Heading East

After Wisconsin, we headed East to spend a week in the Adirondacks before wrapping up our vacation. At this point, we have a little bit of road burnout so we're not really stopping at attractions along the way. We made a quick stop at Niagara Falls, (photos above) followed by a nice afternoon in Seneca Falls at the Women's Rights National Historic Park. Seneca Falls and the Finger Lakes make a nice stopover anyway, but it was especially nice to come here this week, which marks the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. (Above is photo of the girls at the Center. The statuary group in the picture are of the conveners of the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls in 1848).

Beginning tomorrow, we'll be camping at Paradox Lake, near Schroon Lake, until September 1. We've been vacationing at Paradox Lake for many years; while it has been great seeing so many new places this Summer, it will be nice to top it off with a visit to someplace well-loved and familiar.

New Glarus and Old World Wisconsin

After our visit to the Dells, we headed back south in Wisconsin, where we spent the night in a town called New Glarus. New Glarus, or Little Switzerland, prides itself on its Swiss heritage. All of the buildings are in Swiss style, there are lots of Swiss crafts shops and the town has some kind of Swiss festival literally every other weekend. Most of the tourists there seemed to be older people, it was a pretty sedate place, but a nice spot to spend the night. One big plus, we were having a huge craving for fondue, which we were more than able to satisfy in New Glarus!

After New Glarus, on our way out of Wisconsin, we spent the day at Old World Wisconsin, a living history museum celebrating the different cultures that settled Wisconsin in the 1800s. Old World Wisconsin was just great; it was like a little like a low key Williamsburg; the girls had a terrific time there.

Wisconsin Dells & Baraboo

We drove down to southwestern Wisconsin, the Driftless Region, to canoe a couple of days on the Kickapoo River. This is a really beautiful part of the state, with hills and ravines and streams and rivers all over the place. To add to the picturesqueness, it also has an Amish community. It gets its name from the fact that when the glaciers moved over Wisconsin, bulldozing it and leaving deposits, or "drift", the glaciers moved around this area, surrounding it, but skipping over it, hence no "drift" or "Driftless". It is a geographic oddity, and a really beautiful place.

Unfortunately, for us, when we arrived, we learned the Kickapoo River had flooded, breaching its banks all over the place. So, while we had a really beautiful drive, we did have to make other arrangements.

We drove to Wisconsin Dells instead. We had no idea what was waiting for us there. Think Jersey Shore on steroids. Several people from Wisconsin told us no one from Wisconsin visits the Dells, it's all folks from Illinois; I don't think that's exactly true, but it gives you an idea of the image it has within the state.

The Dells has been a tourist destination for 100 years. The Dells themselves, a gorge or narrows of the Wisconsin river, is actually quite beautiful; we took a duck boat tour through the Dells. Most people who visit the town of Wisconsin Dells don't actually visit the Dells, however. The Dells has become the "Waterpark Capital of America" which is why tourists flock there. So, if you like waterparks, this is the place for you; if not, skip it! There are also tons of restaurants, attractions, a casino and bars in the Dells, adding to the fun (or the madness, depending on your perspective).

We spent two days in the Dells, taking the girls to a waterpark and a couple of other attractions like Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory, kind of a low-rent Franklin Institute. Snarkiness aside, the girls had an absolutely fabulous time in the Dells, they just loved it. Above is a picture of Grace playing on the gyrotron at Tommy Bartlett's.

Just a mile or two outside the Dells, it becomes gorgeous Wisconsin countryside again. We camped three nights in a state park, Mirror Lake State Park, just to chill out a little after our Dell days. A really nice town just ten miles south of the Dells is Baraboo, Wisconsin. Besides being a pretty town along a beautiful river, it has two really wonderful attractions.

