Posts Tagged ‘wisconsin’

The 22 mile 400 Trail between Reedsburg and Elroy never actually closes, however most cyclists & hikers do tend to stay away when it’s covered in snow.  Well, it’s time to load up the bikes, as the 400 trail is once again ready to ride.  The best part, is that this time of year they wildlife is out in force taking in the new spring weather just like the rest of us.

On Sunday we were able to watch Sandhill Cranes, a hawk, two Turkey Vultures & a river otter all frolicking around one small lake from our vantage point along the trail. In fact, as you can see (below) we had to wait a bit while a pair of cranes crossed in front of us.  Fantastic.

We were prepared for the trails to be in bad conditions having just been under heavy snow not so long ago, however we found them to be in good shape for the most part.  There were some slightly muddy areas and the generally damp track did put a little drag under your wheels, but really, nothing to complain about.

Trail passes are $4 daily or $20 per year and will not be available at any of the outlets along the trail until May.  We were directed by one local outlet to simply, “enjoy” until then.  We did.

More Information

• 400 Trail information @ DevilsLakeWisconsin.com
• Official 400 Trail Website
• Wisconsin DNR Admission Fees

The Main Street Diner & Ice Cream Parlor in Waunakee, WI was a wonderful find and is a classic small town Wisconsin treasure. Now if we could just get the banana karma going in our favor…

As you know here at Skillet Creek one of our many goals is to develop a list of fun central Wisconsin family road trips beginning of course, right from our home here in the Baraboo hills.  Along the way we’ll share the stories, the adventures, the towns, shops and of course those fun little small town restaurants. Today’s story takes us south to Waunakee… the long way.

Not so long ago when you wanted to enjoy a relaxing and scenic country drive from Baraboo or Wisconsin Dells, south to Madison you just jumped on Highway 12.  Back then the little two-lane highway wound its way through the wonderfully picturesque Wisconsin country side at a Sunday driver’s pace.  That’s all changed in the last few years. Today, it’s still a pretty drive, but the new 4 lane freeway seems to rush you through on the way to someplace else. The relaxing pace of yesterday is long gone.

Happily, if you want still want that back country driving experience between Baraboo and Madison you have an option left in Hwy 113.  Hwy 113 leaves Baraboo near Circus World Musuem and takes you over the Baraboo hills, then through Merrimac on Lake Wisconsin, across the Free Ferry (in season), then through Lodi, Dane & Waunakee before finally arriving on the north side of Madison.  Of course in the winter, Lake Wisconsin is frozen and the ferry is well, not moving.  This was fine with us of course, since we were in the driving mood. We went around the big lake by way of Hwy 78 through Portage, then 51, turning on Co. Rd J, then V,  then J again. Go ahead, you figure it out!

Gibraltar Rock State Natural Area.

Sometime later, and after long drive accented with an unplanned and taxing hike up Gibraltar Rock in the snow,  we were just a little famished to say the least.   Our first attempt and finding a nice old fashioned diner went badly.  We strolled into Lucy’s Cafe’ in Lodi.  We overlooked the mildewy aroma and took a seat. We waited, and waited and waited.  Having managed a restaurant or two in my day, I’m patient.  But it’s common practice to welcome a new guest when you see them, bring drinks and menus as soon as you can, and for servers to help out other servers when they are clearly done with their smoke break.  If you can’t get welcoming guests down in a little half-full diner it’s time for a staff meeting. Finally we simply left, still famished and still looking for a nice restaurant.  We continued south down Hwy 113.

Arriving in Waunakee we made a very random choice to turn left to do a quick drive by of the historic downtown.  We do a lot of that.  “Hey, what’s down there?”, I don’t know, let’s go see… blinker on!”.  For a second it didn’t look too promising, like many small towns around Wisconsin these days, Waunakee has it’s share of closed businesses.  We were practically giddy when we discovered the Main Street Diner & Ice Cream Parlor in a converted corner bank. And it was Open!! From the outside it looked promising.

