![[Lake scene drawing]](http://images.midwestweekend.com/graphics/lake_scene.gif)
In the northwest corner of Illinois, a little town called Elizabeth is upstaging its better-known neighbor, Galena.
Women flock to pretty Galena for its shopping and sampling. But Galena was built by miners and is named for a mineral, while Elizabeth is named for a heroic woman — three of them, all named Elizabeth.
On June 28, 2008, the town invited Elizabeths of all ages — middle names count — for a gathering that it hoped
would set the world record for Elizabeths. It did, and the town plans another gathering to best its own world record on June
27, 2009.
While in Elizabeth, the Elizabeths pose for a group photo, witness the crowning of Queen Elizabeth, taste Elizabeth white wine from nearby Massbach Ridge Winery and watch a fashion show featuring styles from past to present.
If you haven't taken a lake vacation yet, now is the time to go.
I love August. Thanks to all those kids who have to get home for sports and band practice, the lake resorts start lowering their prices the second week of the month, though the weather still is perfect.
Many of the small resorts throw in the Labor Day weekend if people book the week of Aug. 23, and some start taking guests for
partial weeks. Larger resorts offer deals on their lodge rooms.
My favorite August destination in Minnesota is Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge in Bemidji. A room in the lodge (plain, but with a beautiful lake view) is $63 a night for the Aug. 15-16 weekend, $49 midweek, including a big breakfast and use of tennis courts, kayaks, hot tub, indoor and outdoor pools and, of course, the big beach on Lake Bemidji (pictured). I've stayed there twice, and it's the best deal I've found in this region; you can't even stay at a Super 8 for that little.
This month, football fans can watch their favorite players gear up for the season at training camp, and many camps include festivities, games and autograph sessions for kids. Admission is free.
Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis.: The Packers, whose camp Sports Illustrated calls one of the best and most fan-friendly (kids bring bikes that players ride, often toting the kids, to the field), practice across from Lambeau Field Aug. 8-9, 13-14, 18-20 and 24-26.
This year, the Packers added the Tundra Tailgate Zone,
which features autograph sessions for kids, music, comedy shows, skills games and jersey giveaways. Fans also can visit the
Packers Hall of Fame and tour Lambeau Field. The complex is in the middle of Green Bay, at
Lombardi Avenue and South Oneida Street.
Minnesota Vikings in Mankato, Minn.: The Vikings will hold practices on the campus of Minnesota State University Aug. 10-14 and autograph sessions Aug. 11-14. Aug. 14 is Fan Appreciation Day, with the entire team available for autographs.
For at least half a century, white men in blackface have been considered tasteless. But white men in red face? They've been part of a popular outdoor pageant that brought busloads of tourists to a small town in southwest Minnesota.
But "Song of Hiawatha'' was performed for the last time Aug. 2, not because locals consider it an anachronism, but because it was too much work.
"It's in the middle of summer, and it's gotten hard to find people willing to participate,'' says lifelong Pipestone resident Eugene Hanson. "I hate to see it go.''
The audience had fallen off, too. Many younger people never have heard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and fewer still can appreciate a 153-year-old poem that's set to the meter of a Finnish epic, based on third-hand Ojibwe legends, filled with Christian imagery and bloated by Victorian romanticism.
In Duluth, the presence of three tall ships for a new Maritime Festival Aug. 1-3 was a real coup.
Duluth's harbor already attracts flocks of boat-watchers in summer, and the magnificent re-creations of 19th-century battleships and schooners brought in tens of thousands more.
But if you missed the ships in Duluth, you can drive over to Wisconsin and see them in Port Washington, which will have
five tall ships. And its public day sails still are available.
The Lake Michigan port, half an hour north of Milwaukee, holds its ninth annual Maritime Heritage Festival Aug. 15-17. Duluth's two biggest ships, the 198-foot U.S. Brig Niagara of Erie, Pa., and the 157-foot Pride of Baltimore II (pictured), replicas of War of 1812 battleships, also will appear in Port Washington.
Steam locomotives are noisy, smelly and inefficient; that's why they've been commercially extinct for half a century. But the old engines are marvelously evocative, and those who love them are legion.
In Minnesota, the Friends of the 261 are running special sesquicentennial excursions of their 1944 Milwaukee Road steam locomotive (pictured). On Sept. 13, No. 261 will pull cars down the Mississippi from Minneapolis to Winona and back. And on Sept. 14, it will travel from Minneapolis to La Crescent, then cross the Mississippi to La Crosse and return on the Wisconsin side of the river, on a line that has been freight-only since 1971.
Tickets in three classes are $89-$299 for the Sept. 13 round-trip to Winona, $29-$99 for a round-trip from Winona to La
Crescent the same day. Tickets for the Sept. 14 "Circle Tour'' are $118-$269; buy as soon as possible.