The first is the International Crane Foundation, a preserve which house examples of all 15 species of crane. This preserve is just fabulous. Locals say it is a hidden gem that, despite all of the tons of tourists to the Dells, receives few visitors. Except for the people who visit the area only to see the Crane Foundation. It was set up by two young men in the 70s to save some of the world's endangered crane species, including our own Whooping Crane. It has a captive breeding program for whooping cranes and some other cranes, it also has an educational mission. The preserve has beautiful trails and walking paths where visitors can see the various crane species. A docent provide free two hour guided tours of the preserve, which are really enjoyable (and one can drop in and out of the tour if it gets too much). While not particularly crane enthusiasts, we spent a really enjoyable afternoon at the crane foundation. Above is a photo of one of the residents of the preserve.

The second great attraction in Baraboo is the Circus World Museum. Circus World was once the winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus. (The Ringling Brothers were from Baraboo.) We meant to just spend a couple of hours at Circus World, but ended up spending the entire day! It was just great. The campus is bisected by the Baraboo River; on one side of the river are the historic buildings from the Ringling Circus. These house amazing exhibits of old circus wagons, costumes and posters.

On the other side of the river are buildings and tents where the shows are: An hour long circus show with human and animal acts, a magic show, elephant and pony rides and a tiger act. The venues are small, so everyone is really up close to the acts, making it a different kind of experience. Above are some photos from circus world: the girls with an acrobat, the girls riding an elephant, and some of the antique circus wagons. This was just an all around great place to visit!

Hayward, Wisconsin

The bad weather is following us! Wicked thunderstorm last night, and, as we head south, we're supposed to get them again this evening!

We stayed two nights in a camping cabin at a KOA in Hayward, Wisconsin. Hayward is near the Namekagon River, part of the St Croix National Scenic Waterway. Mike took the girls tubing on the river yesterday; they all had a fabulous time.

While not a huge fan of KOAs, they work well in a pinch, and some of them are just a kid's paradise. My girls love this particular one, we were here last year when we came through: it has mini-golf, a good pool, a jumping pillow, a waterslide, movies, structured activities and river tubing. Hayward itself is a nice Northwoods vacation village with good bars/restaurant, shopping and a Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. (picture above)

The KOA is much more crowded (and pricier) than when we were here this time last year. The national parks were also very crowded- Yellowstone broke attendance records again this year. It's good to see Americans are still taking vacations;I guess domestic travel is more appealing in this economy.

Lake of the Woods & International Falls, MN

I must say, this part of Minnesota was something of a bust for us. We had been looking forward to spending about a week in Minnesota; after Lake Itasca, we had booked two nights in what is supposed to be a beautiful state campground on Lake of The Woods. As we headed up that way, though, the weather was just miserable: high 80s with 80% humidity, overcast with thunderstorms expected. And the weather was not supposed to break for several days. Rather than suffer through that, we just passed through Lake of the Woods and headed to International Falls. It was not our day, however; the road connecting the two border communities was closed so we had to drive through about 30 miles of gravel roads through a national forest and, I think, an Indian Reservation. The road was completely deserted the entire route, making us feel just a little bit nervous, waiting for that huge thunderstorm.

We eventually made it to International Falls, where we booked a room in what we thought was a budget motor lodge. Turned out ot be budget in amenities, less so in price. That was no big deal, but we were a little put off at check-in when the owner gave my husband a kind of long lecture about how we were responsible for our children and accountable for any damage they might cause (????). Just wasn't a great day.

We got out of International Falls quickly and headed to Voyageurs National Park where we spent part of the day. Voyageurs is beautiful and, if the weather were better, we would have spent a few days in the area. Most of Voyageurs is on the water; it covers four islands and 50 plus miles of of river portage (tracing part of the route of the old French Canadian fur traders, the voyageurs. You really need to be on the water to enjoy Voyageurs. We had also meant to head towards Ely, the gateway to the Boundary Waters, but with the weather being so totally suck-o, we passed on that and headed right towards Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is also hot right now, but drier and sunnier, giving us some welcome relief. We're in Hayward Lakes in Northern Wisconsin, a place we visited last year and enjoyed very much.

