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.