Wisconsin Dells

     We left Door County earlier this week and headed to Wisconsin Dells. This area is a family playground. Waterparks and amusement parks abound. Drive through the main street and you are surrounded by T-shirt shops, fudge stores, restaurants and all manner of other tourist traps. WWII era DUKW's (known locally as the Wisconsin Dells Ducks) are available to ferry tourists up and down the street.  I am reminded of Branson, MO of about 20 years ago. Quaint little shops up and down the highway trying to get into the tourists' wallets.

     We have toured around the countryside outside of the Dells proper. Yesterday, we drove through farm country and visited the place where Carr Valley Cheese is made. We watched as they took fresh cheese curds (we just missed those being made) and filled a bucket to a specific weight. Then the curds were dumped into a circular tin. The tin was then put into a line of other similarly filled tins. When they were ready, a contraption that looked like the old fence wire stretcher that I used on the farm was secured to the line. They then began to ratchet in on the cans and pressed the curds together to form a singular round cheese wheel.  After about 30 minutes, the line of now cheese wheels were extracted and taken to another room to be dipped in wax and sealed. In the photo above you can see some of the pile of cheese curds and the empty tins and lids behind them. The vats on either side will  be filled with milk and the cheese making process will begin all over again.

Two lines of cheese wheels being pressed

     In this particular factory, they only make Cheddar cheese. I did not know it but a yellow dye is added to the cheese to get the familiar color we associate with cheese. In its natural state, cheese is white. Above you see that they are filling square tins with white cheddar cheese curds. These will be pressed into square blocks of white cheese.

     After watching all of that cheese being made, we got to sample several varieties that the company had for sale. Cheese curds made fresh only moments before were available for tasting. So was some 5 and 10 year aged Cheddar. The longer the age, the more crumbly the consistency and the sharper the taste. After that, you could peruse the shelves and take home any number of varieties. The two shelves at the top of the above display contained cheese made from goat's milk.

     Today we took a boat tour of the Upper Wisconsin River. In the Dells, there is a dam that separates the river into upper and lower sections. Tours are available for either one. We took the upper tour as research and inquiry told us that it was more scenic. We were not disappointed. As you can see above, the day was bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Winds were low and temperatures were on the mild side. The bluffs lining the river on either side are made from ancient sandstone and are remarkable in their texture. Layer upon layer of sandstone is stacked up and molded into the cliffs and outcroppings.

     We were able to get off the water and follow a couple of short trails through the formations and spires of rock.

Our fearless Canine Wonder making his leap

This is the height of the rock pillar

      At one point in the hike, we got to watch the "Amazing Jumping German Shepherd of Juneau County." In point of fact, back in the early 20th century, tourists used to climb the rocks and jump between the two spires above. Nowadays, lawsuits being what they are, a trained canine makes the jump and the tourists watch. (Don't worry, there is a net below in the unlikely event he doesn't make it.)

     All in all we have enjoyed our stay so far in The Dells. Mid next week, family begins to arrive for a big reunion.  Things will be hectic but a good time should be in store for all.

Door County

     Door County is on the peninsula that forms the "thumb" of Wisconsin. Green Bay serves as kind of the entryway to the county. It is long and narrow and is the home to several small harbor towns and several large dairy farms and orchards. The towns are artsy in nature and loaded with artisan shops selling things like hand made furniture, paintings, local brews, wines, and a wide variety of cheeses, fudge (no surprise), and olive oils. It is a major tourist destination and a place for Green Bay'ers to escape the heat.

     While driving on Highway 42 through Sister Bay, we came upon Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant.  Inside were all manner of things Swedish. The food was fantastic too! But notice the roof of the restaurant in the photo above. Those are goats on the sod roof. Seems many years back one of Al's "friends" played a prank on him and put a goat on his roof. Al turned that prank into a marketing gimmick and now there are usually five goats that hang out on the roof (weather permitting) all summer long.

     Wisconsin is know for its cheese and you can't really have cheese without cows. Just about a mile from our campground was a huge industrial dairy farm. Here you can watch them as they milk the 500 cows in the herd, 3 times a day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

     Not sure who or what makes the decision, but at some point the cattle line up in a pen outside of this room. They are funneled into a chute and enter the above contraption in single file. A computer chip around their neck helps the machine keep track of the individual animal. 10 at a time they march in and wait their turn. The guy in the middle cleans and sanitizes them, then hooks them up to the computerized milking machine. The machine tracks their output and when the output reaches some magic number, it disconnects from the cow automatically. When all 10 have been milked, the worker applies a sanitizer and balm to the teats. When finished he raises the barrier to the right of the cows (can't see it in the photo) and they file out of the area. The worker then turns his attention to the row opposite and repeats the process. Meanwhile he hoses down and cleans the line previously vacated and gets it ready for the next set of 10. This goes on 24/7/365! All of this milk is then sent to Land O'Lakes Creamery where it will become the butter or cheese or other milk product that shows up on your grocer's shelves.

