Wisconsin – Page 2 – Valerie's Voice

Stillwater Loop

Going on bike rides has been a great way for Gary and I to get away during this pandemic. Gary bikes frequently with his bike club, but we have gone on rides together too. It’s an activity we both enjoy. And Minnesota has an abundance of bike trails to explore.

One day we went up to Stillwater to ride the “Loop Trail.” This trail goes along the river walk through town, then up the hill to the new, expansive bridge crossing the St. Croix River over into Wisconsin and back to Stillwater, creating a five-mile loop.

The new bridge crossing the St. Croix River in Stillwater.

Another view of the new, expansive Stillwater bridge.

This photo was taken in May 2018, showing the newly opened bridge from a distance.

The paved bike trail on the Wisconsin side guides one to a steep, downhill road leading to the historic Stillwater lift bridge, now repurposed as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge. Until recently the old lift bridge was the only bridge, in Stillwater, for vehicles to cross the St. Croix River.

Approaching the steep hill going down towards the old Stillwater bridge.

The old lift bridge made into a new bicycle/pedestrian bridge. The bridge still lifts for tall boat traffic on the St. Croix River.

The old bridge became too congested and a new bridge was built. In comparison, looking at the old lift bridge and the new superhighway bridge, is comical because of the major size difference. It does make for a fun five-mile bicycle ride.

After the loop trail we rode past the old, Zephyr train depot, now the Zephyr Theater, on a trail along Brown’s Creek. Another lovely ride, in the shade, slightly uphill for six miles and connects to the Gateway Trail. After we turned around at the intersection of Brown’s Creek and Gateway it felt like we glided down into Stillwater. It was fun.

A view of the old lift bridge in the background…photo taken from the new high bridge in Stillwater, MN.

We were in Stillwater on a weekday and it was bustling. The weather was sunny and hot, a great day to be by water…we ate our lunch on the deck of a restaurant near the river, and after lunch we laid out blankets on the shore and watched the people and boats go by.

A view of the St. Croix River and the old lift bridge, lifted up.

First Snow

We woke up to three inches of snow. It was the first morning on a recent trip to Madison where I met up with my friend from Indiana. This was the end of October, and to see 3″ of snow was a little earlier than I’d like, but it was beautiful.

However, our plan that morning was to go to Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the snow only enticed us more…we were excited to see how the snow enhanced the gardens.

It was a delight. The skies were fall blue, the air was crisp and the paths were inviting…we said we felt like we were in Narnia.

From an elevated platform in the gardens.

Snow covered the tree branches and plants and bushes…all outdoor furniture… and a gentle wind blew swirls of snow off the trees. The paths were mostly clear because the sidewalks were warm enough to melt the snow as it touched the ground.

After spending a good amount of time outside we finally got chilled and went indoors.

IThe snow had already melted off this fall display.

Once inside we walked through the warm, tropical conservatory with birds and butterflies. It was a great way to warm up our whole body.

Even though I’m not ready for winter to begin, the first snowfall of this season turned out to be a wonderful event. But I’m thankful we were in Madison and there was no snow back home in Northfield.

A Barge At Alma

One fine, autumn day we went on a drive enjoying the country landscapes and ended up in Wisconsin. We stopped at the Nelson Creamery for lunch, and then headed to Alma and a small county park there, with an expansive overlook of the Mississippi River. The sun was out, the sky was blue and trees were an array of beautiful fall colors.

Beautiful ivy on Nelson Creamery’s outside patio wall.

While entering Alma a barge was approaching Lock and Dam #4. We decided to park the car and walk to the observation platform to watch the interesting process of moving a barge through the lock.

A view of the front of the barge entering the lock.

It was process. This particular barge, technically called a 9-pack barge because each unit is called a barge and when tied together they are identified as packs. A 9-pack barge is three barges wide and three barges deep. For simplicity in this blog I am using the term “barge” to identify the entire barge pack.

The tugboat would not fit in the lock at the same time as the barge so the barge went through first, after disengaging from the tugboat. Once it passed through it was secured to shore while the tugboat went through the lock. The two were reconnected – the barge and the tugboat – and it continued on it’s way again, down the mighty Mississippi River, to the next lock and dam.

Overlook from Buena Vista Park in Alma, WI. The 9-pack barge waiting for the tugboat to pass through the lock.

It was interesting process to watch and it took over an hour. And this is just… one barge… on one section… of one river. This process is repeated several times a day for many months of the year.

Pleasure boats go through the lock and dam too. This boat waited a while before it could pass through.

In the meantime a train came rumbling through town on the railroad tracks and there we were, between the train and the river barge. It seemed like a lot of activity in this small Wisconsin town of 791 people.

It’s interesting to stop and think of all the ways commodities are transported in this country…quickly or slowly…by boats, trains, trucks…mostly unnoticed… and the availability of goods taken for granted.

Villa Louis

We toured an old historic mansion in southwestern Wisconsin called the Villa Louis. I always enjoy looking at houses…old and new.

A bit of history: The Villa Louis sits on 25 acres along the Mississippi. An original brick house was built in 1843 by Hercules Dousman. He earned his fortune in fur trade, lumber trade and being a “frontier entrepreneur”. Hercules Dousman died in 1868 and his wife (Jane) and their son, Louis, inherited the house.

