Exploring Shell Lake on Two Wheels, via the Lake Drive Loop.

I decided to stash my bike in the work vehicle this week (shhh...) to take advantage of more of the gorgeous Northwest. If I knew I'd be working here for over a year, I would've just bought a tiny little cottage and a kayak. There's so much to see up here, why waste every Monday and Friday driving, driving, driving...

South shore of Shell Lake.

 

An archaeologist's enemy - the red-winged blackbird!

 

Blackbird in flight.

 

Something I'd like to own one day (minus the annoying frontal garage).

 

Loving the view.
Shell Lake's north shore.

Another beautiful barn.

The home stretch.

"Is Anything Impossible with Divine Help?"

Wow.

I'm not going to write the name of this place, because I totally wasn't allowed to take pictures. But I HAD to! For more info, check out Roadside America.

This place is incredibly fascinating. It is not a museum like they claim it to be. It is, for lack of a better term, a shrine. It encapsulates one man's talent and reverence, complete with a life-size replica of DaVinci's The Last Supper, which he actually began to create after a disembodied voice with a German accent gave him the go ahead. The museum brochure declares that this carving will "outlast Leonardo DaVinci's delicate painting, as it is flaking off the wall in Milan, Italy."

I can't make this shit up, people. This. Is. Wisconsin.

The devil is sad that Jesus has risen.

Judas' hanging.

A procession of different bible passages that began with the Temptation of Adam and Eve and the birth of baby Jesus.

The Last Supper.

And the other half.
To top all of that off, there's a flea market-type assemblage of goodies to buy in the lobby. Old clothes, obscene coffee mugs, blood pressure monitors, wooden postcards of The Last Supper carving, and more. All proceeds for charity, and these people have a long history of generously donating. Respect. I took a photo of this award, just to demonstrate how things have changed since 1968.

Not Quite Minnesota, Too Much Wisconsin Flair.

It’s always great to be shipped to the Hudson area, because it’s basically a suburb/late night alcohol stop of the Twin Cities area, which means I can catch up with old friends who are willing to cross over the St. Croix River while I am caged in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a great cage to be stuck in though, and there never seems to be enough time to explore the shops, cafes, and river walk in Hudson’s historic downtown. My absolute favorite boutique in the area is the La Rue Marche. Such a gem. Incredible clearance, gorgeous shoes, super helpful staff, and articles of clothing much too trendy and pretty for my dirt throwing, hotel living lifestyle. It’s kind of like a museum to me, so many pretty things to see. I’ll definitely be wearing my finds a lot this summer to get my money’s worth out of them! I also love Lavender & Thyme, right across the street. I got my first pair of Joe’s there and couldn’t believe how long they lasted me after wearing them practically every other day for 3 years. Even more artsy, trendy, and unaffordable to my budget clothes there, but most of the time it’s just fun to window shop. The food is fabulous in Hudson too. The mojitos at the San Pedro Cafe absolutely cannot be beat! But my heart belongs to the Winzer Stube, they do German fare better than any other place I’ve been to in Wisconsin. I guess I’m not the only one who thinks so, because they sign out front let us know they were voted the 17th best German restaurant in America, out of 404. Top 20 German food, mmm… $2.50 German drafts during happy hour, mmm… 50% off schnitzel dinners on Wednesdays, mmm… but alas, I’m still off meat and had incredible schnitzel envy. Nothing to complain about the krautfleckerl though, they’re spaetzle is top notch!


We also got to briefly visit the Minnesota History Center during a visit to the SHPO’s office to see an old friend. What a great facility! Great interactive exhibits, but I didn’t have enough time to explore. The only photo I took of one of their exhibits was of one of Prince’s outfits. If you’re going to take just one photo, this is definitely appropriate. Prince and I are the same height. Let’s go crazy.


Another fabulous, fabulous historical stop is the New Richmond Heritage Center. It was located right behind the hotel and peaked my interest right away. I initially thought it was a house and barn, but the facility actually has several historic buildings over 11 acres including two houses, the barn, a church, general store, school house, blacksmith shop, log cabin, and others. Some of the buildings are original to the site (including the Bell/Tierney Italianate-style house which is on the NRHP), but most have been trucked in and/or reassembled from other locales in northwest Wisconsin. Each building has been restored and set up as it would have looked in the past, but not all of the elements in each building are from an exact time period. A lot of school groups tour the facility, so you can pick up, play with, and explore a lot of the artifacts. Hands-on learning the way it should be!






Since we’re always on the lookout for cheap entertainment, cheap beer, and novelty, we honed in on this little downtown New Richmond gem right away. Seriously? Are they really called Bowlarena? I’m not sure, but the place was fantastic. Chipped up balls, wonky lanes, mechanical errors, and score-your-own bowling. We missed Monday’s $1 games, $1 shoes, $1.50 Miller products, and free juke box night, that mistake will NOT happen again. Regardless, bowling was only $2.50, a full night of laughs amounted about about $6 plus beer. Even though there are no projectors to display the scores, it’s still fun to make up silly bowling names… right, Cupcake?




And to leave you with, a shot of what people always want to know... what do we do? Well, sometimes we walk through plowed fields, stare at the ground, and look for artifacts. Usually with a gorgeous Wisconsin landscape in the background.

Wisconsin's Dirty South

And some more catching up with somewhere we spend a lot of time. Richland County. See you later this summer, STH 60. xoxo.

The Pine River, where it meets the Wisconsin.


Susan, along the Wisconsin.




Fawns playing in our survey area off STH 60.


A corn cob pipe! For real!


Steak and taters, wooooo!


Weggy Winery.

Catching Up

It's not even May, and there have already been four weeks of the field season. I've spent all four weeks on excavations in Burnett County, which made a couple of my blog posts last summer. The four weeks yielded thousands of amazing artifacts from a Terminal Late Woodland campsite along Webb Lake, one too many early wood ticks, and many nights at Heartwood being lulled to sleep by frogs and haunted by the cries of the loons.



Because of the hectic pace of last autumn's excavations, I lasped on a few blog posts. Here's a photo recap of what I missed. Black River Falls and Merrillan:

Majestic P!


There's always room for jello.


A sweet old restored bar in Merrillan.


Outside of Merrillan. Yep.



Merrillan.

Another Northern Gem

Where else can you see world-record sized muskies and genius dioramas of woodland taxidermy but northern Wisconsin?

Forget that big fiberglass muskie, go to the Moccasin Bar! You might even get a line from a camo-clad local such as, "Do you know what a wood cock is?"... the answer is, "the evidence" !!

Photo captions welcome!