music since they are mainly bluegrass. At times they were difficult to hear. That was the time to people watch. For the most part it was an older crowd back where we sitting. There weren’t too many rowdy people. I didn’t see any fights.

Alabama came on and played a fantastic concert as usual. Being as far back as we were, we still were able to see and hear just fine. There were video boards to help with seeing the stage on either side of the stage. Randy, the lead singer, had on a Packer’s jersey. They played their hits, some lesser known songs, and even one or two new songs. When the concert was over, they came out for an Encore. However, I wasn’t expecting just one song since it was not “Angels Among Us” which they used to close the show out to. I really expected them to end the show with “Angels Among Us” and was disappointed not to hear it.

Overall it was a great concert and even the hubby said he enjoyed it. We would see Alabama again anytime. Next year is the 15th anniversary of the Catfish Concert. I wonder who they will bring in and will they be able to beat a sold out Alabama Concert??

Mike Jirschele Bobblehead Night

Last week I got my weekly update about promotions and happenings at Fox Cities Stadium and the T-Rat game. It said next Thursday was going to be Mike Jirschele, bobblehead night. I mentioned this to the hubby, who said he wanted one and wanted to know where he was. I told him he was in Lomira and asked if he wanted me to go and get him. His response, “Not if you’re going by yourself.” So I put a post on Facebook asking if anyone wanted to go to the game. Danielle said she’d go with me. I ordered tickets to pick up at will call.

I knew from past experience that we would need to get to the stadium before the gates opened to make sure we got a bobblehead since they were only giving away 1000 of them and Mike was a Clintonville native. Danielle was at my place around 4:45 and we were there by 5:00 for a 7 pm start. We stood in line for a half hour before the gates even opened. Luckily it waited to rain.  When we got in line, there were probably close to 100 people already in line and by the time the gates opened, the line stretch all the way down the first base side parking lot. Once we had our bobbleheads, we stood in a much shorter line to have Mike sign them. 

The line when we got in it 30 minutes before gates opened

Now you’re probably thinking why would we stand in line for this Mike guy’s bobblehead? 1. He’s from Clintonville. 2. He used to play for the Appleton Foxes 3. He is now the 3^rd base coach for the Kansas City Royals. So basically, he’s a local guy that made it to the big leagues. If you are not from the Valley or a Royals fan, this bobblehead probably has no value to you. For the hubby, it is a cool piece to add to his collection.

Getting my bobblehead signed

We never did get to see the baseball game. It poured buckets shortly after we got inside and the eventually we left. Shortly after we left, they called the game.

#3999 Go to the Port Exploreum

A few months back on Facebook I noticed a new museum, the Port Exploreum, coming to my hometown. Without knowing anything about it, I added it to the bucket list because it was in Port Washington and it's a museum. I like random museums. Turns out this one isn't so random. My parents checked it out when it first opened and informed me that Vern Biever's photos were on display through the end of October. Mom stuck the pamphlet in my stuff when I saw her and I nonchalantly showed the hubby who said we had to go. That was how I got the hubby to check out the Port Exploreum with me.

The museum itself is downtown Port and covers 3 floors. It's not huge but it's a decent size. It is very hands-on and up to date on technology. There are not a lot of physical displays but there are a lot of interactive displays.

In the basement is the Maritime display where it talks about fish in Lake Michigan, shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, and various ship captains. There is an virtual reality fishing game that teaches you about the fish and invasive species in Lake Michigan. The hubby did pretty well at the game. Me on the other hand, not so much. It was fun trying though. There is a periscope that allows you to see what's happening on the marina and it actually turns. There are some diving helmets that allow you to explore shipwrecks.

On the 1st and 2nd floors, was mostly Vern Biever's photos and dark room. Not only was he a Packer's photographer for many years, he also was a World War II photographer. Many of his never seen before photos of the war are on display. There is a video playing more photos by him and his son.

 Vern Biever's Dark Room

WWII Picture

On the second floor was also a interactive Ozaukee Press that allowed you to learn the history of Port and actual events. I read about the chair factory fire. There was also something on the different breweries. You could spend hours just reading old newspaper clips.

As we left, we talked to one of the staff who said the Maritime exhibit is permanent while the Vern Biever is temporary. They are thinking about doing exhibits on Commercial Fishing in Port and Commercial Fishing Families next. She said they plan on changing exhibits every 4 months or so.

Admission was $8 which wasn't bad for what there was. The hubby said he would go back. It's a nice museum with a great view of the lake from the deck on the 2nd floor.

The Marina from the Port Exploreum