The Main Street Diner is owned by Kevin Reynolds who manages the restaurant while still finding time to run his family farm near Helenville, WI and help out his father with his farming operations in south-central Iowa.  In fact their farms supply fresh produce to the restaurants when in season.  Kevin and his father had leased out the building to other folks until finally taking over the restaurant themselves in 2004.   After months of work and modernization they finally re-opened as the Main Street Diner in 2006. Today the diner has a classic feel with chrome accents and walls  covered with black and white Hollywood prints.  The star attraction however, is the restrooms. We’ll come to that…

Now back to our story. Once inside we were met by a clean and very quiet atmosphere. We were the only ones there for the moment.  Apparently, we learned later, we had just missed a bus tour.  A bus tour which had finished off all the bananas in the place much to the disappointment of our 9 year old who had set his eye on a banana spit graphic in the menu. Still, as our wonderfully offbeat server pointed out, he could be happy that somewhere out there on some rural Wisconsin road was a busload of satisfied… monkeys.

The cafe offers classic diner fare including sandwiches, soup, fries, onion rings and the like.  All done well and quite tasty.  I enjoyed a Ruben Sandwich on slices of that swirly mixed bread that you see all over these days, while my wife had soup and our son dug into macaroni and cheese which had him and the server off on a story about dog food.. but that’s an article all to itself.  Suffice to say, you’ll enjoy the food.  Diner food is what it is. There is no need to dive too deeply here. There are extremes, some diner’s have something wonderful and others are just awful.. The Main Street diner’s food is well, just fine.

The real star of the  Main Street Diner and Ice Cream Parlor in addition to the friendly staff of course, is the bathrooms!  No kidding. A mural in the women’s restroom, by artist Abby Wilson is as amazing as it is unsuspected. 3 women in Victorian dress gaze down from a cloud filled softly lit dome.   The Men’s room takes on a WWII motif with B52 bomber’s gunner suspended over the small room.  The ceiling again has a cloud filled dome, while the walls  show bombs falling on an enemy harbor.  We’ve posted a bunch of pictures here.

We are always just fascinated by the amazingly creative and unique spots you’ll find on the country roadways and small town main streets of Wisconsin.  The Main Street Diner is a classic.  Oh, and by all means, ask for a banana split while you’re there.

We could not locate a website for the Main Street Diner but here is there contact info:

The Main Street Diner & Ice Cream Parlor
100 West Main Street
Waunakee, WI 53597-1128
(608) 849-8388

This Scenic drive is a wonderfully picturesque 40 mile loop that begins and ends right here in Baraboo and can make for a fun family road trip any time of year. Along the way you’ll view old country churches, rustic cabins, wildlife and farmscapes surrounded by rolling hills, stone cliffs & amazing sandstone formations. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit Natural Bridge State Park, have your picture taken on the “Devil’s Chair” and stop by the Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Ready? O.K. Let’s go… Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday CackleTV of Wales, UK  released the preview clip for their upcoming DVD entitled, “This is Canoeing“, a highly anticipated celebration of the sport (Addiction?) showcasing some of the world’s top paddlers in  some of the most stunning locations our planet has to offer.  Paddlesports enthusiasts everywhere  are pretty excited.  What you may not know is that CackleTV has a Wisconsin connection that begins right in here Baraboo.

It was over 5 years ago now when Justine Curgenven, owner of CackleTV and I first met thanks to the internet, a love of kayaking and a few mouse clicks.  At that time Justine Curgenven & CackleTV had just released their first ground breaking sea kayaking adventure video called, “This Is The Sea”. The DVD documented her adventures and those of paddlers from around the world as they explored the far reaches of the earth by sea kayak. That first award winning DVD has since blossomed into a highly regarded series and has won numerous awards around the planet. It was about that same time, Skillet Creek here in Baraboo became involved in the web development and graphic design side of of the project.

Over the years Justine has explored the coast of Kamchataka in Russia, lead the first all female team to circumnavigate Tasmania, circumnavigated the south island of New Zealand  and more all from the seat of a 17 foot boat.  Along the way she has continued to document her adventures and those of fellow paddlers around the world bringing the “This is The Sea” series to 4 volumes.

Justine has also been here in the great lakes region several times to explore both Lake Superior & Lake Michigan. In 2007  the world premiere of  “This is the Sea 3″  was held at Canoecopia in Madison, WI. Canoecopia  is after all, the largest paddlesports tradeshow in the world.

