alexandriacardinals

In our continuing efforts to educate and entertain, with various or no degrees of success, yesterday’s discoveries included Batman’s hometown, an escaped giraffe, the alternative name for “gym,” the place famed in a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, and our hometown for many years. We also found “Waldo,” but the Super sped by at such a high rate of speed I missed it.

August 2

The Super and I went for a 40-minute walk this morning (before hell arrives this afternoon) all for the sake of you lovers of fine art. In 2011, “The Walldogs” converged on historic downtown Plymouth, Wisconsin, and produced 25 murals, presented in chronological order. Is Alex Next?

[And the following are other shots around Plymouth that morning . . . ]

[The Super heads for her car outside our lodging, depicted in the painting.]

[You just never know what you’ll find in a bookstore window.]

[Then it was on to Elkhart Lake, where our first stop was the Victorian Village.  We had a couple hours to kill before we could check in at camp, so we thought we’d just sit at the lake and people watch.  Rita, Beth, and Chris soon joined us, and we enjoyed . . . ]

[Some adult beverages at the Tiki Bar.  What’s not to like about that?  🙂  ]

[The camp must have remained solvent through our stay as we weren’t kicked out.  The following video shows how we are greeted every year.  A shout out to the camp counselors who do their best to keep we fogies entertained all week.]

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.  ~  Susan Heller

Up next:  Camp.

The first day of August

As we “cruise” into life’s final glide path, we visit places of first impression we’re not likely to ever see again. Here’s a place I’d never heard of . . . [Facebook post for Grandad Bluff in La Crosse, just forgot to put it with Day 1.  Stuff happens.]

The Super made me do it. Clouds on the Mississippi this morning [on Facebook]. Ferryville, Wisconsin, population 176, is literally one street wide. With the Mississippi River on one side and steep bluffs on the other, the one street has to have turn arounds every couple blocks on the river side as the only way to reverse direction.

[On the road again, heading out of Ferryville on the way to . . . ]

[Who hasn’t wanted to visit Prairie du Chien, just ‘cuz it’s a cool name?  And this park is on St. Feriole Island.  Neither name can be correctly pronounced unless you are a local.]

[This is how I got my morning walk in.  On the Trail of Presidents, I had to walk all the way to Mr. Fillmore to find a plaque that wasn’t covered in bird doo-doo.]

[The Victorian Lady looked like a party gal . . . maybe a blues fan?]

[There was a blues festival going on in the park all weekend.  We were there early to avoid the crush.  It may have been bad timing – Duluth was also hosting a blues festival on this weekend.]

[Historic and restored buildings on the island.]

[Is there any connection?]

[The campers for the festival were just rousing.]

[Heading off the island back into town.]

[And then we began our eastward adventure along the Wisconsin River.]

[A good early part of the trip – no sights of the river, no signs of civilization.]

[So, I looked at clouds.]

[Then the river finally started regularly coming into view.  Still no signs of humanity.]

[And this may be why.  One of the funnier moments of the whole trip.  When we first started out along the Wisconsin River “trail,” the only road signs we ever saw were – Gotham, 49 miles; Gotham 33 miles; Gotham, 15 miles . . . Well, as the home of Batman we figured it must be a pretty big place, and we were hankering for lunch.  But this was it – no eatery unless you knocked on one of the two houses in town.]

[No people, but wildlife abounded.]

[But then we arrived here.  More bang for the buck than any other place this size because . . . it is the home of Frank Lloyd Wright, Aldo Leopold, and The House on the Rock!]

[We crossed the Wisconsin River to visit Taliesen.  This is just the visitor center and restaurant.  It may be a cliche to say so, but I love this guy’s work.  Just the lighting he designs into his buildings is amazing – I’m sure this visitor center must be well over 50 years old but looks as modern as anything you’ll see today.  We unfortunately did not have the time and wherewithal to tour his home and other buildings on this day.]

[But while we’re here, let’s have a nosh!  Quiche and salad with greens grown on the property.]

[And before we leave, a couple of shots out the window at the river recreation.]

[Again, lacked the time, wherewithal, and desire to actually visit the place, but it was in the neighborhood.]

[But we drove in just to see if you could see the place.  You can’t.  But there’s this giant visitors center and gardens and stuff around.  The house photo under the brochure above is from internet stock.]

[As we were heading back to town, there was a scenic overlook sign.  Far be it for me to pass up a scenic overlook, so in we went.  I started walking . . . and walking . . . and walking, and it was hot.  Finally ran into someone coming back and asked what we were overlooking.  They said the House, but it still over a mile away.  Here’s the best I could do.]

[On the way back to town, a Taliesen building.]

[I don’t know where this fit in the grand scheme of things, but it was on the way to . . . ]

[Jami and Danny are big fans of this guy, the father of wildlife conservation.]

[As the sign attests, we were actually at his nature center, not at the foundation.  We drove in and were greeted by a gentleman who said the whole place had been rented for the weekend for a family reunion.  Oh, well.]

