Lizard Mound County Park - West Bend

The last visit I made to this park was when my kids were much, much younger.  Back then, there really wasn't much written about it and am relieved that others have managed to pick up this particular yoke of responsibility, especially since my extended affair with photography.

Lizard Mound County Park is a location I plan on revisiting for it's planted letterbox called Don't Bug Me.

A bit of history as borrowed from Wikipedia and the Washington County Website:

Native Americans we now know as the Effigy Mound Builders lived in Wisconsin and bordering states between 700 and 1200

Letterboxing

I have never heard of this before, but in reading up on it I realized that something of this nature had to exist before geocaching. The history of letterboxing begins in Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England approx 150 years ago, and it's only been since 1998 that America has been involved. The main supplies you need is a compass, logbook, pencil, and your own personal stamp and inkpad.

Path to Asylum Point - Oshkosh Wisconsin

This small patch of oak trees is part of Asylum Point Park, leading the adventurer to what in 1871 became Northern Asylum for the Insane.   Today it is Winnebago County Mental Health Institute though the area continued to be recognized as Asylum Point/Asylum Bay which is also a county park.  I realized that I have not given this a proper Wheretogo post and am amending this today.  

Standing at this point, if you turn around to face the south there will be the restored Asylum Point Lighthouse, which I am sharing from my Fine Art America page.  This relatively small park has been a great source for many of my favorite photos.

Note:  This same path (facing north) will also lead you not just to the the rest of the park but to a LETTERBOX. Continuing from that cache will be several trails, some part of the mental heath property and if patient you will stumble upon the old Asylum Cemetery.


Where to find:   See the location link included in the post.  If you are in Oshkosh, this is E.Snell Rd, on the east side of Bowen Street (Cty Rd A south from Neenah on Commercial St).  If you follow E. Snell all the way East, turning right on Sherman Rd which is the entrance road to Asylum Point County Park.  Continue on to the patch of woods and on to Asylum Bay Lighthouse.

What to expect:   This is a popular fishing area at all times of the year and some visitors will bring their dogs.   It's not an overly impressive park but people are keen  on lighthouses and enjoy wandering the small island.   The mental health property has a few picnic tables and in all honesty may actually be part of the Asylum Point Park.  There was never a sign found so I just assumed I was trespassing and was happy to have found a secluded area to rest my bones. LETTERBOX LOCATION!

Ridge Run Fawn

Taken May 2016

©2016 Dawn Braun

Last weekend  I went hiking with my brother in law at Ridge Run Park and the Kettle Moraine Ice Age Trail that runs along the west side of the park.

Of course we trespassed through the Girl Scout Camp  In all honesty it's the only way to make the trip worthwhile.

Twenty years ago it was a well maintained county park with a ranger and his tastefully painted log cabin style home. Well groomed paths lead to private picnic areas with a fire ring. I recall one of the main shelters had a pay phone of all things.

Over the course of time the landscape has been drastically changed and in January 2016 Ridge Run was made into a city park, the only to accept dogs. Leashed of course.

In earlier days this was where I attempted to teach self reliance to my kids, from how to find the car, to peeing in the woods and avoiding poison ivy.   We leapt after frogs, caught tadpoles, skipped stones, and whistled through a grass reed.

You know, the stuff that country folk do to while the time.

Also at Ridge Run there is a good chance that you will see a deer and it's even more rare to come across a fawn.  This little guy was just off the ice age trail, very well tucked in between fallen tree limbs.  My brother in law, who was in front, completely missed him. It just so happens that vision between women and men are completely different and I'm sure I spotted the fawn by sheer biology.

Speaking of the Ice Age Trail, would you like to see the online map?  There is an effort to have a continuous trail throughout Wisconsin and so far they have done pretty good at keeping their promise as best as they can.

Wheretofind:

There are 2 entrances to Ridge Run (map): 

Back of Ridge Run:   Travel Hwy 41 to Hwy 33 East and turn right at the first set of lights which is N.Scenic Drive W until you get to a severe curve where Wheat Ridge Lane is and turn left down the single lane road (Wheat Ridge Road) and follow it to the parking lot.   Ahead of you is a newly constructed subdivision with retirement condos.  Just note that Wheat Ridge Lane Road ends at the parking lot - the connecting road through the park is a walking trail only.