Now of course even living here in central Wisconsin it wouldn’t feel right to simply “design stuff” for such a project.  No, paddling is a personal passion of my own as well.  Over the same period of time I have become a paddling instructor and have paddled around the country, as well as in the UK, Puerto Rico and Israel. In fact, in 2007 I and my paddling partner became the first folks (in modern history anyway)  to circumnavigate the island of Puerto Rico by sea kayak in just under 30 days.

Baraboo has even hosted a rather impromptu gathering of other world class paddlers including Freya Hoffmeister of Germany & Greg Stamer of Florida. Freya recently became the first woman to circumnavigate the continent of Australia by sea kayak, taking just over a year to do it. Greg Stamer has participated in two Greenland National Kayaking Championships in 2000 and in 2002, winning two gold and two bronze medals. Freya, Justine, Greg, myself and others lead an evening training session here at the Baraboo Middle-School pool for paddling enthusiasts from around the mid-west.  Never before or since has the local pool seen so many kayaks!

This year Justine Curgenven will once again premiere her latest work for the first time here in Wisconsin at the 2010 Canoecopia event  March  12-14.  I personally am looking forward to having Justine over in our part of the world again. (Btw, I think I have to do a kayak rolling demonstration as well! Yikes!)  If you are interested in paddling or any sort of outdoor adventure, I certainly invite you to visit www.Cackletv.com where you can see a variety of clips from Justine’s films and learn more about her adventures around the world.  You can also find my sea kayaking adventures, kayak rolling clips and more on www.KayakQuixotica.com.

Baraboo may seem about as far away from the sea as one can get.. funny thing though.. it’s closer than you think.

2011 will mark the centennial for Devil’s Lake State Park. This hundred year anniversary is not just a celebration of nature or conservation, but a reminder of the economic value of land left un-scarred by privatization, greed and self-interest. The Baraboo hills area is blessed with innumerable acres of public lands, protected natural areas and private conservation areas open to public use. In fact, Wisconsin’s first designated natural area, Parfrey’s Glen is just a couple miles east of Devil’s Lake. It’s fair to say that the Baraboo hills have long been recognized as a special place demanding thoughtful use with an eye toward preservation.

In our part of the state the land itself leads us toward an economy heavily supported by tourism and outdoor recreation. Although this should be obvious to everyone living within the walls of the Baraboo valley, it often is not. The idea that land is without value if it cannot be owned, paved,  taxed, plowed, or built upon, still has deep roots in the minds of many and will be hard to remove. There are no chasms between preservation and profit, but it does take a clear mind to envision the possibilities.  It is my hope that this centennial celebration will help to open a few more eyes to what should have always been terribly obvious. Devil’s Lake State Park is the anchor of our local economy. Not the factories, or some new office complex on the riverfront, and certainly not the leftovers of passersby on their way to Wisconsin Dells. No, what Baraboo is, is the center of a thriving outdoor recreational destination waiting almost 100 years for many in the business community to fully understand the potential. The Devil’s Lake State Park centennial offers an opportunity to bring this point home to everyone. The first planning meeting for the 2011 celebration will be held at the Devil’s Lake State Park office at 10 am on Jan 28th. 2 days from now.

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For more related Links visit our bookmarks on delicious (keywords: nature, outdoors).

After years of planning and the enviable political nightmare that precedes any decisions made in our form of government, the state of Wisconsin’s representatives did something  increasingly rare, they made a good decision.  They voted to protect the Lower Wisconsin Riverway for us, and our children. That was now just over 20 years ago.

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway encompasses a 93 mile stretch of the Wisconsin River from Prairie du Sac to Prairie du Chein, covering nearly 80,000 acres of river, bluffs,  islands and flood plains.  Since its establishment  1989 the region has become a major attraction to nature lovers and sportsmen alike.  Over 44,000 acres of state owned land offer opportunities for camping, hiking, hunting, skiing, horseback riding and all sort of outdoor endeavor. 93 miles of unbroken riverway offers one of the longest stretches of river open to boating, canoeing, kayaking and fishing in the midwest. What’s more, all this activity is shared with the amazing wildlife of the area including of course the majestic American Bald Eagles that are commonly seen overhead.