[The next town in our queue was made famous in song and story by . . . ]

[Creedence Clearwater Revival]

[And next up is where the Super and I first met some 28 years ago . . . OK, it was in a different state.]

Another long day in the car, then A-listing for Weakie. Our restaurant and overnight digs, 52 Stafford, An Irish Guest House, downtown Plymouth, WI.

[Our nighttime accommodations, where we would be only 6 miles from Camp Brosius.]

[We ate in because the menu was to die for!]

[The Super had the meatloaf, I had the shepherd’s pie.  Both were delicious!  Then it was time for a good night’s sleep before assaulting camp the next day.]

Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.  ~  Charles Kuralt

Up next:  I’m thinking Day 3.

[Editor’s Note:  This is blog post No. 707.  It must be some sort of magical number as I am now entitled to a free hair cut at Madame Tussaud’s House of Waxjobs.]

The first week of August is annually marked by the return of the Resorters Tournament to the Alexandria Golf Club . . . and our exit from the city.  It’s not a cause and effect.  For whom amongst us doesn’t love the Resorters?  But it’s also Week 8 at Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, to which the Callecod family dutifully returns, like the swallows to Capistrano, to celebrate their Indiana University alumni-ness.  The Super and her sister Rita, a/k/a Reetz, as a pair The Biddies, are proud Hoosiers and commit as many family members and friends as they can to this endeavor each year – Reetz for more than 30 years now.  The camp cycles through 100-plus “campers,” generally two to three to four generations per family, weekly for eight weeks where we all enjoy the singular pleasure of hiking up and down 70-some steps from our lodgings “on the hill” to the lakeside mess hall for three actually quite lovely meals per day.  The camp is on Elkhart Lake, a 300-acre spring-fed beauty, exactly on the far side of the lake from the town of Elkhart Lake, population 1,000 usually, about 1 million during the height of the tourist season, i.e., when we are there.  The town is about equidistant from a variety of large population centers – Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Appleton, Oshkosh, with Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison, and Chicago just beyond normal commuting range – and a horseshoe pitch from Whistling Straits where the PGA Championship will be held this week.  The campers – those without age, weight, or health issues – spend their time doing such campy things as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, playing horseshoes, cornhole, euchre, tennis, basketball, volleyball, archery, doing crafts, taking hikes and field trips, singing around camp fires, and such – the rest of us sip wine while reading tomes along the lake shore, napping when we can.

I’m posting this [on Facebook] as a thoughtless gesture . . . because I know you’re going to miss me. The Super and I are taking off on a grand adventure to another foreign country . . . Wisconsin. We’ve been hearing terrible things about this place, that it is now so backward we may not have access to WiFi. If you do not hear from us within a week, alert The Donald, tell him we’re immigrants, and he’ll send a SWAT team. Of course it’s likely we may not make it at all as we will be bucking an outbound stream of fleeing teachers seeking employment in the 21st century.

As part of ongoing efforts to Explore Minnesota (well, actually Wisconsin, but we could see Minnesota from there), the Super eagerly accepted my RFP to map a new route to camp this year.  With great diligence and care, highlighting maps wherever possible and printing reams of travel info, she chose a route to mirror Highway 61 south of the Cities but on the Wisconsin side – the Wisconsin Great River Road.  And then we followed the Wisconsin River east toward our ultimate destination.  We began Friday morning, July 31, and of course as all Minnesota trips must, made a bee-line to the Cities, hoping to shoot right on through without having to slalom through the multiple road repairs currently vexing the metro area.  Somehow, we shot right through on I-94.  We begin . . .

[Minneapolis]

[The new Vikings Stadium, currently running millions over budget as to be expected with such projects.  Just another tax payer gift to billionaires (don’t get Brother Cam started!)]

[The Witches Hat]

[The mighty Mississippi]

[St. Paul (not good angles for city shots coming from the west)]

[We crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin at Prescott, just a Paul Bunyan step south of St. Paul . . . ]

[The old railroad lift bridge marks the end of the St. Croix as it merges here with the Mississippi.]

[Just a brief tour of Prescott.]

[Then just a couple blocks further down the road . . . well, you can read the sign.]

[A few selections by the Super.]

[Nice spot for a scenic overlook and a little history.]

[And then . . . fans of the Alexandria music scene will recognize this as the home town of (hang in there, we’ll get to it) . . . ]

[Railroads run along both sides of the river.  On the Wisconsin side, it seemed like they came every five minutes!]

[Did you get it yet?  This is the hometown of Patchouli – a good 5-hour drive from Alex.]

[Yup, that’s Minnesota on the other side.]

[Then it was on to the metropolis of Stockholm.  For most the trip any place where homo sapiens sapiens gathered in groups, the population varied from unincorporated to a couple hundred.]

[Ooops, dirt road to the winery – mustn’t mess the car!]

[So, back to Stockholm.]

[Stop and smell the wildflowers.  Well, actually it was just a drive-by photo shot.]

[We shoulda tried Stockholm pie.  😦  ]

[Minnesota’s still there.]

[Now where the hell are we?]

[Who cares where we are?  It’s a new winery . . . in Pepin.]

