Posts Tagged ‘baraboo’

The annual Baraboo-Dells Air Show will take place this weekend from June 25-27, 2010 at the Baraboo-Dells Municipal Airport, located at 3440 South Hwy 12, in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  Daily tickets are Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children and kids under 5 are free.  There is also a Friday night show beginning at 7pm (Parking opens at 6:30pm). Cost for the night show are $5 for adults, $5 for children and kids under 5 are free. Parking is on location and free.  For more information visit the Airshow Website.

We were just leaving the Coffee Bean Connection in Downtown Baraboo when the rain began to fall.   Sure, there were flash flood warnings in Sauk County, but we were still hoping to get in an afternoon of paddling at Devil’s Lake State Park.

Now we know why the lake has flooded so often in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »

ReserveAmerica, America’s leading recreation reservation service provider announced their annual “Top 100 Family Campgrounds”, and Devil’s Lake State Park here in Baraboo, Wisconsin ranked Number 1.  With it’s 500 foot bluffs, spectacular scenery, great beaches, and almost 30 miles of nature trails, Devil’s Lake State Park has something for everybody. It’s no suprise that over 1.4 million people visit the park each year. What’s more, Devil’s Lake State Park is just one among a plethora of unique natural areas and fun family attractions that make the Baraboo area a unique and “natural” alternative to Wisconsin Dells.

Congratulations to the park staff who deserve a lot of credit for the work they do each day to make the park a joy to visit.  Devil’s Lake is Number 1?  Yeah, well, we could have told you that!!

If the sudden surge in web traffic for DevilsLakeWisconsin.com or the number of kayaks on roof-racks of cars parked in downtown Baraboo is anything to go by, it seems summer has finally arrived.  Even the weather forecast is conspiring to say summer is finally here!

Today’s picture shows off the amazing color of wild geraniums  now in bloom along the trails at Devil’s Lake State Park.  It’s worth getting out to the park and having a look. Unless of course you’ll be in Wisconsin Dells for Automotion.

It’s time once again for “Baraboo Bits”, where I take a moment to put down all the little bits and bobs I’ve been thinking about when it comes to our community.  You know what they say, “Opinions are like….” and the only difference between yours and an editor’s is that they get to see theirs in print.. Well, until blogging came along… Now we pontificate with the best of ‘em (spelling and punctuation be damned!!).  And with that thought….

Imagine

We drive around our hometowns every day, so much so that we tend to become blind to what our community actually looks like. This photograph above shows a wall mural painted on the side of a building down along South Blvd. just south of the train tracks.  It makes the building look all “hip” doesn’t it!?  Maybe, but there is something about this kind of art on a disused building that doesn’t really project a positive image.  Still, I like the art.

Gone to the Dogs

We talked about the great Manchester Pile in the last “Bits”.  There’s nothing new to report about the pile as of today, but we can say that the area below the pile will become a new dog park.  Ok. We could use a dog park.  I can only hope that something will be done to make the area look a bit more attractive along the way.  Finally deciding to fix the roads in this location is a good start.

RiverQuest

There’s a lot of talk in Baraboo these days regarding the rejuvenation of the Baraboo river shoreline.  I think the vision of Rose Jackson who, as reported in the Baraboo News Republic, wants to open a little coffee/bakery/artsy-craftsy shop in a historic home near the river district, is a good one.  We have to preserve our historic buildings where we can and allow for business diversity as well. It won’t serve the community as a whole to simply focus on lining up the river banks with over priced office buildings.

Speaking of the River…

I know I’m screaming into the wind on this one, but someone again mentioned to me this week how you cannot get a canoe or kayak down the city section of the Baraboo river in normal conditions since the flood last year.  All I can say is, I know.  But if we can’t get enough people to advocate for the Baraboo river’s recreational use, there is little that can be done. We’ll just have to wait for the next flood and hope it clears a path.