FLOW Sponsored Lake Delton Clean Up Event

One of the groups instrumental in fighting to preserve this slice of Wisconsin for all of us was called the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway.  The group went on a bit of a hiatus after winning the war so-to-speak  in 1989, but then came back to life when the member’s realized that the real work was just beginning.  In 1998 FLOW kicked off once more under the guidance of Timm Zumm and former DNR State Riverway Coordinator, Dave Gjeston with the goals of protecting the ecological integrity and public trust interests of the LWSR.

Over the last dozen years FLOW has done so much to protect and manage the Lower Wisconsin Riverway including everything from area clean ups to pollution investigations, that it will take another article or two to cover it all. Stay tuned…

What is important today however is that on Jan 31st the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway will be hosting their first annual membership meeting since becoming an official Non-Profit Organization which means there will be much to discuss.  It’s also an opportunity for those of you interested in the preservation and protection of the Lower Wisconsin to become involved in this new stage of FLOW’s life.  What’s more the big shindig looks to be a great family event as well with a big bonfire, ski trails, horse drawn sleigh rides and more. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event. Especially the kids. Festivities start at noon and run until 9pm.  The first annual FLOW meeting will begin at 4pm.  There will be a heated shop for food, socializing and for the meeting.  Bring your own activity equipment, chairs, beverages and finger food to share.  At twilight the bonfire will kick off with the natural pyrotechnics last year’s Christmas trees.  Feel free to bring yours as well!

Directions

County Hwy C is just south of the Wisconsin River off of State Hwy 23. The property is approximately three miles west of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, near Lower Wyoming Road. Please park your vehicle along the side of the road and walk up to the building. Contact us before the event if you think an uphill trek is too difficult and you would prefer to have a ride up the driveway.

Side Notes:

RSVP requested to help us plan, but not required.

Are you available to help staff the event?
If yes, please contact Timm Zumm at: 608-575-0325
or email: wisriverfriends@yahoo.com

More Information:

FLOW on Facebook
Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board Website
KayakQuixotica photo story – Extreme Lower Wisconsin Paddling!

* Photographs reprinted with the kind permission of the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway.

The Flake Out Festival is coming to Wisconsin Dells this weekend, Jan 22 – 24th.  We’ll certainly be there! In honor of their 20th anniversary and to save you the effort of reading every last page of the festival website.. Here’s our list of “10 things you may not know you can do at the Wisconsin Dells Flake Out Festival this weekend”…

Number 10 – Watch Winter Fireworks on Saturday Night!

Number 9 – Read the full menu & beverage selections on the website!.. ah, no..forget that!

Number 8 – Meet the critter who said, ” “How bout that, I go to sleep a bear, and wake up an octopus!”

Number 7 – Eat chicken with your mittens on!!

Number 6 – Listen to Swing Crew.. and request songs by Insane Clown Posse just for fun! (Must be a Baraboo thing!)

Number 5 – Take a class.  Ah, never stop learning…

Number 4 – Watch dogs pull stuff.

Number 3 – Get lost in an ice maze!

Number 2 - Ride A Pony!

Number 1 – Make BBQ Snow Cones! Well, probably not but with that silliness out of the way, be sure to check out the website for details and daily events, then check out the festival this weekend. We’ll see ya there!

* Today’s Image is from a great Wallpaper created by Michael M. Knight and can be downloaded here.

Featured Work: Wet Winter

People around the world live the image of an old red barn covered in snow. Living here in central Wisconsin red barns are pretty much everywhere.  It probably won’t always be that way.  The truth is that they are disappearing quickly.  How many partially collapsed barns can you think of right around our area?  I can think of 4 or 5 without much effort.  The image above entitled “Wet Winter” captures a barn located out between Devil’s Head Ski Resort and Merrimac just after a wet late winter storm.  After taking the photograph I worked with it digitally to soften the edges in a way that enhanced the wet snow feel.  Up close it almost looks like a watercolor painting.  I’ve spent years behind the camera.  It’s only now that I’m finally starting to make some of this work available to the public.

At Skillet Creek I’ve opened a new Gallery Store where you can find high quality prints representing some of the most beautiful sights in our area including Devil’s Lake, Pewit’s nest and more. In addition you’ll find works from around the world.  This week however, we’re staying close to home and featuring Rural Wisconsin.  I think I may have snuck a rural Kentucky shot in there as well.  Enjoy! Click here to go to the Skillet Creek Gallery Store.