[Beautiful facility – good eats, too!]

[Did the tasting, the Marquettes were good, but thought the Fortaleza was the best lunch buy.]

[Mr. Excitement, living up to his name.]

[Crossing back to Minnesota at Winona.  The Wisconsin river road was moving away from the river?]

[Of course, you all recognize the topography as quintessential to the Driftless Area.]

[OK, let’s go back to Wisconsin . . . ]

[To La Crosse, to be specific.]

[And that’s where we’re going . . . ]

[A place I’d never heard of before.]

[And it provides some pretty nifty vistas.]

[See, I told you it was the Driftless Area.  😉  ]

[Ladies and gentlemen, La Crosse.]

[A final ta-ta to the wildflowers of Grandad Bluff . . . ]

[And then it was on to our overnight lodging.]

[See you in the morning!]

Remember the Old Traveler’s Saying: “You may lose your money and your health and your sanity and some important organs, but they can’t take away your travel memories unless they hit you hard on the head.”  ~  Dave Barry

Up next:  A good guess would be Day 2.

Happy 100th Birthday Alexandria Golf Club! Celebrated on July 17.

[And then 6 years after the birth of the AGC, the first Resorters tournament was held in 1921, the year our male model was born – and Gordy Anderson pretty much shoots better than his age every time he plays.]

[It was a beautiful evening to display gardener Steph Olson’s handiwork. However, it was 90 degrees and sticky, so immediately after cub reporter duties we repaired to the air conditioning for cool beverages and a repast.]

[The Alex class of ’65 will hold its 50th class reunion here this year. By my Minnesota math, the Alexandria Golf Club was only half of its current age at the time.]

July 18

[The next afternoon we “tea-ed” (is that a word?) with Anthony Miltich at the winery (I know that’s a word).  A stiff breeze blew a lot of the humidity away, but the Professor’s speakers needed anchorage from a nearby wood pile.]

And published just the day before . . .

Enjoy a half hour with Anthony, representing prairie musicians on PBS. Go ahead, have a look, it doesn’t hurt a bit. Besides, he’s kinda cute.

July 19

[The Super said, “Take pictures of my flowers.”  Her wish is my command.]

Later, that same day . . .

[Anthony’s back, this time at Bug-A-Boo Bay.]

July 23

[“Nature” at Theatre L’Homme Dieu, a play in which the audience moves with the performers, to three different performance sites on the grounds. Hence, the young ladies performing parking control – no parking in the usual “lot” because part of the performance took place there (no photography during the performance, of course). A beautiful, cloudless sky throughout the performance, contrary to the forecast of possible thunderstorms. Very interesting and unique with terrific music and a little education thrown in. For example, DYK, Henry David Thoreau was opposed to smart phones, while Ralph Waldo Emerson treasured such.]

[Followers of the blog may remember the Super and I visited Walden Pond in January 2013 – damn cold (people were ice skating) and just after we left the area got hit with 4-feet of snow!]

July 24, the start of a busy music weekend . . .

[Leading off, Patchouli at the winery.  Delighted that they will be visiting us every month until they snowbird to Florida.]

That evening . . .

[That evening, the Alexandria music family descended on the Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum Gardens to enjoy the classical stylings of Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys!]

[The lonely life of the bass player . . . ]

[And then the Rev took center court.]

[Danny had to capture the situation.]

[Then just sit back and let the music waft over you.]

[Jami made a new friend.  “Pork chop” or “El Choppo” to the Rev, he makes a keyboard dance!]

[If it would have been any more fun, it probably would have been illegal.]

Art-in-the-Park, July 25 – 26

[The number of people at Art-in-the-Park on this day exceeded the population of Shanghai. Astrophysicists around the world detected a change of the Earth’s balance accordingly, slowing it’s rotation and extending the length of the day by two seconds. Plus, warnings were issued for those over the age of 13 if they were caught in a knee deep pool of their own perspiration by standing in the same spot for more than 5 minutes.]

[After catching a bit of Patchouli at the haybale entrance and then Josie Nelson here at the bandshell, settled in for a bit with Michelle and Chuck, a/k/a, Sax Appeal.]

[Then a stroll through the park to enjoy the madding crowds.]

[Finished up at the park with a set each from Patchouli and Josie.]

And then some videos . . .

And finally a good one of Josie on “Don’t Know Why”

Later . . .

[Before heading home to seek refuge from the humidity, I swung by the old high school to see how much was left of it.  Josie’s grandma, who was in the first graduating class from Jefferson in 1959, asked that I pick up a brick for her (she had a brick from old Central High).  Unfortunately, the access gate to the bricks was locked.  You may have noticed I was flying solo on this day.  The Super and Jami hosted an affair at home.  When I got home, we all decided we had done enough for the day.]

July 26

Patchouli and Josie were back at the haybales . . .

July 27

[Big Jeff is down to one last wall, but I got some bricks.]

We eat a lot on long trips because we feel our bodies are less likely to become bored if they can pass the time converting food into fat.  ~  Dave Barry

Up next:  Methinks I feel a road trip comin’ on.