The side of Villa Louis that faces the Mississippi River.

Louis had it torn down and rebuilt in 1871. Louis died at the young age of 37 and the house was left to his widow and five children who lived in the house until 1913. The estate stayed in the family until the Wisconsin Historical Society acquired it in 1952.

The dining room set up for a 10 year old’s birthday party. Note the photo in the foreground…photos were used to help restore the room to it’s original look.

In the mid-1990’s the Historical Society began a major project restoring the house back to how it looked in the years between 1893 to 1898.

The restoration of this particular home is unique because there is a large collection of historic photographs showing different areas of the house, from the late 1800’s, and they were used to re-create the rooms.

I liked this wallpaper on the main level. It was reprinted for the restoration project.

In addition to the photographs, the historical society acquired 90% of the original furniture. When the family was notified of the restoration project by the historical society, three of the four siblings (the fifth child had died) gave back their possessions, which they inherited when they sold the house. The brochure states the restoration project was “unusually well documented.”

The day we visited was hot and humid so it was great to walk into the air-conditioned mansion…air-conditioned to preserve the antiques. Our young tour guide was knowledgeable and delightful. The photographs and original furniture makes the house feel authentic as you step inside, and step back in time. It was charming and lovely.

A different view of the beautiful dining room.

There are several events that happen at the Villa Louis. One is the annual Villa Louis Carriage Classic, a carriage parade and driving competition, with folks dressed in period costume. That sounds like a fun event.

1,000 Crèches

Definition of Crèche according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: a representation of the Nativity scene.

Last December I read an article about a church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that permanently displays one woman’s collection of 1,000 crèches. It immediately piqued my interest and I told my friend about it. We decided right then that we would meet in Oshkosh for our next annual get-away.

This was a beautiful hand-painted porcelain crèche from Ireland.

We were not disappointed. The Algoma Boulevard United Methodist Church indeed was open and welcoming. The church office administrator brought us downstairs and unlocked the door to three rooms for us to peruse 1,000 chèches from around the world. She turned on the lights, and turned on Christmas music to set the mood, then left us alone to take it all in.

Mildred Turner started collecting nativities in 1988 to help her overcome some set backs in her life. We wanted to know more about her but couldn’t find much information. Was she married? If so, what did her husband think of all these crèches? Where did she find room to display them as she was collecting them?

Sizes ranged from a miniature crèche, about the size of the tip of my index finger, to large public outdoor display pieces. There were crèches made from just about any art medium you can think of…colored crystal bells, Lladró’s fine porcelain, metals, stone, pottery, shells, clay, wood, fabric, ivory, yarn…the list goes on. We didn’t know what to expect but this was a wonderful display of quality crèches. Even the two crèches made of Popsicle sticks were well done.

Popsicle sticks and cloths pins and felt. This could possibly be a future project for grandchildren…

Although there were many unique crèches I think the story behind the wood-carved crèche deserves extra attention. German prisoners of war carved it during WW II. They were housed at Green Lake, about 30 miles from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Several of the men whittled this set during their free time. It is not known why this nativity set was left behind when the prisoners were transferred to another camp a few months later. It’s wonderful that this nativity scene is a part of this collection.

Part 1 of the German Prisoner’s wood-carving.

Part 2 of the German prisoner’s wood carving.

All the crèches were cataloged and we could look up individual pieces if we wanted to, but that felt overwhelming. Thankfully a lot of the crèches were labeled as to where they were from and/or the medium, although I didn’t capture the info in my photos. We spent a couple hours enjoying all the pieces, pointing out the unusual, taking pictures of our favorites.

The stars lit up on this ceramic crèche light.

This was our first morning in Oshkosh. Our trip was off to a good start.

Additional photos:

A unique porcelain music box nativity, that plays “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” apparently Mildred Turner’s favorite.

Counted Cross-stitch. This piece has the date 1988, the year Mildred Turner started her collection.

Memorable Hikes – Bayfield, Wisconsin 2014

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

In 2014, an article in The Washington Post read “An estimated 94 percent of Lake Superior is covered with ice, enabling sightseers to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore’s sea caves for the first time since 2009.”

Before 2014 I did not know there was a possibility of walking on frozen Lake Superior to visit the sea caves. We explored the sea caves while kayaking one summer, but to see them in the wintertime was intriguing. I love Lake Superior and I loved the idea of walking on it. As soon as I learned about this opportunity we recruited some friends and headed to Duluth for dinner and an overnight, and drove to Bayfield, Wisconsin the next day. A beach near Bayfield was the designated entry point for the trail to the sea caves. There were throngs of people with the same idea. It quickly became a very popular attraction that winter, which made for congested parking and long lines – but it was worth it.

We bundled up in our warm, winter gear, grabbed our hiking poles and walked out to see the beautiful dazzling ice formations, crystal caves, and icicles hanging everywhere off the cliff faces along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore. When the lake is not frozen the sea caves are very popular places for exploring with canoeists and kayakers. But at this point in time people could walk through, and crawl under, these same sea caves and it was awesome!