Wrong end of the Cat

When I wrote of the litter problem along our roadways, I heard a lot of comments about “clean up days”.  I agree. We pick up trash ourselves all the time, however my point was this; We need to do something about the attitude in our society that allows for people to feel OK about tossing their trash out the window in the first place.  Remember how you tell your kids to clean up after themselves?  Well?  Let’s clean up the  mess, and let’s call out the litterbugs for what they are. If we can’t change people’s attitude toward littering up their own communities we have no hope when it comes to global environmental issues.

Whine Walk

Lastly let me just say to all those folks who once again did not get tickets to the Downtown Baraboo Wine Walk.. I feel your pain. ( Just between you and I, they are raffling a couple off over at the Coffee Been in Downtown Baraboo)

School Bored

Oh, and P.S… there was a local school board election…

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I think that’s it for now.. If you have any thoughts, opinions or other picture post cards to share.. feel free to comment or email.

Channel3000.com reported that Toro is moving their distribution plant to Tomah where there manufacturing plant is also located.  Seems like a good plan.  On the other hand, I’m sure some local folks may not benefit from the move.  One thing that comes to mind is that it never really made much sense to put a distribution plant on highway 123 which has no easy access to major highways in the first place.  I remember more than one discussion about why we’d want a big old warehouse, not to mention semi traffic, on the main route into Devil’s Lake State Park in the first place.  Well anyone want to guess what’s coming next?  An indoor ice skating rink perhaps?

And speaking of paving…. while we’re talking sub-divisions and new highways, streets that wouldn’t be safe for horse, let along a cyclist on the south side of Baraboo are getting the old bucket-n-spade treatment…  again.

Opinion – One of the laws of being a Baraboo resident is that you must be a Circus World Museum booster.  The un-written rule states that the press must only ask powder-puff questions and only speak of CWM in a way which will inspire tourism. Ok. I get that too. Loyalty is a good thing.  Loyalty to Circus World Museum is loyalty to Baraboo and Baraboo certainly has a legitimate claim to a piece of circus history. On the other hand you’d have to be blind not to see the obvious. There’s a problem here. Read the rest of this entry »

“Expanded opportunities for recreation for locals and tourists will result from removal of the dams. The free-flowing “Baraboo Rapids” will be a significant attraction for people seeking more challenging canoeing or kayaking. ” – John Exo, UW-Extention, April 2006.

Commentary – You don’t hear much in the Baraboo area about expanded opportunities for canoeing and kayaking these days.  Now that all the hubbub around the removal of the Baraboo Dams has settled it seems we’re happy to pave a trail and put up some office buildings. In fact since the floods in 2008, it’s become even harder to actually get a canoe or kayak through the “Baraboo Rapids” unless the river is high.  Paddlers of course are a very small portion of a community’s population and are easily lost behind the glow of riverfront real estate profit potential. The focus on a restored Baraboo river is for most part, not actually the about the river, but what you can build upon its banks and how a quick profit can be ingested with a bit of  long term tax revenues for seasoning.  It seems everyone involved in the river restoration at this point has been caught up in the economic party line and completely forgotten the bit about “expanded opportunities for recreation”.

Realizing that the Baraboo hills are dead center of a massive tourism hotspot focused on nature and outdoor recreation (Not to mention Wisconsin Dells), and as a paddler and coach, I have been calling for another option for the Baraboo river,  A paddle park.  Once again my quixotic ideas seem to have windmills putting up their dukes on the county courthouse lawn.  The idea apparently is so crazy that it can’t find 10 minutes consideration.  Of course when it comes to ideas, outright rejection is often a really good sign!

Now the Baraboo river does not have the sort of flow that would support a world class whitewater park.  It could, however support a smaller, less impactful, and less expensive paddle play area perfect for folks looking to learn in class II-III conditions not to mention a quick rush for passing paddlers as well. There is already a section of the Baraboo river through the city in dire need of care as it is, if for no other reason than to allow a canoe passage in mid-July.