The non-profit Friends of 261 also are offering August excursions: Aug. 13, one way from Minneapolis to Milwaukee; Aug. 15,
from Milwaukee to Sturtevant (near Kenosha) and back; Aug. 16, Milwaukee to Wisconsin Dells and back; Aug. 17, from the Dells
to New Lisbon and back; and Aug. 19, one-way from Milwaukee to Minneapolis.
In northern Minnesota, not every little fishing village had a place like Chase on the Lake.
But Walker did. When the Tudor-style hotel opened in 1922, it was the most luxurious and expensive hotel north of Little Falls. For many years, it was the place to be in this Leech Lake town, named for a lumber baron whose fortune was plowed into a famous Minneapolis art collection.
Eventually, the hotel became ragged around the edges, and it burned in 1997. Until this year, the hillside site on Minnesota's third-largest lake, a block from downtown Walker, sat empty.
Now there's a new Chase on the Lake, and it's a beauty. This one also is gabled and half-timbered in the Tudor style, except its facade is artfully applied concrete. Inside, halls are lighted by stained-glass sconces, floors are laid with William Morris-style floral Arts and Crafts carpet and furniture is dark oak.
Wisconsin has been all over the news lately — for closed interstates, washed-out bridges and drained lakes. It's not the kind of attention a state wants at the start of tourist season.
Nearly all of the state is back to normal now, and to entice tourists to come back, more than 200 inns, restaurants and attractions are offering discounts. They're not huge, but they're worth a look if you're planning to visit this summer.
To get the deals, mention Travel Wisconsin. Some offer 10 percent off or a basket of goodies. Among the others that caught my eye:
A $25 gas card with a stay in Boulder Junction; two-for-one all-access admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum; 20 percent off tickets for two or more shows at American Players Theatre in Spring Green; $20-$50 off per night at the White Lace Inn in Sturgeon Bay; and up to 30 percent off published rates at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake.
Already tired of mosquitos? Head for southeast Minnesota.
That's karst country, where porous limestone lies just under the surface and rain sinks into fast-moving underground streams that are chilled to 48 degrees when they run through the many cave systems. Trout like it, but mosquitoes don't. There's no standing water, so nowhere for them to breed.
That makes camping virtually mosquito-free at Forestville/Mystery Cave, Whitewater and Beaver Creek Valley state parks. Deb Erickson, office manager at Forestville, says people used to camping on Minnesota's North Shore are pleasantly surprised and often ask why there are so few mosquitoes.
"All the parks are like that in southeast Minnesota,'' she says. "It's kind of strange, but very wonderful.''
First, there was "Little House,'' the book. Then "Little House,'' the TV series, and "Little House,'' the pageant. Now, we have "Little House,'' the musical.
Seventy-six years after Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her first book about life on the frontier, the world remains enthralled by the little half-pint who loved hearing her Pa play the fiddle. On Aug. 15, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis hosts the world premiere of a new musical, "Little House on the Prairie,'' with Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura on the TV series, playing Ma.
Previews start on July 26, however, which means that fans, who still are beating a path to Laura's old homes, could
score a Laura trifecta: the new musical plus the last performances of the annual open-air pageants in De Smet, S.D., and Walnut Grove,
Minn.
Tickets to the musical can be bought on-line. In Walnut
Grove, the setting for the 1974-83 TV series, the annual pageant will be performed
July 11-12, July 18-19 and July 25-26, with a Family Festival held each Saturday.
In Wisconsin's coulee country southeast of La Crosse, Vernon County always has been a kind of Shangri-La. Norwegians and freed slaves settled on its ridges and in its deep valleys; then came the Amish, followed by artists, organic farmers and urban escapees.
It's a fantastic place to visit. Yet it never had a cool place to eat — until now.
In June, I discovered Chilito Lindo, a wonderfully authentic Mexican cantina in the middle of dairyland. It's on the south edge of Viroqua, a drive-in strung with festive strings of paper cut-outs and big picture windows so clear I thought I was sitting outside.
Chef Ted Parrish (formerly of Chicago) made me pork carnitas grilled with onions and served with cilantro, pineapple and lime. For dessert, server Kady Fox (formerly of Milwaukee) brought me homemade flan and a cup of really good Kickapoo coffee.
A few spots still are open on this season's Lake Superior cruises on the L.L. Smith Jr. research vessel, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and University of Wisconsin Extension.
On the three-hour cruises, passengers collect samples of microscopic plants and animals and learn how forests and trees help
protect water quality and habitat. Cost is $20.
From Two Harbors, Minn., cruises will be at 5 p.m. July 10, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. July 11 and 9 a.m. July 12. From Superior, Wis., cruises will go out at 5 p.m. July 17, 2 p.m. July 18 and 9 a.m. July 19. There's one place left on the cruise out of Duluth at 9 a.m. July 26. Register at www.seagrant.umn.edu/vfl or by calling Minnesota Sea Grant at 218-726-8106.
