Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 - Final Thoughts

Hello Blog Followers!

We are back at home now and back to our everyday lives. The memories and images of our recent highway road trip, however, are still fresh in our minds. We visited large cities and small towns, and found each had their own unique qualities to offer the visitor. We found unexpected surprises along the way, like Copper Falls State Park and Merrill's magnificent county courthouse and chuckled at the sense of humor of our fellow Wisconsites. We met some really nice people along the way, like the postman in Janesville who stopped for a moment to give us some local history, and the gentleman in Portage who shared our passion for driving off the beaten path. We learned some interesting historical facts about the early settling of our state, and visited the seat of our state government. We saw lakes, rivers, streams, and lots and lots of trees. Through it all, we reaffirmed what we always knew...that Wisconsin is rich in history and rich in natural beauty.

We loved exploring all the cities, town, and country roads we visited. Our favorite area, however, is Ashland on Lake Superior. It is a place that we both want to visit again soon.

We would like to leave you with this piece of advice: Get off the beaten path! Venture off the freeway, slow down, and take a look at what is on the side of the road. Consider the highway as more than just a way to get from point A to point B -- think of it a journey of discovery. Stop for a minute or two and read those historical markers along the road--you will learn some interesting facts about our great state and the people that made it. Take a drive on a Rustic Road and look with open eyes at the tree canopy overhead. Your life and your journey will be better for it.

--Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 Day 8 -- HOME!

Hello from Home, fellow travelers!

This morning we spent several hours in Iron Mountain, again with Denis' family. They were willing to give us the million-dollar tour of the city and surrounding area. Iron Mountain is home to a 90 meter ski jump hill. You can see for 20 miles from the base of the hill.

There is a deer area in City Park. This is a shot of a rare albino deer at the park.

The Iron Mountain area was heavily settled by Italian immigrants. This is a church they built that is nothing short of spectacular.

Iron Mountain also has a number of lakes nearby. This is Lake Antoine.

We're tired and happy to be home. Final thoughts tomorrow.

--Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 Day 7

Greetings from the Northland!

We are writing tonight from Iron Mountain, Michigan after yet another enjoyable day on the road. Today was the day for admiring nature's beauty. We began our day on the hunt for Lake Superior and waterfalls. We visited Copper Falls State Park at Mellen, and went on a really nice walk and saw two waterfalls. We traveled on to Ashland, which is right on the lake, and had absolutely breathtaking views of the water. Our drive from Ashland to Iron Mountain across the UP of Michigan was very relaxing, and beautiful in its own right. Enjoy the pictures.

Here is a waterfall in Copper Falls State Park.

We found a rocky shore on Lake Superior.

This is an old ore dock at Ashland. When it was built in 1916, it was the largest concrete structure in the world.

A northwoods route through Upper Michigan.

Last but not least...Lake Superior. This is a shot of the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater in Ashland.

Tomorrow we turn south from home. We'll post final thoughts from there.

--Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin Day 6

Greetings fellow travelers!

We are here. We have made it. We're writing to you from Hurley, the northern terminus of Hwy 51. We are definately here in the northland...lots of tall trees, lots of lakes, small towns, and some interesting curiosities. We won't bore you today with pictures of beautiful scenery, but will entertain you with some of the oddities and curiosities we saw along the way today.

Here is the world's largest penny in Woodruff.

The world's tallest Indian in Ironwood, MI.(That little guy by Hiawatha's feet is Denis).

Claire de Loon, the world's third largest loon in Mercer.

And last, but not least...what do you to with your old snowmobile? Scrap it, sell it, you say...not in the northland....you put in on a pole and stick it in your front yard next to the motorhome and riding lawn mowers you have for sale.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Ashland and take a look at Lake Superior. Then we will head east to Iron Mountain, MI where we will visit Denis' brother and family. See you then.

------Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin Day 5

Hello fellow Hwy 51 travelers!

This morning we traveled from Stevens Point to Minocqua. Along the way we saw some interesting little towns, visited two State Parks, saw a county courthouse that can only be described as "WOW", and had some fun at the miniature golf links.

Here is a shot of the Wisconsin River from Rib Mountain State Park near Wausau.

We found a lovely spot for our picnic lunch at Council Grounds State Park in Merrill. The Wisconsin River is in the background.

The Lincoln County Courthouse in Merrill is the most interesting civic building we have seen so far on our trip. This picture doesn't do it justice. It is a fantastic building, both inside and out. There is some very intricate and beautiful tilework inside. They also have a rotunda that is beautifully decorated.

We decided to have some fun after dinner in Minocqua tonight. Here is a shot of the mini golf course at Settler's Mill.

It is always nice to see a smiling face along the way....even a pink one!

We push onward tomorrow toward Hurley and we will check in again from there.

----Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin Day 4

Greetings, blog followers, from Stevens Point!

Today was a warm and beautiful day for traveling and exploring the small town in Wisconsin. From Portage we traveled on to Montello, where there was a lovely waterfall in the downtown area. We also visited Wautoma, Coloma, Westfield, and Plainfield. We arrived in Stevens Point in mid-afternoon, and spent several hours looking around downtown. There are a series of mural painted on the sides of the buildings downtown, all depicting some aspect of the history of Stevens Point. We are spending a restful night at Fran's B & B (Susan's mom), where we enjoyed a very nice home cooked meal and look forward to a good home cooked breakfast. Tomorrow we continue the journey northward and will write again from Minocqua. Here are some highlights of today's travels.