The arguments against of course boil down to two main issues.  Economic and environmental.  At this point neither is a real augment because no one as of yet has taken the idea seriously.  That’s where I come in.  I’m not going to fight or play games with local politicians and self-appointed experts.  I’m not going to bang my head against old schoolers who think office complexes & box stores are always the impetus of growth.  What I will do is say that our community may be missing an opportunity simply because we’re not thinking outside-the-box as the cliché goes.   So let’s at least give a paddle play area a serious hearing.  Why not?

Whitewater Play parks have been popping up all over the US and Europe over the last decade and have proven themselves to be a draw to people in the area hungry for white water. (Translation: Tourism dollars.) The environmental research has been done over and over again and continues to show no real  documented negative effects on the ecosystem. In fact there is a real positive effect as the deep water pools created for the park provide a good habitat for fish and another hot spot for area fisherman.

Economically we are in the right place at the right time.   A steady rise in environmental awareness and solid growth in the outdoor recreation industry offer bankable odds to such an endeavor.  Given our location between Devil’s Lake State Park & Wisconsin Dells, and the continual expansion of parklands, preserves and trails around the Baraboo hills, a paddle play area is puzzle piece made to fit.  Once in place, opportunities for business go well beyond such unimaginative and limited goals as simply taxing more “office space.”  Creative investors could bring in new business, outfitters, retail outlets, a shopping plaza, restaurants with an overlook to the park and on and on. Such a plan would actually revitalize the river district, and not simply put up a bunch of glass overlooking a lone paved trail.  Office buildings will not bring more visitors to Circus World Museum or bring more shoppers to Downtown Baraboo.  A paddle park may. We are not talking about reinventing the wheel.  It’s been done. Repeatedly.

Even the most sensible plan for a community’s future calls for fresh ideas and recognizing your strengths. So here’s one.  Take it, or leave it.  Thing is sitting here in the Baraboo hills of all places, it seems as if we’d be pretty dumb not to be willing to at least do a feasibility study.  I mean, do you really think a few more offices are making the best use of our river front?  What are we missing here? Are a few new leases actually going to bring vibrant healthy growth to our area for years to come?  Really?

Read About Paddle Parks Around The Country

• The Truckee River Whitewater Park
• Brennan’s Wave Missoula
• Proposed Stonycreek Whitewater Park
• Lyons Play Park
• Mississippi Whitewater Park Development Corporation

More articles

• Waves of the Future
• Whitewater Rafting Park Site Surfaces
• White Water Park on Iowa River in Talks

Opinion – There’s a reason our little journal is not focused on local news & politics. Most of the time what’s going on politically in a smaller community comes down to class warfare, nepotism and a bunch of kids wrestling in the school yard.  It’s no wonder you can’t find sane people to run for local politics.  Take the Baraboo school board for instance.

Now I won’t bother naming names.  Members of the board seem to have the name calling covered. It’s enough to say that team A is mad at Team B,  and a select few can’t seem to manage to act with the decorum of the kids they have been elected to look after.  What’s worse, our local paper is making hay by allowing the kids to bicker through the columns of the opinion pages, which of course is now open to the world thanks to the .. ah, “world wide web”.  Now everyone with half an interest can laugh at the goings on of this little rural tempest in a tea pot.

Are the issues valid? Sure.  It’s all about money.  Money of course is always the issue.  Thing is, at some point responsible people  have to settle the money issues and move on to the issues of life.  Do the budget, then serve the kids.  Thing is, we never seem to get out of phase 1.  The kids in charge can’t seem to stop fighting over the budget, and it all turns into a nasty public  WWF match in the paper.  It’s become a joke.

Here’s my suggestion. Clean house.  When the government or even a school board cannot do the people’s business because they simply are too partisan or stubborn to communicate or compromise, it’s time for the whole lot to go.  Let me be clear, I am not saying some members are not doing a good job or acting with good faith, even the ones in the middle of these little hissy-fits have valid points.  What I am saying however, is that as a group they are becoming an embarrassment to the community and doing a disservice to us and setting a bad example for our kids.  As a community we need to clean house. As for the local paper, they need to cut ‘em off from the opinion pages until such time as they can start acting like members of the school board, not the school yard.