The beautiful southwest corner of Wisconsin was walloped by rains and floods earlier this month, but now trails and rivers are
ready for visitors.
The famous Elroy-Sparta State Trail (pictured) is open, though the 400 State Trail isn't because of bridge damage. The lovely Great River State Trail, between Trempealeau and Onalaska, is open and in good condition.
From Ontario, liveries report that canoeing is good on the Kickapoo River; it's 8 inches above normal, which makes it still pretty shallow. Wildcat Mountain State Park, however, will be closed until July 3.
Devils Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin's most-visited state park, reopened June 26. The spectacular West and East Bluff trails are open. Beaches are under water, but people can swim in the water. Nearby Parfrey's Glen still is closed. Along the Baraboo River, Circus World Museum is open. Most of the Dells was unaffected by floods, but if you were heading for Lake Delton, check for updates.
There's a new stop to add to the beer-lover's tour of southern Wisconsin (See True Brew).
The Potosi Brewing Co. reopened June 14 in the far southwest corner of Wisconsin. Started in 1852, it became the fifth-largest brewery in Wisconsin, in later years producing Holiday, Garten Bräu and Alpine Lager. It closed in 1972.
Now run by a foundation, the restored brewery includes the American Breweriana Association's National Brewery Museum, the Potosi Brewing Co. Transportation Museum and the Great River Road Interpretive Center.
The interpretive center really is just a rack of brochures, and the National Brewery Museum, which charges $7 admission, mostly is a collection of brewing memorabilia. The Transportation Museum is just one room but interesting, considering it's only about Potosi.
This summer, the University of Minnesota's College of Continuing Education really is in top of the trends.
Its one-day summer day camps for adults were created for the many people who don't get enough vacation but want a quick getaway to recharge mental batteries. And now, it should benefit from the high price of gas; once people get to the St. Paul campus, the university does the driving.
On a Curiosity Camp two
years ago, I went to Rochester and met artist Judy Onofrio, toured her fabulous house and back yard and saw more of her work at
the Rochester Art Center (pictured); it was a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity.
This year's camps will visit the Afton studio of sculptor Kinji Akagawa, whose work is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; discuss books with authors Faith Sullivan and Toni McNaron; go behind the scenes at the university's own apiaries, kinesiology labs and equine center; visit St. Croix vineyards and more. The 19 classes, which run June 11-Aug. 13, are $125 and include lunch.
For a list of ethnic festivals from African-American to Ukrainian, see Celebrating roots.
For summer food celebrations, see A feast of
festivals.
For outdoor arts fairs, see Art al fresco.
For dragon-boat festivals, see Waking the dragon.
This is the weekend to try out something new in Wisconsin.
Admission to state parks is free on June 8, when use of trails also is free. Fishing is free June 7-8.
On June 7, National Trails Day, there will be free guided hikes, especially on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a Mammoth Walk across the entire state.
The savings can add up, especially for out-of-state visitors, who pay $10 daily. June 8 is a particularly good day to visit Madeline Island, because it costs nothing to take the ferry, get into the excellent Madeline Island Museum or explore Big Bay State Park.
In downtown Wabasha, the new National Eagle Center is finished and open to visitors. Permanent exhibits won't be installed until just before the Sept. 29-30 grand opening, but Harriet, Angel and Columbia have settled into their new digs and are enjoying their front-row perches on the Mississippi River.
When I stopped at the center last month, volunteer Dennis Flint was telling visitors all about the bald eagles' chief interest - food - and offering to pose Angel for photographs. At 1 p.m., volunteer Pat Daddario took Columbia in for one of the daily feeding programs, but she wasn't hungry.
As he talked, Columbia flapped her wings and tried to break loose from his arm, and we instantly realized where the terms "spread eagle" and "feathers were flying" originated.
"Now, you see why I told you not to sit in the front row," he said to his audience of nine. "This is about eight people too many for Columbia."
In the good old days, the only plant people had to watch out for was poison ivy.
Now, there's wild parsnip, the evil sister of Queen Anne's lace. A native of Europe and Asia, it has spread like wildfire across Wisconsin and southern Minnesota, and fire is what it feels like on exposed skin.
"Most people get a nasty, nasty rash from it," says Karla Kinstler, naturalist and director of Houston Nature Center in southeast Minnesota. "It's not like nettles or poison ivy; this is like a chemical burn. If you get it bad enough, it can scar you for life."
It's actually a sunburn, caused by plant chemicals that, when energized by ultraviolet light, destroy cells and skin tissue. In mild cases, the skin simply reddens. But if skin has been extensively exposed to the plant and then to sunlight, it may blister, leaving a purplish discoloration that may last a long time.