I ♥ Eagle River

I absolutely adore Eagle River, Wisconsin.  At least the little I've seen of it.  I've been here twice for work so far.  Both trips have been for only two nights and so jam packed with work and crappy weather that I can only explore by car.  Still, it's enough for me to know that I want to spend more time here. 

Northwoods Calm

The past month has been all about trying to find some inner calm and clarification... detoxing my body, removing toxic people from my life, and figuring out my future path.  To achieve this, I've been eating healthy, whole foods, spending copious amounts of time in a sauna when I can find one, speaking my truth to those who are dishonest with me, aggressively seeking out people and programs who can make my future come together more quickly, reconnecting with old friends, and indulging in some very necessary massage therapy.

Seriously, if you're ever in the Chippewa Falls area, seek out Martha at For Your Health Massage. She's an intuitive healer.  That woman has a craft!  She introduced me to Lomi Lomi massage, which took away a lot of my physical and emotional pressure, and left me smelling like toasted coconut.  I will be seeking out Lomi Lomi in the Madison area this winter, for sure.  Or maybe I'll make an excuse to go back and see Martha.  She's worth it!

A long drive across Wisconsin's northwoods for work also helped me continue with my catharsis.  The leaves are near peak and vibrant, it's so breathtaking.  The birch trees remind me of Finland.  Hopefully I'll get out to explore the Eagle River area after a day of research tomorrow.  Sunshine and bears, come my way!

Country Roads, Take Me... Oh, Wait, I am Home.

Catching up on some summer time field shots.

Richland County

Grant County

Near Binghampton, Outagamie County

(I adore supper clubs!)

Near Rosendale, not just for traffic stops!

Elkhart Lake

Greenbush hayfield, Sheboygan County

Home is Where the Food & Fiberglass Is

Apologies in advance to my friends in the area, for not calling or visiting (hey, this worked girl is overworked!), but I'm in my old stomping ground of La Crosse, WI for a brief couple of days.  These nice little jaunts close to home mean mid-week time with three of my nieces and nephews, and I'm very reluctant to share my time with anyone else!

One of my most favorite spots close to home is Ginny's Cupboard in Sparta.  Have I blogged about them before?  It's probable.  But I love them.  Compared to food prices in even moderately sized Wisconsin town's, Ginny's made-from-scratch soup and house-baked bread is the best bang for your buck in the area.  And yeah, the milkshakes are pricey, but they're so so worth it.  Sucks for me though, I'm still trooping through my detox.  Lucky for me, the white chicken chili had only a very minimal amount of cheese thrown into the entire pot (enough for me to pretend it wasn't there... it probably didn't make it into my mug anyways, right?).  I'll make up for it tomorrow!  Detox or no, it's pretty sweet to patron a place with so many cool antiques to look at.  Even in the bathrooms.

Another one of my favorite spots close to home is F.A.S.T. Corp, aka the Fiberglass Graveyard.  So what these pictures are from July.  And they weren't from a work trip.  And I probably won't make it there this trip.  They're still worth showing!  Apologies for another slide show, but they're just so damn handy to upload, compared to posting dozens of photos.  Oh, and check out these winter-time photos.  Maybe I'll trek out there this Christmas, they'd be fun to see in the snow!

The Wade House

There's a great website to take an interactive tour of the Wade House in Greenbush here.

More information about the 1850/60s hotel, 1847-1890s sawmill (dates vary), and blacksmith shop can be read here and here.

I've done this tour twice and really enjoyed it both times.  The carriage driver is a hoot, the staff and guides know an incredible amount of information about their posts, the sawmill guy is entertaining, the blacksmith is a bit odd, and the lady hotel guides are way into it in a good way.

Any questions on the photos, just ask! Click on the slideshow for a larger view.

Carriages, Sleighs, and Wagons, Hell Yeah!

Crafting carriages, sleighs, wagons, carts, etc. is a long lost trade.  Good thing Wesley Jung had the foresight to know the craft was dying and started his collection.  The colors, details, upholstery, woodwork, function... all so interesting to see in person.  This museum is just one of many gems at the Wade House in Greenbush, WI, between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.  My personal favorites:  the sleighs and the historical photographs.  Especially the turkey-drawn children's cart.  Ch-ch-check this place out!

A more in-depth description from PortalWisconsin.org:

• The Wesley Jung Carriage Museum recognizes the contribution of a German immigrant to Wisconsin. In 1855, carriage maker Jacob Jung left his native country to settle in Sheboygan. The family carriage and wagon business he began in his adopted home operated until 1917, when the automobile's rise spelled the end of a traditional way of transportation. Jung's grandson, Wesley Jung, wanted to preserve these horse- and hand-drawn vehicles that were once so common on American streets. In 1968, his collection of vintage vehicles opened as a museum on the grounds of Wade House.The wagons and carriages are splendid and almost startling in their variety: a circus calliope, sleighs, children's wagons, fire wagons, hearses and much more fill the large building. Their designs are as varied as the purposes they were made to serve.

Bliss in Elkhart Lake

I don't have any visuals to share, my work experience this week is completely kinesthetic.

Most of the time, we get to stay in moderately decent hotels while doing archaeology fieldwork away from home. Sometimes we're stuck with a dive, other times there's hot waffles and maybe a waterslide. It's up to the hotel if they choose to accept the rate for State employees, which is somewhat reduced from their standard rate. Lucky for me, Plymouth, Wisconsin's Baymont Inn, a traditional stand-by for my co-workers, decided they don't want to accept the State rate anymore. This initially pissed me off, because it's a decent hotel and we've literally patroned them for months on end during the past 5 years. Lucky again, a co-worker knew of an absolutely incredible establishment less that 7 miles from our project area at the Wade House in Greenbush. No way would I ever normally be able to afford accommodation like the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake. I am having an A-MAY-ZING week!

Although we have to dig endless shovel tests in rocky clay loam (tearing up my back and shoulder!), I get to recover in the evening with one of two saunas. I cannot rave enough about saunas, they're one of my big loves and something I don't get to experience enough. Why haven't more Americans realized the benefit of a sauna? My sore, laboring muscles LOVE sweating out all the tension from yielding a shovel and hiking through marsh grass all day long. The girls and I tried out some yoga moves in the gigantic sauna this evening, and I can't even explain how good it felt.

On the walk to and from the sauna is Osthoff's private beach. It's definitely still summer here, and it's so warm and lovely to lay in a beach chair and stare off meditatively over the beautiful Elkhart Lake. Tonight the sky and lake were a rosey pink during the sunset. It makes me so happy to be in Wisconsin at this moment.

And if that's not being spoiled enough, I have the most beautiful bathroom I've ever seen! The whirlpool bath is so giant, I float. My shoulder tendinitis feels manageable with whirlpool jets pummeling at it. With my lemon/sage foot scrub and clay ionic mask, I don't need to drop $135 at the hotel's spa... not that I could afford to anyways. I feel good.

Oh, and there's food here. If I feel like blowing the bank tomorrow night, I'll try Lola's on the Lake, the resort's 3-star restaurant featuring local and organic cuisine. Last night we had Otto's, touted as casual, but definitely sheeshy, and definitely tasty. I may have picked a bad week for my semi-annual detox attempt (wheat-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free, caffeine-free, sugar-free, processed-free, red meat-free), but at least there's plenty to choose from with the local organic produce on the menus.

If you want to just RELAX, I recommend this place -- especially if you get a discount!