Front of Ridge Run:     Travel Hwy 41 to Hwy 33 East through 2 lighted intersections.  Turn right onto University Drive where the Mobil Gas station is and the entrance to Ridge Run is just before UW-Washington County entrance is.  Driving ahead there is a playground - continue and the road will wind down to the main parking lot.

Ice Age Trail Parking:  From Hwy 45, exit on Paradise and head West through a pretty busy shopping district, even through the 4 way stop at 18th Avenue which is the corner of Aurora Clinic,
West Bend Mutual Insurance and the West Bend Cemetery.  Continue heading west on Paradise and just after you pass the cemetery grounds the parking lot is on your right

What to expect: A pretty busy park and lots of great trails.  This park is large enough where you can find a quiet trail.  There are modern bathrooms now on both sides of the park. LETTERBOXING LOCATION!

Letterboxing the Day Away - Lake Geneva - Williams Bay

 photo credit: thecasualperfectionist.com

Gentle Reader, I'm certain that you have experienced a place that seems to be stamped upon your very soul, even after years has passed. Lake Geneva has that kind of hold on me.  I'm sure it is part of a psychological imprint due to the fact that I lived here for four years during a very impressionable time of my life.  Psychology and Insanity aside, I am grateful that I possess this feeling.

So the hubby and I went on holiday this past weekend, staying at the Holiday Inn located at the Grand Geneva Resort.  If you have not gone to this fine establishment, I beg of you to try it.  Even during the "off season" the place was quite busy, but the city traffic was manageable.  If you have never gone to Lake Geneva, always visit during the off season ( anytime before Memorial Day and after Labor Day).  When staying at the Holiday Inn, you have the same access to dining/activities at the Grand Geneva. Their on site Starbucks cafe opens at 6 am and is located inside the main resort building. Try to get in early. Seriously, I lack the patience to be the 4th+ person waiting in line behind people and their travel mates while trying to actively ignore the people jibber-jabbering about their personal nonsense.

So what is a swanky couple to do to wile the time?  Letterboxing of course, but you probably guessed from the title, right?  Letterboxing and eating,  more eating than letterboxing to be honest.

The Geneva Resort has it's own letterbox, that I found easily enough on my own.  Right after reinstalling this lovely cache, my husband texted me to meet up for breakfast. We ate heartily before getting ready to start our next letterboxing search together, called How to Find A Dragon, located at Big Foot Beach State Park (day pass or season permit required) which should have had 3 boxes total.  Unfortunately, due to the passage of time and a recent brush cleanup, the last 2 boxes could not be found. The owner has since been notified and after lunch, we decided to try to find the Sail Away letterbox at Williams Bay (also found here at Altas Quest Entry).  With a hiking weary husband, we located this cache and by then it was time to head back and plan the rest of our evening.

I must report that from our travels at Big Foot Beach State Park we brought home two hitchhikers.

Ticks, that is.   Next to finding those caches, the ticks were the most excitement we've encountered in a long time and I'm still checking my head.

Wheretogo:  To reiterate, there are 2 American Letterboxing sites, the original Letterboxing.org site and AtlasQuest.com.  Both sites contain searchable locations based on city/state.  The letterboxing.org site ALSO includes MYSTERY Boxes, which are varying levels of difficulty. The Atlas Quest site allows you to leave comments. Sometimes the boxes are registered in both sites, sometimes not.  If you decide to start letterboxing, you'll need the following: 
1) A medium-small size stamp. You CAN make your own, but I paid $3 for a butterfly one at Hobby Lobby. The size will be important, most of the logbooks I find are pretty small, about 2 x 3" max.
2) Stamp Pad - again small-medium size.  Because I'm a beginner I chose one that can be washed out if the ink gets on your skin/clothing.
3) Logbook.   I'd make it a medium size - 5 x 7" or smaller.  
4) Compass.
5) Plan A, and a Plan B.  
4) Appropriate clothing/footwear.  Be ready to walk through brush and over difficult terrain  During the spring you will want to protect yourself against ticks; in the summer you'll need sunscreen and mosquito spray.   Should you be letterboxing in the winter, you'll need boots/gloves/hats.

Whattoexpect:   A pleasant scavenger hunt. The clues are varying degrees of difficulty, many requiring calculations in order to know what heading is needed. In fact, I learned that a math teacher used Letterboxing as extra credit for his/her Algebra/Calculus students.   How cool is that!?  If you think about it, you can probably find a way to use this with any subject matter. LETTERBOXING LOCATIONS!

