Peeling the Intriguing Layers of Wisconsin OLA

Colby cheese in the making in Decatur Dairy, Wisconsin 

We were not able to get to the northern part of Minnesota along Lake Superior and the western section where most of the lakes are (the state is known as the Land of 10,000 lakes). But from our campground there and from the one in Illinois, we peeled the fascinating layers of Wisconsin, one layer at a time, without staying in the state even a single night!

world's largest 6-pack in La Crosse

At La Crosse, on the Minnesota border, we were pleasantly shocked at suddenly coming upon the World’s Largest 6-Pack! Bill didn’t even know about La Crosse beer when those huge beer cans showed up, dwarfing the trees and parked cars. And happily raising his beer mug to the passers-by was the King of Beer from the 13^th century, Gambrinus.

National Historical Cheesemaking Center

From the Illinois border, we toured Decatur Dairy near Monroe, the Swiss Cheese Capital of the US and home to the National Historical Cheese Making Center.  Decatur’s Master Cheese Maker Steve has won many awards in the state, the US and Europe. Wisconsin supplies 26% of the cheese consumed in the country. Over 2.6 B pounds of 600 varieties of cheese are produced every year from the milk of 1.26 M cows in 13,000 dairy farms in the state.

Gambrinus, King of Beer

In Milwaukee, along the other great lake, Lake Michigan, we had lunch at Mader’s, a German restaurant that has been operating since 1902. We had the best beef goulash, pork schnitzel, veal sauerbreuten we have ever had. It was also my first time to have pretzel rolls…yummy! And for dessert…apple strudel! Gambrinus was again there, staring at me as I sank into their BIG chair. The region is home to a lot of good German cuisine. This is the first layer: outstanding food and beverage.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Wright's Place...Taliesin

Also in Milwaukee we were taken aback as the Milwaukee Art Museum loomed before us. It is prominently featured in Transformers 3. And this leads us to the second layer: art and architecture! A famous Wisconsin son: Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland, Wisconsin but there are 7 possible houses where he was born. Just a few miles south is Taliesin where Wright built his home, tucked away into the hills, as is his style, together with a school of architecture, a restaurant, and a visitor center.  

the Infinity Room of the House on the Rock

A few miles south in Spring Green, Wisconsin, is the House on the Rock, a complex of architecturally designed rooms, streets, gardens and shops by Alex Jordan, Jr.  On a singular standing rock he slowly built his home from left-over materials of his carpenter-father. Trees have now almost covered the spectacular view except for the Infinity Room that soars out 250-feet into the valley 150-ft below.

     

the Basilica on Holy Hill

A friend of ours (Didi Manarang) told us of her annual pilgrimage to Hubertus, Wisconsin, where the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary sits on top of a Holy Hill. In the Roman Catholic Church, a basilica is the highest Papal designation given to a building that carries special spiritual, historical, and architectural significance. Beside the Meditation Chapel inside the basilica is a receptacle of crutches that have, through miraculous healing, become no longer needed.

the simple tomb of Adele Brise

Further north near Green Bay, Wisconsin is the site of one of only 15 approved sites of a Marian apparition, an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared supernaturally to one or more people. Another friend, Loy Aquino, brought us there. Just a year after Lourdes, Adele Brise, a young Belgian immigrant, saw a beautiful woman standing between a maple and a hemlock tree and was given the mission to teach the children of the area their Catechism. The approval for Our Lady of Good Help just came on Dec. 8 last year. This is the layer that happily surprised us: religion.

Lambeau Field of the Green Bay Packers

But, according to Bill, Green Bay is host to a spot, another miracle, where thousands gather! It is known as Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, SuperBowl legends! I also have to mention that Harley-Davidson’s Head Office is in Milwaukee (although we took the plant tour in Kansas City instead)! Well, that’s Wisconsin for you…made up of solid layers that make the state known and loved in the country…plus all the other bonuses!

6 layers of motorcycles at Harley-Davidson

Next Stop: Meeting in My Kind of Town, Chicago! 

