Visiting the Chamber of Twisted Souls

 There is a house by the Kimberly Library that I noticed was decked out for Halloween. They usually decorate for Christmas as well. I figured I would check it out with Danielle after the Great Pumpkin Walk. Boy were we surprised when we drove by and realized it was a lot bigger than just a few skeletons in the yard. It turns out it was the Chamber of Twisted Souls, a haunted house. Since it wasn't dark out yet, I could safely handle a haunted house. I don't like things jumping out at me.

The Chamber of Twisted Souls is free with donations going to Toys for Tots. Parking is on the street but if you round the corner, watch out for the fire hydrant. We had to walk a little farther than expected. It is very easy to get to as it's off the main drag and plenty of street parking. They are open nightly from 6:30(ish) to 10 (ish). Mondays are kids nights so just lights, no spooky sounds or animation. 

Since we got there shortly after 6, it was not too spooky. The front yard, garage, and backyard are full of Halloween spookiness. They consider themselves a haunted walk instead of a haunted house.

Each area has a different theme. Here are some of my favorites

The graveyard complete with the Grim Reaper

The Zombie daycare is just adorable. 

Pirates -- who doesn't like a mermaid skeleton. 

And even an electrocution chamber.

There was also a whole display devoted to creepy clowns. I am not afraid of clowns and I made sure Danielle wasn't before we ventured in the backyard. There are well over two dozen creepy clowns and there is even a ticket both.

There is so much to see and hear. I was waiting for this guy to pop up but never did. 

I will be honest I found it amusing and found myself laughing at the craziness of it all. Maybe because it wasn't really dark out so it wasn't really spooky.  I'm sure in the dark it would be much more sinister.

If you are into spooky Halloween fun, check out The Chamber of Twisted Souls in Kimberly before it's too late.

5741. Go to the Reed School Historic Site near Neillsville

 I get a text from my brother last month saying they found a neat little one room schoolhouse for me to check out if I was ever in Clark County. I was like in Neillsville? We go by it all time when we go to Eau Claire but it's usually not open when we go by. Well this week it was going to be open and I told the hubby we were stopping.

The Reed School house is on the corner of US 10 and Cardinal Avenue just east of Reedsburg. It is open Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day Weekend to the last weekend in October 10-4. Admission is free. It is a Wisconsin Historical Society Site as well.

The Reed School was used from 1915 to 1951. One Room Schoolhouses were built about every four miles because it was thought children could walk 2 miles to school. After it closed it was many things including a storage shed until Gordon Smith bought it. Gordon Smith attended the Reed School for 6 weeks in 1939 and it had a impact on his life. Mr. Smith bought it, had it restored, and gifted it to the Wisconsin Historical Society. 

The Reed School is the original floor, ceiling and windows. The ceiling is impressive. 

The desks are period specific and from other one room school houses. 

The bookcase is original. A public school teacher had it in her classroom and donated it back to the school.

The Reed School is unique as it has a basement. In the basement is the history of the Reed School along with county ledgers explaining the expenses of the school. Fascinating stuff.. 

The volunteer guide was amazing. She was a retired teacher for Loyal and gave us the history of the school, Mr. Smith, and some of the artifacts. 

We even got to ring the bell. The was more difficult than it looked.

I would highly suggest if you passing through Clark County to stop at the Reed School. It is an amazing time capsule of days gone by. Then stop and see the Chatty Cow down the road.

7714. Make a paper bead bracelet

 Scrolling through Pinterest, I saw that you can make beads out of paper. It looked interesting and easy enough that I saved several examples to my crafting board and promptly forgot about them... like usual. When Kaukauna Library offered a paper beads as one of their Make and Mingle Events, I was like sign me up.

Paper beads are fairly easy to make if you are not in a hurry. When you want to rush they do not turn out as good.

Materials

• Paper -- just any paper will work. We used old magazines. You want to make sure there is a lot of color and not a lot of words. Pick a color palette and stick with it.
• Scissors
• Glue -- we used regular Elmer's School Glue. You could also use a glue stick if that is more your thing.
• Toothpicks and something to stick your toothpicks in. We used form blocks. 
• Bracelet string or wire

Steps

1. Cut your paper into tapered strips about 1/2 to an ich wide. You want one end to make a point. There are various ways to cut if you are talented or want to be fancy but they all end with a tapered point. Mine were more triangle shaped.

2. Once you have at least 16-20 strips of paper, you can start making beads. To start place the fat end of your paper strip on a toothpick and begin to roll it around the toothpick.

3. As you roll apply glue so it the strip sticks to itself. You do not want to glue the strip to the toothpick otherwise you will never get the toothpick off.

4. Stick the toothpick in the form to let dry. It will dry quickly (10-15 minutes)

5. Repeat step 2-4 until you have enough beads to make a bracelet.

6. Once you have all your beads made, string them on your bracelet. We used a stretchy bracelet cord so we just tied square knots to finish it off. 

I was told thicker paper like scrapbook paper isn't as easy to use. Comics and magazines work great. Try to make your strips all the same width or your beads won't be the same width.

Like I said it was an easy craft and not really too time consuming. It is something you can do while watching TV. Even older kids can handle making them. The hardest part is starting the bead on the toothpick. 

Would I make them again? Maybe. I would need the right opportunity. I am not one to sit and do crafts so I would really need a reason to make them again.