Shore Walkers - Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva, Fontana, Williams Bay (Walworth Cty)

Back to relive some very old childhood memories. In 1970-s, there were no posted signs marking the lake path. Shore walkers did not exist as a class of tourists. This post isn't really to advertise that the shore path exists. There are plenty of ways of learning that. But for the sake of being consistent to the Wheretogo viewers I promise to provide such details. This post is a purely selfish move so that I can relive my most recent excursion into reliving this particular time in my life. I am returning again, hopefully later after the Chicagoans have all gone home. While the shore hike was pleasant and relatively bug free (if you don't count the humans, of course), it was too humid and it the clinging haze really effected some of the shots.

This leg of the shore path starts from Linn Rd, heading east towards the Country Club. This headstone is the last remaining piece of a family plot that existed long ago, now gone. To see more details I would recommend reading my Shore Walker Photostream. It doesn't make sense to use up my precious blogger space with photos that also exist on my Flickr page, plus they don't really move the story along.

The Shore Path (or lake path as I always called it) was originally an Indian Footpath and in order for this path to remain for public use a county ordinance was set. For lakefront owners who fought the right of way, the city had historical relevance to rest upon. The shore path is unique to Geneva Lake. I know of no other place that allows unfettered access onto private property. My last visit, about 10 years ago, those cute shore path signs didn't exist. I know that because my oldest, who was 14 at the time would not follow his mother onto the lake.


WheretoFind:The lake path can be picked up at several points around the lake: Big Foot Beach State Park (Park Sticker Req'd) also Big Foot Beach Park same area,different parking lot), Lake Geneva's Library Park, Williams Bay Beach, Fontana Beach, Chapin Road, Linn Pier Road. A list of distances between hiking points on the shore path as provided by silentsports.net:
Fontana to Williams Bay 3.2 miles
Williams Bay to Chapin Road 3.3 miles
Chapin Road to Library Park, town of Lake Geneva 3.3 miles
Library Park to Linn Pier Road 5.3 miles
Linn Pier Road to Fontana 5.2 miles



What to expect: 
If you decide you want to hike the entire tour around the lake, plan about 14 hours, and to choose a starting point beside Lake Geneva's downtown area. I suggest the Linn Rd location, but there are probably better points but that is my preference.  It is isolated from the madness that is part of Lake Geneva every summer.  This location is also a popular boat launch, so arrive early.


Update 04/03/2015:  For the shore walkers that are still in town, there are little boat taxi's called Mouettes that run 4 routes.  These are not the same as the water taxi.

Newspaper articles discussing the history of the City's Name
It is Geneva Lake
Old records tell story of the discovery and naming of beautiful Lake Geneva

High Cliff State Park - Sherwood

Sherwood,(Calumet Cty)

On the northeast shore of Lake Winnebago, this beautiful hunk of rock was once a working limestone quarry where Hungarian immigrants were housed during the excavations from 1895 to 1956. At the base of the hill (can't miss it) is the only standing building from that operation and tells the story of the miner and laborers and how they fared during this time period.

Apparently there is a 12 foot statue of Winnebago Indian Chief Red Bird. Right now I am racking my brain as to where it is located. I am thinking it is on the upper section by the ranger tower (it's not). On the DNR site, the statue has the power to give us pause to consider the past....(wait for it)... and the future. Was the statue Wisconsin's gift to the Ho-Chunks for allowing their Chief to die a common prisoner? History is strangely mute on the subject.

Wheretofind: Travel time from Oshkosh area is about 40-45 minutes from Hwy 41 North to Cty Hwy 10/114.  From Fond du Lac it's almost an hour from Hwy 55 North to Cty Hwy 114.  Entrance is at Pigeon Road.

What to expect: * Park Permit required (day passes can be purchased). Upper/Lower sections that have natural and paved trails (see map), ranger tower, camping and picnic areas, ruins of limestone kiln, Indian effigy mounds and letterboxing locations!. And there's cliffs.  On the lower section there is a General Store/museum that sell candy and ice cream. I seem to recall also an independently owned shop that sells concession type foods like hot dogs, burgers, ice cream and soda.  This is also on the lower area, nearby a small cemetery.  

Before I forget, there is non-profit organization called Friends of High Cliff whose members help support the park by fundraising events in order to pay for a year round naturalist to provide educational workshops and are responsible for the efforts in preserving it's history.

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.