The state of Wisconsin is living up to it's reputation as a truly unique destination. There are outsider sites galore and plenty-o-quirky museums. The area in and around Madison and Baraboo are particularly rife with options. We will be here for a few days. Home base will be the home of Susan's brother (Warren - yes another brother), her sister in-law, Rona and their two daughters Maya and Aliya. There's so much to see that it's going to be hard to know where to begin.... so let's begin at the beginning with events on the day before we arrived in Madison.
1. FAST - Fiberglass, Animals, Shapes and Trademarks
Few places along our Oddasee path have been as surreal as this 5+ acre field of molds. There were animals of every sort, devils, skulls, Santas, limbless humans and parts of creatures unidentifiable. We also got to see statues ready for delivery in their shiny coats but seemingly homeless. There were strange gap-mouthed water slides that will surely cause nightmares for children around the globe. We had free rein and even got to chat with a few of the artisan/workers on their morning break. All in all it was a wild and silly beginning to an incredible day.
2. Wegner Grotto
In nearby Cataract -- it was hard to see on the map (har) but we eventually found the correct side road. Apparently there was some sort of collective conscious epiphany that fell upon many Wisconsonites because there seem to be a plethora of this particular type of artistic expression. This site was infused with a peaceful spirit. We enjoyed exploring the site with some fellow "Wander Wisconsin" folks. Their 5 year-old-son immediately approached R. and said he wanted to show me something. So, off I went with my diminutive guide to a small room underneath a highly embellished glass and concrete wall. It was very cool to see this young art lover's reaction to the world created by Paul and Matilda Wegner. Our time there was pastoral and idyllic.
3. Next, we returned to Sparta to visit The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bike Museum
Say what? Yeah, space items related to favorite son Mercury Mission (and many others) astronaut, Deke Slayton and... bikes, bikes, bikes in this bicycle crazy town. It was housed in the upstairs of the former Masonic Lodge and now Monroe County Historical Museum. The many displays of the NASA star were interesting but under lit and hard to photograph. It is surprising how many astronauts are from Wisconsin or have called the Dairy State home - must be all the milk or the desire to get out into the vacuum of space where it is blissfully free of the Wisconsin flying piranhas... (aka - mosquitoes, the WI state bird).
The bike thing is a local obsession with a nationally famous set of bike trails. There's a giant sculpture (from FAST) of an enormous big wheel "ordinary" rider. The bikes in the museum were a real nostalgia blast from the past displayed alongside some truly historic bicycles. The things that struck us were the cool design of these oldies and the fact that they must weigh a ton. If you need some exercise, forget the titanium 30 speed alloy wheel Lance Armstrong bicycle techno wonder and take one of these one speed behemoths out for around the lake..... stylin but brutal. Ahh those were the good old days.
Well that sums up our second morning in Cheeseville. There's one other site on our list and in the name of keeping you interested, what we saw in the afternoon was our favorite of the entire Oddasee so far. Don't miss the next message for sights and stories that just blew us away..... curious? Watch this space.
Love, fiberglass, broken glass, moonrocks and butt torturing bike seats,
Tandem travelers - Rodney and Susan
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