5231. Go to the Ephraim Fire Museum in Ephraim

The hubby and I made a trip to Door County for cherries. He also said he wanted to go to "that ice cream place." That ice cream turned out to be Wilson's. After picking up cherries from Lautenbach's, we headed up to Ephraim for ice cream. As we got close, I began to wonder if the fire museum would be open. I've stopped in with my cousins a few years back and would love to show the hubby the museum. Sure enough as we drove by the museum was open. After we ate our ice cream cones, we walked down to the museum.

The Ephraim Fire Museum is on Water Street, the main street in Ephraim also known as WI 42. You really can't miss it as you drive through Ephraim. It is usually open most nights and weekends May-October. Basically if Scotty is around, the museum will be open. It is free to visit but donations are greatly appreciated. 

The Ephraim Fire Museum was the first fire station in Door County and was built in the 1930s. It was in use until 1990 when a new fire station was built at which time it was turned into a museum. The museum preserves the history of firefighting in Door County and is a tribute to Bill Webong, who was the first Door County Firefighter to die in the line of duty.

The museum features the departments first pumper purchased in 1934. It also has memorabilia collected by Webong as well as donated from around the world. 

If the museum is open, it is definitely worth checking out. Besides you can walk off all the calories you just consumed at Wilson's. 

5254. Have an ice cream cone at Wilson’s in Ephraim

 When I first went to Door County, I was told I have to go to Wilson's for ice cream. They have huge ice cream. cones. I have had ice cream there several times now. This year the hubby said he wanted ice cream from Wilson's when we went to Door County to get cherries. 

Wilson's Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor is located in Ephraim. It is open seasonally from Mid May to Mid October. Hours depend on the month but usually open for lunch and dinner, maybe even later for ice cream. It has both indoor and outdoor seating plus the indoor ice cream counter. They can be a wait for a table for food or even ice cream.

We got to Wilson's mid-afternoon and there was a short wait for ice cream. They have about 25 flavors of ice cream available plus other ice cream treats such as sundaes, ice cream sodas, malts and shakes. I ordered a single scoop of my usual flavor of Big Muddy which was Dark chocolate ice cream with a caramel swirl and brownie pieces. 

The hubby got vanilla like usual. Once he got towards the bottom of the ice cream cone, he looks at me and was like what is in my cone with this really puzzled look on his face. I should have gotten a picture. I was like it is the jelly bean. Every ice cream cone comes with a jelly bean to keep from the ice cream from leaking out of the bottom of the cone. 

Even the dish of ice cream comes with an jelly bean on the top. That is a single scoop as well. I told you there scoops are huge and a bit pricy but well worth it.

Wilson's is definitely my favorite ice cream place in Door County. The food is good too. It is worth the wait. If you have not been to Wilson's make sure you stop on your next trip to Door County. It is has a nice view of the bay that you can watch the sunset as you enjoy your ice cream.

Pizza Snob Adventures -- Paddy's Pizza

 We have driven by Paddy's Pizza in Eden numerous times and kept saying we should eat there. I showed a picture of the pizza to the hubby after a Facebook friend went there and said it was worth the drive. We decided to stop on our way back from the train museum. 

Paddy's Pizza is bar and pizza restaurant in Eden. It is open Wednesday-Sunday, hours vary by day of the week. 

The restaurant itself is not very big and it's first come, first serve when grabbing a table. We got lucky that a couple was finishing up and said we could have their table. It does have a nice Irish theme going on. It reminded me of someone's living room. 

Besides pizza, they have a whole page of appetizers from garlic bread to deep fried green beans to mini tacos. You can also get salad, wings, pasta, even Shepard Pie's if pizza is not your thing. Of course we ordered pizza and garlic sticks.

The garlic sticks were half a pizza crust cut into strips. They weren't bad.

We got the homestyle crust and I fought the hubby for half sausage. The sausage is not homemade in house so he didn't want it. The pizza looked amazing but was actually boring. The crust was very good but the rest of it really had no taste. We were kind of disappointed. We were glad the crust was good otherwise it would have been really bad pizza. Even though it was our favorite pizza, I could see us stopping again if we are in the area and trying another crust type or even pepperoni. 

However, we are horrible pizza snobs and what we think is boring and tasteless might be perfect for someone else. Don't let our snobbiness stop you from trying the pizza. It is definitely worth the drive. Maybe this is one of those places that you need a garbage pizza for it to be amazing. We are not garbage pizza fans. 

5595. Go to Man Mound Park in Baraboo

 While researching if I could find a shorter detour through Baraboo than going back on the interstate and back tracking, I discovered Man Mound Park just outside of Baraboo. By putting Man Mound Park into the GPS instead of following the detour, it would only add an extra minute and very little back tracking plus we would not have to go on the interstate.

Man Mound Park is located on Man Mound Road in Baraboo. It is open all year round 5-11 PM. It is about 10 minutes from Circus World.

Man Mound Park is the only man shaped effigy mounds in North America. Part of the legs were destroyed when they built the road. The feet got eaten up in farm land. Despite being not 100% intact, you can definitely see the outline of a man. It is tough to see on my pictures because of the sun and how large the man actually is.

There are a couple information signs telling about Man Mound and effigy mounds in General. 

This was definitely worth stopping at. It is a quick 5 minute stretch break attraction that if you are in Baraboo definitely should check out.