Is there any better time of the year than FALL? Sure it means the end of summer and for those of us in northern areas of North America, it means winter and the snow will soon be here. But heck, there is no…Read More

Is there any better time of the year than FALL? Sure it means the end of summer and for those of us in northern areas of North America, it means winter and the snow will soon be here. But heck, there is no nicer weather or more beautiful scenery than what happens in fall!

Feeling a bit of my ten week wanderlust cycle, it was time to pack the car and hit the road. Following the TravelWisconsin.com fall colors prediction map for the past couple of weeks, I thought there might not be a better time to head north especially since the weather forecast was for clear sunny days with temperatures in the 70’s. For once, the weatherman had it right!

With just a few designated and specific stops along the way, my plan was to leave Milwaukee early on Friday and be home Sunday afternoon in time for the 3:15pm kick-off of the Packers’ game. With tours booked in La Crosse on Friday afternoon and Osceola Saturday morning; and hotels reserved in St. Croix Falls Friday night and Portage Saturday evening, I had a framework for my road trip. With "Toots the Garmin" by my side, I was fearless willing to take whatever roads piqued my curiosity along the way.

From Milwaukee I drove the first of what would be my limited highway miles . . . approximately 90 of them from Milwaukee to Madison via I94. I would also end my adventure with another 25 miles of highway driving on from Washington County (Allenton) home. Not bad considering that I logged over 1,000 miles in my three day road trip.

Heading north and west out of Madison, I enjoyed the morning ride through the rural farmland. Farmers’ roadside markets dotted the way with pumpkin stands and fall themed displays. Beyond Richland Center, the rolling hills became more prominent, with bursts of color visible in the distance.

Reaching the Kickapoo Valley, I made my first top of the morning near Gays Mills. Many years ago I had visited with area of Wisconsin with a good friend who had access to a cabin overlooking the Mississippi River. We spend many fall and winter weekends making this trip, enjoying the Sunday Packers’ game at whatever local bar we passed near game time. On this trip, I wanted to go back to the apple orchard that we frequently stopped at for yummy baked goods.

Thanks to some research on the internet and Trip Advisor, I was able to narrow it down and to locate the name and address of that orchard from some 15 years ago . . . the Kickapoo Orchard. How simplistic – a DUH moment for me.

I did stop in at the Kickapoo Orchard to check out their supply of freshly picked apples and bakery items. I wandered around their property, including the Sunflower Maze and the grape vines out along the road. It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

From the orchard, I next programmed Toots to take me to La Crosse by way of the Amish community of Cashton. Using "Down a Country Road" as my landmark, Toots did great to get me right where I wanted to be. From there, I knew the area well enough to navigate through to find several photo ops including a large Amish farm and schoolhouse with a lovely explosion of fall leaves serving as the backdrop.

From Cashton, I arrived on time for my La Crosse Queen Paddlewheeler boat tour on the Mississippi River. (See separate review on that enjoyable experience.) After my brief time in La Crosse, I headed over the Mississippi River into La Crescent, MN. My drive north along the river took me on the Apple Blossom Trail as well as the Minnesota Great River Road.

With the sun starting to set to the west, the effect on the Wisconsin side bluffs was very nice. I stopped several places along the way for photos, in addition to my "drive-by" photography that I’ve been known to do around the world. Sometimes you just cannot conveniently STOP so you must do the best you can with a smaller digital camera. For me, my Canon SD600 serves that purpose well without putting me or others around me at risk.

I decided to head back into Wisconsin at the Wabasha, MN/Alma, WI border. Heading north from there, I enjoyed the rest of my drive on the way to St. Croix Falls. I was able to catch the sun setting over the road in front of me somewhere along Hwy 10.

With nightfall upon me, I stopped for supper in Amery, enjoying a decent meatball & cheese sub at the Village Pizzeria. I suppose I could have pushed on to my hotel but I was afraid there might not be a convenient place to stop. It all worked out fine, as I arrived to my hotel in time to catch the last half of the US Senate Debate on PBS.

On Friday I drove a total of 440 miles.

The next morning, I got up and out early in hopes of possibly seeing some wildlife down around the St. Croix River. I had to be in Osceola by 9:30am for my 10:00am train ride, so I had about two hours to explore the St. Croix Falls area.

The first thing I noticed was just how bright the fall leaves were. Since I had arrived after dark the night before, I had no idea how beautiful the area was. The views across the river to the Minnesota side glistened as the sun was rising in the sky behind me.