Mackinaw City and Surrounding Area

     After a couple of nights in a remote campground (the last 1.5 miles of road was so bad we could not exceed 10 mph without jostling everything loose in the motorhome!!), we drove to a nice campground and set up on our site along the shores of Lake Huron. A short walk behind our campsite and across the road afforded us the view that you see above.

     Our campsite. In the center of the photo you can see Lake Huron... we were that close! Nice level site with trees separating campsites.

     The next morning, we boarded a shuttle to the docks in Mackinaw City and got on a ferry boat to take us to Mackinaw Island. This particular ferry is known for its jet motors that throw up a spectacular rooster tail of water as you ride over to the island. We departed early enough that our ferry went under the Mackinac Bridge. This bridge connects lower Michigan to the Upper Peninsula and marks the dividing line between Lake Michigan (to the West) and Lake Huron (to the East).

     Pretty big bridge. Here, as we approached, are two big motorhomes with their tow vehicles in the line of crossing traffic.

     As you near the island docks, you are met with the view of the Grand Hotel. Another thing of note, there are only a few vehicles on the island and they are strictly maintenance and emergency vehicles. Otherwise there are no cars to take you around on the island. You get around by bike, walking, or.....

     Yes, by horse. There are over 500 horses on the island and they provide transportation for tourists and residents alike. There are large multi-passenger wagons like the above for tours. You can call for a taxi (which is a horse drawn carriage). Even UPS delivers via horse!

Taxi for those staying at The Grand Hotel

We saw the UPS guy jump off the wagon and deliver to the store

     Now I don't know what it is about this part of the country but there are more Fudge shops per capita than anywhere else in the world! You can't throw a rock without hitting a Fudge shop. All of them make their own fudge and it is pretty fascinating to watch. You can also sample in each shop until you find just that right flavor. Our guide told us that if you were to eat samples from every fudge shop on the island, you would consume about 1 1/2 lbs of fudge (for free)!!! Yes, we did our share of sampling but we also bought more than our share. It was all just too good!

     That weekend was the beginning of the Lilac Festival. All of the Lilacs were in bloom all around the island. They come in a variety of shapes and colors and the fragrance permeates the air. Barb was in heaven.

     The Grand Hotel has established a neat little museum dedicated to horse drawn carriages. These carriages have been restored to their original glory and, in some cases, have been extensively used on the island throughout their history.

     The museum is housed in their new stables along with the horses that pull their taxis. The horses are all Percheron Draft horses. Some are the iconic grey color but others are pure black or variations thereof. As you can see from the photo above, they are not small horses! I stand right at 6' and that still doesn't reach the top of this guys back. (The horse's name by the way is Mario. His pulling partner in the stall next to him was named Zelda.)

     We enjoyed our stay on the island and picked a fantastic day to tour it with. After a couple of days wandering around and seeing what the shops had to offer, we set off for our next destination. Door County, WI.

Disaster Strikes

     For some reason, south Texas has been plagued with exorbitant amounts of rain over the last year. Up until now our property has been saved the ravages of water. Well, in mid-May, central Texas just north of Houston received 17" of rain in less than a 24 hour period. This, followed by repeated rains in the center of the state and unprecedented release of water from upriver dams, led to record high waters. The photo above was taken just before we left in April.

     This photo was taken at the end of May! It shows our neighbor's place and ours under about 6" of water. As of this writing the waters have receded and damage assessments are being done.

     These were interior shots of the Casita pre-flood. What we know at this time is the carpet is ruined. In fact we have been in touch with the folks at The Preserve and have had them remove all floor covering in both Casita and Spa. The other items on the floor are showing signs of water damage but we only have pictures to go by. ServePro folks are scheduled to come out next week and give it a detailed once over. We have decided to cut our summer plans short and will head down to Houston at the end of June. Meanwhile ServePro will take the steps necessary to dry out and clean/disinfect the interiors of both buildings. When we get there, we will spend July (OMG July in Houston and we have to work outside!!!) repairing damage and getting thing livable again.

     NOT the way we wanted to spend this summer but at least we are in a position to be able to change plans and attend to this matter.