Holy Hill - Hubertus

Photo credit: scillagrace.com

Official name:   Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill  Hubertus, (Washington Cty)

A LOT of people come here as part of their Religious Pilgrimage. See how many different state plates are crammed into this area. A LOT of tourists are there as well, just to see what the hubub is all about. If visiting, please respect the services that take place.

This is also part of the Ice Age Trail,though finding a decent trail map was IMPOSSIBLE until interactive maps became available but the map to Holy Hill's access to the Ice Age Trail is easier.

On the bright side, one of the main attractions to Holy Hill is the enclosed tower. I have gone there a few times, and the view is quite majestic on the right days, the stairway is quite narrow and normally it is packed with people who are on the verge of passing out from either the heights or from claustrophobia.  NOTE:  The Scenic Tower is open daily May 1 to October 31
Hours: Sunday: 1:30 pm -- 6:30 pm Monday - Saturday: 9am - 6:30 pm

This area is nearby RUSTIC ROAD 33. While in this area, take a moment to check out:

Glacier Hills County Park (Washington Cty). This map is a brochure, but it seems to be the only place that shows a decent view of the park itself and the available trails. HERE IS A TRAIL  MAP

Hogsback Road (Washington Cty). This is not a place to travel in winter, and as a passenger you will see cars at the bottom of ravines on both sides of the road. All 3 locations (Glacier Hills, Hogsback Road, Holy Hill are pretty close to each other and the link should show the path to each location).

Wheretofind: 1525 Carmel Rd, Hubertus, WI 53033

What to expect:  Grottos, twisty roads shrouded in trees. One ginormous Church.

Ice Age Trail

(Washington Cty)
There used to be a map (black & white) that showed where the Ice Age Trail meanders through West Bend. Perhaps it was in the phone book. In searching for map links I was dismayed at what I found: the Washington County Parks board managed to completely avoid the other county park that has the Ice Age Trail on it: Glacier Blue Hills in West Bend. They don't even mention it on their County Parks Site. Maybe it's because there's no shelters to rent,no bathrooms, just a wild expanse of woods and prarie with a spring fed pond to boot. It's where everyone takes their dogs (and kids).

As a matter of fact, you can actually pickup the trail behind Pick-n-Save, corner of Hwy 33 and B and hike north, crossing roads Park Ave and Beaver Dam Rd (Jefferson turns into Beaver Dam Rd), which is where the parking lot for Glacier Blue Hills Park is.
** UPDATE **

After some serious hunting, I found the West Bend Chamber's site, which had THE best map of the park system.

This all illustrates why I created this site. I want others to actually find that places that I enjoy going to and to learn from others as well.

Cemeteries

I belong to a minority of people who see cemeteries as parks for the living as well as the dead. Funny, my criteria for cemeteries and parks share one condition: a marked lack of people. Most of my excursions are indeed solo, and the less people I come across, the better.

My interest in cemeteries started during a exploring mission on the shores of Lake Geneva when I was knee high to a grasshopper (some contend I still am, but they have been made sorry for saying so). Circling the lake is a public path, unmarked other than where the grass has worn from use. At my young age I did not know this but followed the path as others had before me. Some of the homes on the lake are huge, looming and old, and I had just crossed onto the yard of one when I saw a small collection of gravestones nearby. Nothing sinister, just something that you don't see every day. Even in my young mind I understood that families sometimes buried their own, and that is what creeped me out.

Wisconsin Death Trip

Book by Michael Lesy
A rare glimpse into Wisconsin's early history from the Black River Fall's newspaper editor. Beyond creepy, it is probably the most accurate view on how our early settlers were managing psychologically. Surviving on Life's Terms takes on a whole new meaning after reading the daily wierdness that happened during the late 1800s.

Apparently I am not the only one who has a fascination with this book. There is a movie, a record album,as well as some sort of gaming network that pays tribute to a cultural phenomenon that is purely Wisconsin.

Who else can stand up and say, we have Ed Gein, and Jeffrey Dahmer!

Geocaching

Geocaching is the modern scavenger hunt using GPS coordinates to find and log items buried by members. I have always wanted a GPS unit and I love digging around for treasure.

I first heard of it while watching an episode of CSI:Las Vegas. It was surprising how much geocache activity was happening right around my home. I am hoping to save money to get a unit and get my kids involved. They are not expensive, I know, but enough money where you have to choose between gassing up the car or pickup a GPS unit. And go figure, gas always seem to win.

Yooper - Really Should be 'Wooper'

In reading up on the history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it is interesting to see how this area was basically discarded as unwanted space during the early-mid 1800s,which in earth years is not really that long ago.

Traveling to the UP is seamless from Wisconsin,so I am probably not the only one who considers the UP more a part of our state than of Michigan (taxes aside). No offense of Michiganites (Michigonians..?) Exactly what is the plural term used here?

County Parks - Hidden Gems

County Parks tend to be either a wonderful surprise or a huge disappointment.

Anyone can open a phone book to find where all the county/city parks are within the area, and this is one of the main reasons I wanted this community site to be used.

Most towns have a variety of playground areas, but for us adventurous folk, we tend to arrive with some expectation. When the county park description says 'hiking trail' I am not looking for a biking trail that sends me along open meadows or anything streetside. Pah! There must be some visual appeal, a trail that says 'come hither', and we have no choice but to follow.

Spirit of Christmas Past at Heritage Hill State Park

I ran across this event and decided to post it.

Spirit of Christmas Past at Heritage Hill State Park,Green Bay
When: December 1, 8 and 15 • 12noon-4pm
Admission: $8/person, $7/senior, $6/child, children under 4 free
920-448-5150 on weekdays from 8am-4:30pm

Caves and the Art of Caving

Caves are cool. Caving is dirty.

I am going to relist Lake View Nature Center in Chilton again for their caving tours. I swear they used to have their own site, but after searching high and low I am at a loss. The county site does provide all of the information on dates and costs on caving tours, but it lacks personality.

Nature Centers/Wildlife Preserves

I'm torn as to whether to make this two separate posts. Ah, I'll edit it later if I need to.

I have a few of my own:

Ledge View Nature Center, Chilton (Calumet Cty).There are a lot of ways of getting there,so you are best googling this from your location. Excellent interactive activities. I really enjoyed the indoor bat room, and the bee hive exhibit. One special draw to this place are the caving tours.

What to expect: Good hiking maps, variable terrain, sightseeing tower (same as Parnell), route to water filled quarry. Across from the parking lot there is a pasture and depending on the time of day you can expect to see cows grazing (fence is electrified,I think) and will approach you for some pulled grass.

Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve, Appleton (Outagamie Cty). Relatively large site. Hiking trails, interactive nature center.

What to expect: Pleasant walking experience for suburbanites looking for a quick getaway, boring for those who are looking for a challenge.

Christmas 2007 -- The Best Light Show Around

Some towns make an effort to show off their holiday duds

For Oshkosh, we have the Celebration of Lights, cost $8 per car except for community nights on 12/04, 12/11, and 12/18 where a food donation is appreciated.

Wintery Fun - Sledding

Being in Oshkosh the only hills are man made, and one in particular is Red Arrow Park otherwise known as Garbage Hill. Nice, huh. I guess there is another one, called Westhaven Circle Park, though I personally have never gone there.

Getting The Community Started

I am sure that most of you are familiar with Travel Wisconsin, and what it used to look like (blech), and how useful it is since it's overhaul, especially with it's use of Google Maps API. A lot of work went into logging the information and I intend to using it to my heart's content.

You are welcome to post to any entry, please try to comment according to the labels I've created.

Other than that, blog away!