Travelrific® Travel Journal
A blog for travel enthusiasts. Listen to our podcasts at Travelrific® Radio, and visit our Wanderful Places® Travel Shop!Archive for wisconsin
The Toilet Paper Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Green Bay, Wisconsin, home to the 12-time National Champion Green Bay Packers, is known as “Titletown” to football fans everywhere. They might be surprised to learn of the small city’s other title: toilet paper capital of the world. That’s because the first splinter-free toilet paper was produced there in the early 1900s. And the paper industry is still one of the area’s largest employers. Not bad for Wisconsin’s oldest little city.
Like this:
The Beauty of Late Ice
By Linda Tancs
Anglers in training take note: if ice fishing seems out of sync with winter’s transition to spring, then you’ll be missing out on some great catch, especially around Oconomowoc, Wisconsin’s lake district. Don’t worry about sledding into thin ice at the river’s heartland to jig for bluegill. Life is returning to the shallows, and so are the fish. That means you should, too.
DISCLOSURE OF NO MATERIAL CONNECTION
The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
Cranfest Draws Big Crowds
By Linda Tancs
In the tiny town of Warrens, Wisconsin, cranberries outnumber humans 3 to 1 (at least). But this is the heart of cranberry land, after all, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising. However, the human population swells to over 100,000, during the world’s largest cranberry festival, which takes place during the last full weekend in September in this little hamlet (population: less than 400). Now in its 37th year, Cranfest offers three miles of booths with everything from arts and crafts, flea markets and antiques to a farm market. After all that walking, you’ll be hungry. Why not indulge in some pancakes with cranberry syrup and some deep-fried cranberry fritters. Of course, you can take a tour of a working cranberry farm, too. Best of all, the proceeds from the event go right back to the community–civic pride at its best.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, bookmark it or Tweet it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
The Wisconsin Apostles
By Linda Tancs
At the northern tip of Wisconsin’s Bayfield peninsula sits a string of 21 islands–the Apostles–waiting for exploration. Actually, the Ojibwe tribe beat you to their exploration, by about 600 years. In fact, members of the Ojibwe Nation still call this part of the world, and the rest of the Great Lakes, home. One of the most spectacular features of this area is the mainland sea caves, a heaving jut of sandstone best seen by boat. Sandstone, by the way, was a big export of the islands, ferried around to the largest midwestern cities in the 19th century to build some of their best known landmarks. Native Americans used this earthly treasure to create culturally significant imagery. You can learn more about their artifacts from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Swiss Heirs
By Linda Tancs
In 1845 two Swiss residents from the canton of Glarus were sent to the U.S. to purchase land for a Swiss settlement. The prosperous homestead that followed became New Glarus, Wisconsin, a rural slice of the homeland just a hop, skip and jump away from Madison. And for those yearning for the alphorns, yodelers and folk dancers of the old country but unable to afford the real McCoy, this might be the perfect staycation for you. New Glarus is boastful of its observation of the traditional holidays and Swiss-German dialect. And the chalet-laden downtown offers up enough cuckoo clocks, lace, cheese and chocolate that you might even forget there’s no duty-free allowance–or international baggage restrictions–to worry about. For every time there is a season. Yours may be just a hilly, hairpin curve away.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Cranberries Provide Autumn Color
By Linda Tancs
This time of year, it’s more than just the crimson treetops glowing against the cool blue sky. Look under your feet–in the marshy bogs, that is. ‘Tis the season for harvesting the cranberry, along with a few festivals to mark the occasion. So where to go? That part’s easy because cranberries only grow in a few regions, like the Cranberry Coast of Washington State, Wisconsin’s Cranberry Highway, Cape Cod, or South Jersey. Might get a little cool. Bring your Wanderful Places(r) sweatshirt along for the ride.
Do You Have Any Grey Poupon?
By Linda Tancs
Alright, all you mustard worshippers out there. How do you plan on celebrating National Mustard Day on Saturday? Why not hop on over to Mount Horeb, Wisconsin for the annual mustard festival. You can tour the mustard museum (sporting more varieties than you probably ever imagined) and yes, perhaps enjoy a ham sandwich (with mustard, of course) in the presence of her royal highness the Duchess of Mustard. So enjoy the day, and here’s mustard in your eye.