My train ride aboard the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway was a very pleasurable and relaxing way to see more of the river and bluffs on both in Wisconsin and Minnesota. (See separate review on that ride, which also includes several photos.)

The drive of the St. Croix Scenic Byway in Minnesota was interesting although at several points the road did navigate in and away from the river providing a more limited view of the river and bluffs. As I made my way to Stillwater, I decided to go back over to Wisconsin but the main road & bridge were closed so I had to go a bit further south to make my way back to Wisconsin.

I crossed over into Prescott, WI and with the temperatures approaching 80F, it seemed time to stop in at the local DQ for an ice cream cone. In Prescott I also spent some time stretching my legs at the Great River Road Visitor Center.

From Prescott, I continued my southerly drive stopping from time to time to photograph the bluffs or fall foliage. Considering that the trees were estimated to be near peak and the weather being just about perfect, I was surprise that there were not more cars on the road. There were, however, lots of motorcycles out and about throughout my weekend trip. Every small town that had a bar, had bikes parked and people congregating to enjoy conversation and a beverage.

Because my return home would bring me back through La Crosse, I thought I would again venture through the Amish community of Cashton. I was really glad that I did as I was treated to an especially beautiful photo op of a farm with the harvest moon rising above it. I also passed by a really nice barn quilt which I snapped a photo of as well.

I was surprised that as night fell, there were a couple of Amish buggies out on the road. The first was driven by a man hauling building materials. The second was well after dark. With the red triangle on the rear and what appeared to be an oil lamp on the front as a headlight, my hope was that they made their journey safely.

I arrived to my hotel in Portage, Wisconsin around 9:00pm. I had driven a total of 360 miles and I was zonked!

(Continued in Part 2)
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(Continued from Part 1)On Sunday morning I woke up without the aid of an alarm clock. It was around 7:00am and I was ready to take on the last of my road trip as I continued to work my way home to Milwaukee.…Read More

(Continued from Part 1)

On Sunday morning I woke up without the aid of an alarm clock. It was around 7:00am and I was ready to take on the last of my road trip as I continued to work my way home to Milwaukee. Ordinarily about a two hour drive, I decided to take my time taking the back roads through another Amish community I had previously explored.

Columbia County is a well known area for the Amish farms and merchants who have businesses established to sell their goods to "the English". (English is what they call anyone who is not Amish.) Because it was Sunday, I fully expected to see horse & buggies out on the roads as families went to church.

It was cold and foggy that morning, making photography a bit of a challenge. I did see a number of wild turkeys in several places. They are quite skiddish and often run or fly away before you can get a decent photo of them. I also saw one deer during my early morning drive, but it too was too shy to stand around long enough for me to stop the car and take a photo. So for the day, my animal photography was limited to the turkeys, some barnyard piglets and a pretty orange tabby kitty.

As much as I was disappointed by the dense fog, I was happy with the effect it had on a couple of the photos I took of Amish buggies. Using Photoshop, I was able to convert the images from what were pretty dull color photos into very stirring black & whites. Check out my photo section of this journal to see them.

Since it was Sunday, almost every Amish farm was vacant of people. That was nice in that it afforded me the opportunity to take more close up photos of their farms and schools without concern of appearing to be a stalker or some rude person taking photos of people, knowing their religion prohibits it. There were a couple of farm houses that were apparently being used for church services that day, as indicated by the number of buggies parked on the front yard and in the driveway.

After meandering around Columbia, Green Lake and Marquette Counties it was about time to make my way east and south, towards Milwaukee. With the fog lifted, I enjoyed my drive across County Line Road to Waupun. From there I headed due south until I could pick up another cross road east.

You could tell by the way people were driving, others had the same plan as me . . . be home in time for the Packers’ game. Many were speeding way too fast, or weaving between the slower moving vehicles. Later that night, our local news covered a bad accident involving a fatality right in an area I had passed through about an hour before the wreck. They said speed was involved – big surprise.