This is all that remains of Fort Winnebago at Portage. It was built in 1824.

This is the lovely waterfall in downtown Montello.

Here is a very unusual Victorian home near downtown Stevens Point. We have seen many grand Victorians in our travels, but this one is the most unique we have seen.

This is one of the murals in downtown Stevens Point. It pays homage to the logging industry, which played an important role in the founding of the town.

We hope you have enjoyed the blog so far. We are now at our halfway point in the journey. From here, the terrain begins to change from farmland to evergreen forests. See you tomorrow from beautiful Minocqua.

--Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 - Day 3

Hello Blog Followers!

We woke up to thunder, lightning and rain this morning, but pushed on to the north, raindrops and all! We traveled from Stoughton to Madison to Portage, seeing some very interesting things.

Our goal was the State Capitol Building in Madison. We toured the building, and even went out on the observation deck on the 5th floor. It has been many years since Denis or I had been in the capitol, and the building is just as beautiful and stately as we remember it. Of course, in these days and times, there was a peaceful (if not loud) demonstration in the rotunda. It was a sing-along protest against the Republican administration.

While in Madison, we ate at a most wonderful place, Ella's Deli. It was quite a place, with a carousel out front, and all kinds of stuff hanging from and moving about the ceiling. It had traditional American food, but is also a kosher deli, complete with chicken and matzo ball soup and lox on the menu! Check out Ella's Deli at www.ellasdeli.com How would you like to eat your lunch with SpongeBob flying overhead?

We arrived in Portage in mid-afternoon, and toured the downtown area. We still want to see the Surgeon's Quarters and Old Indian Agency house, and will tour those tomorrow morning before we leave town. We also loved the VW bus out front in this picture:

Since we were close to the Dells (15 miles south), we decided to drive up, take a look around, andhad dinner at Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty. We had BBQ round steak, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn w/broccoli, cole slaw, bread, and chocolate cake for dessert. Yumm!

Today was a day for the odd and unusual. Enjoy. This is Willie's Wienie Wagon in Poynette.

Tomorrow we will be midway on our journey and will be staying at Fran's B & B (& Laundry) in Plover/Stevens Point (aka Susan's mom). We will write again from there. Here is a late afternoon shot of the Wisconsin River near Portage.

--Susan and Denis

Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 Day 2

Hello Blog Followers!

Tonight we are writing from Stoughton. Today we traveled from Beloit to Janesville, Edgerton, and Janesville.

Janesville has a lovely downtown, bisected by the Rock River. There are two historic districts, one on each side of the river. Most of the buildings were built between 118 and 1910, and reflect quite a variety of architectural styles.

Tobacco farming was a very important cash crop in the latter part of the 19th century. You can still see many of the tobacco warehouses in Edgerton. We found a nice park in Edgerton and had a picnic lunch.

Stoughton is a lovely and quaint little town. There are five distinct historic districts with buildings dating from the 1880's and later. One district is the downtown Main Street, and the four others were residential.

We ended our day watching the sunset at nearby Lake Kegonsa.

Stay tuned for our next installment tomorrow from Portage.

--Susan and Denis

Explore Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 Day 1

Hello trip followers!

We began our journey on Hwy 51 in Beloit. We visited the Historic Auto Attractions - A Journey Through Time, which was a museum filled with artifacts and automobiles from real life and from the movies and TV. We saw the National Lampoon's Vacation movie car, Bonnie and Clyde's bullet ridden car from the movie, the Sanford and Son pick up truck, the Batmobile car from the TV series, and Freddie Flinstone's car from the movie. There were also some historic automobiles and other items. Visit this website for more information: www.historicautoattractions.com

Here is Susan with the Flinstones car.

We also did some exploring in downtown Beloit. We saw some nice old buildings with lots of character. Here is one faced in green colored stone (marble?) that we really liked.

Beloit is bisected by the Rock River. Riverside Park is a lovely park with a great view of the river.

There is a riverwalk that goes by and underneath this replica of a train engine that is sitting on top of the pedestrian bridge.

Tomorrow we start our journey northward. See you then from Stoughton.

Susan and Denis

Explore Hwy 51 Wisconsin 2011 Intro

Hello Blog Followers,

Here we are once again getting ready to depart on a much needed vacation. Our home repairs are done (from the hail storm on May 12), and we are ready to salvage what we can out of the summer.

This year we decided to stay closer to home (alot less windshield time, too) and to explore what Wisconsin has to offer.

US Hwy 51 runs North-South through the United States, beginning in Louisiana just north of New Orleans and ends in Hurley, Wisconsin, just a few miles from Lake Superior. The six states in runs through have joined together to promote the run through their states. We are going to drive the lenghth of the state from Beloit to Hurley. From there, we are going to visit Ashland on Lake Superior, then on to Iron Mountain to visit family, then home. In all, we will be out for 8 days, from Sunday to Sunday. For more information on Hwy 51, visit www.explorehwy51.com

Cities we will be visiting are Beloit, Janesville, Edgerton, Stoughton, Madison, Portage, Coloma, Wautoma, Stevens Point, Wausau, Merrill, Tomahawk, Minocqua, Manitowish Waters, Mercer, Hurley, Ashland. Each of these towns, small or large, have something unique to offer, and we plan to find it and photograph it!

As always, we will report to you from the road each evening. So, check back often to see where we've been and what we've seen along the way.

The journey starts tomorrow...we'll see you from the road!

Susan and Denis