Exploring from our Minnesota Campground OLA

a barn quilt by the roadside in Hidden Bluffs Country

Our feet were getting itchy so we made an appointment for the Chicago Camping World to finish the job on our RV (one of the benefits of working with a reliable nationwide chain) and proceeded to Hidden Bluffs Resort (after the little pilgrimage to the Grotto) in Spring Grove at Minnesota’s southeastern corner.  A bluff is defined as a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad steep face.  The resort is a small valley surrounded by bluffs that have been hidden by lots of very green deciduous trees.

a bluff by the roadside

We quickly found out that it is a weekend getaway for local families, especially from nearby Rochester. The planned activities were for kids and the amenities were geared for them, too. Even the hot tub was frequently occupied by a family so we went either early in the morning or late at night. Thus, we quickly plotted our day trips in our 8 days here. Our only condition was to have the trips every other day so we can have time for maintenance, housekeeping, computer work, and cooking.

Our first trip was to Rochester, 1 ½ hours away, and to Minneapolis-St. Paul, another 1 ½ hours from there.  The Mall of the America with a theme park, an aquarium, and an entertainment district (my favorite is the amazing Lego Store) is the biggest in the USA, in a southern burb of Minneapolis. With 500 stores and 4.2 M sq. ft. total area (2.8 M of which are leasable), it is the 13^th largest mall in the world (China has 4, Philippines 4, Canada 1, Dubai 1, Turkey 1, and Malaysia 1 in the top 12).

Mayo Clinic

In Rochester is Mayo Clinic, in top 3 of 10 of 12 important specializations (1 in diabetes, gastroenterology, and kidney, 2 in gynecology, heart, neurology, orthopedics, pulmonary, 3 in cancer and urology). Only Johns-Hopkins ranks close with 9.  So we went to see the Mayowood Mansion where the Mayos lived and the Plummer House (Dr. Plummer was the 3^rd doctor who founded the clinic along with the brothers). Atop the Plummer Building downtown is the Rochester Carillon, a system of 15 bells that play symphonies!  

   

Pine Bend Refinery

This day trip took over 11 hours, 7 for driving alone! On the way to the twin cities we saw a huge unique plant looming larger and larger from the horizon. On our way back, we made it a point to stop to take photos. I found out later that it is the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount. It is among the top processors of Canadian crude in the US, supplying most of the Upper Midwest and certainly, the twin cities, especially its airport, with its capacity of about 320,000 barrels per day. 

a bear mound

The next day trip was to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, only 2 hours from ‘home’ in Harper’s Ferry, Iowa.  There were about 10,000 mounds at one time in the plains of the Midwest to the Atlantic. The Woodland Period Indians, from 500 BC until early European contact, had regularly constructed them in the shape of mammals, birds, or reptiles but agriculture plowed them under. The monument contains 2,526 acres with 206 mounds, 31 effigies. This park is the largest known collection of mounds in the US.

world's smallest church

From Pike’s Peak in MacGregor, Iowa, you can look out to the Mississippi bluffs and see Wisconsin on the other side, especially the town of Prairie du Chen.  And going back to our ‘home’, we made it a point to make a little diversion to 2 points of interest: the World’s Smallest Church (a Catholic church that seats 8 people) in Festino, Iowa (built in --) and the Laura Ingall’s childhood home at Burr Oak, Iowa. This is the place which inspired many of the stories of her Little House on the Prairie.

Laura Ingall's prairie home

Amish Store in Canton

Around the campground are little towns known as Historic Bluffs Country.  Niagara Cave known for its 60-ft. waterfall is in Harmony, a dozen quaint barn quilts are in Caledonia, and an Amish buggy is the weekend market in Canton. We had a chance to go to Rushford Days, an annual festival with a tractor pulling competition and other never-heard-of games!   At the Houston Nature Park we met Alice, the Great Horned Owl, who ‘works’ with Karla and stars at the International Owl Festival every March!

tractor pulling race

Alice, the Great Horned Owl

As they say, sometimes you do not have to go far from home. Hidden Bluffs Resort had several miles of beautiful hiking trails. One of them ended in a big rock where we found a father-son tandem fishing the clear waters.  Another had a really beautiful scenic overlook of the little valley and the campground. It was T. S. Elliot who once said, ‘We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time,‘ exactly what happened to us!  

our beautiful hiking trail