I believe that we live in one of the best places in the world, where taking a weekend road trip is possible even at $4.00 per gallon. Living here in Wisconsin, I have always been amazed at how easy it is to go a short distance and find yourself out in rural farmland. While I do miss the real mountains of the eastern seaboard . . . and the waves of the ocean on the beach . . . Wisconsin is a pretty nice place to call home!

p.s. I drove 215 miles on Sunday . . . and a total 1,015 over the three days.
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I was able to work in a leisurely drive through the Amish communities near Cashton (Monroe County) and Pardeeville (Columbia County) during my weekend road trip. With the fall colors around 75%, the views were quite different than my previous drives through these areas.Monroe…Read More

I was able to work in a leisurely drive through the Amish communities near Cashton (Monroe County) and Pardeeville (Columbia County) during my weekend road trip. With the fall colors around 75%, the views were quite different than my previous drives through these areas.

Monroe County has beautiful rolling hills and valleys, with lots of hardwood forests throughout which is a contrast to the farmland of Columbia County and other nearby Amish communities where there are more like flat prairie.

On this trip, the Amish shopping village "Down a Country Road" was open. I stopped to check out a couple of the small shops that feature genuine handcrafted items made by the local Amish. Quilts, rugs, furniture, baskets and other gift items are all available here. Additionally, there is "Emma's Kitchen" featuring homemade food items including maple syrup, jellies & jams, candies and honey. More information on this lovely little shopping area may be found at: http://www.downacountryroad.com/ .

The weather was perfect during my Friday roll through Monroe County. I was able to observe and respectfully photograph several Amish as they were out and about for their day. One of the more interesting things I got to witness was the building of a log cabin. In many Amish communities, the men work together building a variety of wood items including furniture and cabinets. Here in Cashton, they are also known for their quality Amish cabins. The craftsmanship is known to be exceptional. Many years ago, I was fortunate to stay in one near Viroqua, WI overlooking the Mississippi River.

A couple of days later on my return home to Milwaukee, I took a detour back through the Amish communities in Columbia and other nearby counties (including Green Lake and Marquette). When I woke up that morning in Portage, it was cold and dark, with dense fog throughout the area. I did not let that deter me from my plan to get up and out early in hopes of seeing some wildlife. Unfortunately, the fog in many areas was too thick to really get any decent photos of the few wild animals that I did see. Later in the morning, however, I was able to photograph some wild turkeys and a bird or two feasting on bugs on a pond.

Because it was Sunday, all Amish families attend church service which is typically held in one of their neighbor's homes. By the time I got to their community along Barry Road it was after 9:00am and I thought for sure I was too late to see any of their horse & buggies on the roads. I was wrong! I did see one family in a large carriage heading down Hwy 22 and about 30 minutes later in the same general area, I passed another smaller family buggy heading in the same direction.

The fog was still dense, but the photos I got of the horse & buggies were very nice. I think the fog added to the imagery. I took one of the photos and used Photoshop to create a black and white photo which I think looks really cool. (It is attached to this story.)

Again with it being Sunday, everyone was away from their homes attending church service. That allowed me the opportunity to take many photos of their farms and schoolhouses without feeling like I was getting too close or appearing to stalk them. You see, the Amish do not allow to have their photos taken. They believe that photographs are "graven images" and as such should be avoided. They are simple people, living a simple life. Often taking pictures of them going about their daily lives is a challenge if you are going to respect their beliefs and not take photos where their faces are visible. On this day, I was able to take many photos without any people in the area.

Fall harvest had clearly begun in both areas, as rows and rows of bundled corn stalks could be seen. Called "corn shocks" the hand bailed cones of dried corn may be the first indication you have that you are viewing an Amish farm. Several farms also offer farm grown produce and flowers for sale. Pumpkins and fall mums were seen at several farm stands.

I spent quite a bit of time taking photos of one Amish farm, where they had a lot of baby piglets and small chicks running throughout the barnyard. When I first got out of my car, the smell of the their wood burning stoves permeated the air. The smell was strong and stayed with me for nearly an hour after leaving that area.

About the schoolhouses, this was my first trip through an Amish area when I actually knew what to look for in terms of locating and photographing their schools. Once recognized, I seemed to find many, especially in Columbia and Green Lake Counties. Each schoolhouse is a single room white building. They all had outhouses on the property as well as a large woodshed, as they have no indoor plumbing or electricity for heat. Their playgrounds often had teeter-totters, swings and a ball field (with backstop) . . . all handmade.

One of the more interesting things I saw on their school yards was the ladder-like steps built over the barbed wire fence around the perimeter of the school's property. Often these wooden steps were built facing the adjacent farm fields, indicating that the children came to school by walking across their family's farm and not via the roads.

As I continue my educational journey to learn more about the Amish, I am glad to have such an opportunity so close to home.Close