We're seeing a ton of Minnesota plates here, so everyone in Minnesota must have had the same idea we did: get out of Minnesota and go to Wisconsin!

Lake Itasca, Minnesota

We camped two nights at Itasca State Park in Minnesota. Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi River. Here in the park, you can walk across the Mississippi at it leaves the lake a little stream. (Above are a couple of pictures of us doing exactly that). The park is just a great place to stay; it has an historic lodge- CCC built, of course-cabins and two campgrounds. The lake is just gorgeous and there's a swimming beach and boating. This is Minnesota's first and oldest state park and they are very proud of it.

Minot, North Dakota

We broke our trip in Minot, North Dakota, where we checked into a Sleep Inn. We needed a night in a hotel after more than 3 weeks tent camping. The hotel was perfect for that purpose; it has a water park to entertain the kids and is attached to a mall that lets us stock up on needed odds and ends. (camera batteries, air mattresses, etc). We liked it so much, we stayed a second night.

Minot's biggest roadside attraction is a park celebrating its Scandinavian roots. The park has all kinds of buildings, replicas and originals, from the five Scandinavian countries. It also has some statues honoring notable people from that part o f the world (There is a statue of Sondre Norheim, father of modern skiing, with an eternal flame). Above is a picture of a replica stave church, a storehouse, and a Dala Horse, symbol of Denmark.

Bighorn Battlefield

We're staying in a campground in Hardin, Montana (once again surrounded by corn/wheat/sugar beet fields!) as a base to visit the Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Battlefields are usually very poignant places and this one- despite huge crowds- is no exception. I love the plains/prairie; some people see it as just a great empty space, but I think it's just beautiful with the grasses and wildflowers covering everything as far as you can see. At the battlefield, across the plains you can see the mountains in the distance (I think it's the Bighorn Mountains). It's a very lonely place, too, especially when you think of what happened here.

As most people know, this was the site of a fierce battle between the US 7th Cavalry (led by Lt Colonel George A. Custer) and the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians (led by Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull). It was an overwhelming victory for the native Americans, though they ultimately lost the war. One Park Ranger explained, that to him, both sides in this conflict were true patriots who loved their country and their way of life.

Until the 1990s this was called the Custer Battlefield Monument. The name was changed to Little Bighorn Battlefield after President Bush senior instructed that the monument also reflect the losses of the Native Americans. Until that time, the monument focused entirely on the sacrifice of the US Army; memorials and markers covered the battlefield where US soldiers fell; there was no recognition at all of the fallen Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. While the first President Bush ordered the creation of a memorial to the Native war dead, it wasn't until the second President Bush that funds were appropriated to actually build the monument.

Above is a photo of the memorial to the 7th cavalry on Last Stand Hill as well as the newer memorial to the Indians erected nearby.

Cody, Wyoming

After a week in Yellowstone, we spent the night in Cody, Wyoming. Cody is one of the most popular gateway towns to Yellowstone. It was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody, the ultimate entrepreneur, about 100 years ago or so, and has been a tourist haven ever since. There's lot of Old West-y things to do in Cody, but we were only there for a day, so opted to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center instead. Despite the name, the Center is actually a world-class museum that takes at least a couple of days to enjoy. It is actually five museums in one; the Buffalo Bill museum, of course, with all kinds of memorabilia about his life and adventures, a Firearms Museum, a Natural History Museum, a Museum of the Plains Indian and the Whitney Museum of Western Art. The latter two (Western Art and Plains Indian) were really extraordinary; if anyone is ever in Cody, they should make a point of visiting this museum!

While not a particular fan of Buffalo Bill, visiting Cody and the museum really hammered home what a super-rock-star Buffalo Bill was during his lifetime. He created the pop vision of the American West that the rest of America and the world embraced and that still lingers a bit today.

PS. Grace was really enthralled by the Western Art Museum, and one particular bronze really caught her fancy: a statue of two deer intertwined titled "Shadow", she took a picture of it (above)