There Will Be No Blogs

Well, the summer's coming to an end, and I've been working like a mad man, so I think that a vacation is in order for me, don't you think? With that being said, don't expect much blogging out of me, because I will be too busy wandering the streets of Minneapolis and swimming in luxurious hotel pools. Cheers!

Nelson Dewey's Mansion? Yes, Please!

You'd think that after working at Stonefield since the beginning of June that I would have seen all that the site has to offer, right? Well, dear readers, that is unfortunately not true. It seems like every day I'm on the job I discover some new artifact on display, or some building tucked away in the village. But the issue that I'm having now is that I always knew about the Nelson Dewey homestead and I was never able to make much of an effort to go and see it. What a fool I am letting that happen. But please let me explain why, though before you all jump to conclusions. The reason why I had never checked out the home before was because I was too preoccupied working in the confectionery, selling ice cold goodies to visitors who fell victim to the hot sun. I just couldn't let those people down!

It was on Tuesday, though that I finally got the chance to check the place out due to the few amount of tourists we had that day. I was excited for two reasons: the first being that mansions from the 1800's are fantastic, and secondly that my new friend Marie, a docent on site, was going to take me (and a few others) through. Hooray for all of that goodness!

I should warn you all now that the ONLY pictures I took of the house weren't technically of the house, but the wallpaper that was in the home, so this probably isn't going give you an excellent idea of what the mansion looks like, but I truly believe that once you see the wallpaper, it will inspire you to go out and see what's beyond what I have pictured. Just take a look...





The second I walked through the doors, I was greeted by that lovely blue wallpaper pictured above, and I immediately knew what I would be using my camera space on. Now, with a blog on tourism, I'm obligated to get people excited about the places they should visit, but what excites me may be different from what others get a kick out of, so I apologize if wallpaper doesn't please you (this is a blog from my perspective, and this is what my eyes were drawn to). I do think that this wallpaper can give you an idea of how fancy the house truly is. To me, houses with wallpaper just seem more extravagant compared to others that lack it. But there were so many lovely pieces of furniture original to the time Dewey was living there that are all in fantastic shape to check out, along with beautifully tiled fireplaces in every room and a couple of intricate hair pictures to be in awe over (these will be explained when you go on tour).

Marie did such a wonderful job explaining the life of Nelson Dewey, including stories about his family, and she also spoke a great deal on what it was like to live in the Mansion. She talked about and showed us a good deal of kitchen gadgets used long ago and referred back to previous experiences with other tourists. She really made the tour enjoyable with her willingness to talk about everything we saw.

So even though a few people may not have gotten their ice cream or phosphates at the confectionery that day, I am truly grateful that I got to see such a beautiful home and hear wonderful stories while at work.

Wordless Wednesday: House on the Rock Unseen Photos

The House on the Rock: We Did it and so Can You!

My mother says I’ve been to the House on the Rock before; I, however, have no recollection of this, so technically, I have not been to the House on the Rock. It wasn’t until last weekend though that I both officially and consciously took a tour at this museum. Chris, my boyfriend that you’ve read about a few times, was the one to convince me to go, so I thought it would be a nice gesture if I let him come along and made him drive the entire way. The second we got to the parking lot, we loaded up on some energy by downing some Larabars and ice cold water. We’ve heard from friends that this museum could take more than one trip to see it all, but we were determined to not let that happen. We got our tickets and started by cruising through the gardens. And while Chris was perfectly fine taking his time and relaxing,
I was anxious to get this thing going. The first building visitors get to go into was dedicated to the background on Alex Jordan, the man who of course built this place. There’s a lot of reading in this section, along with some pretty good Alex Jordan crazy memorabilia. After this point, Chris and I got lost a couple times, following signs that lead us to balconies, gardens, and exits, pretty much all of the places we didn’t care too much to see. We eventually found our way to the actual House on the Rock by simply stalking other crowds of people who knew their way around.

Chris and I agreed that the actual home had a strange smell to it that we just couldn’t get over, but luckily, the house was so full of oddities that it later masked the funk for us. There was a lot of head ducking in this part due to the shallow ceilings, and there were also a lot of musical instruments playing on their own. One awesome room attached to the house was called the infinity room, where you could look out onto the landscape.

I unfortunately didn’t make it to the end of the room, because Chris’s fear of heights was kicking in, and I’m the type of person who likes to join in on someone’s freak out. So, we had to leave that area fairly quickly, but it wasn’t the last time that day when Chris’s phobia would make an appearance.

We had gone through the first building of collections smoothly, no fears or anything, just good times. It was when the second building rolled around that I began to worry about something. People who’ve been to this site before told me all about the giant whale in the “sea room”. You see, I have this fear about large things. For some unknown reason extremely large objects don’t sit right with me, and I knew the second before I got in that room that I was not going to be OK. I once again scarfed down another Larabar to soothe my fears or get me psyched up, but it just didn’t work. Chris wanted to pose with the whale to prove how unafraid he was.

Then he suggested I take a picture too, probably to show my weakness.



Now, it's a little hard to see in my picture, but we had to trek up a level to get close to the mouth, and it was at this point when Chris’s height disease took over him. He got this sort of sick look on is face, and he started grabbing the wall for support. I went over to comfort him like a decent human being would and he suggested I not touch him for fear that I would make him tumble over the ledge. Here are some great photos of his panic attack.




Mind you that I was still a little queasy over the whale situation, but I encouraged Chris to join me in the next level. He eventually made it.


We got through the final room, the organ room, relatively quickly and finished the entire tour in about two hours and thirty minutes. Not bad! Also, Chris has claimed that after the "sea room" that he has been completely cured of his height disease! There was a lot of accomplishment this day.


All in all, the House on the Rock was pretty great. You get to look at a lot of neat things, be humiliated by your fears, and get a lot of walking in. Got a free afternoon? Go to the House on the Rock!

Wordless Wednesday: Grotto Excursion

Day Tripping

I’ve been meaning to go to the Potosi Brewery for the past couple of years now. I’ve heard many a positive review from friends, but I just never felt like driving the 18 miles or so to get there. It wasn’t, however, until I got my gig at Stonefield that I actually had to drive through Potosi almost twice a week, and with that, I’ve been forced to watch happy people constantly going in and out of the brewery with big grins on their face just letting me know that I was missing out on some good times. Well, readers, I was determined to no longer be that envious onlooker. That’s when I bribed my boyfriend Chris to, yet again, join me in a day trip to Potosi. I promised him a free ticket into the Potosi Brewery’s museum (meaning I was willing to pay his way), and that I wouldn’t take photos of him and post them on this blog…oops.

The Potosi landscape is very beautiful, when you have someone with you who hasn’t seen it as much as I have, and they remind you about this truth. Potosi just seems like the epitome of an old mining town. All of the hillsides and bluffs surrounding it made the drive to the Brewery very enjoyable for the both of us. And once we got to our destination we made a quick dash for the museum portion to see what they had to offer. The best way to sum up the brewery’s museum in one word is: memorabilia. There was a lot of beer signage, beer bottles, and beer making equipment. I couldn’t help but wonder how the American Pickers on the History Channel would react to all of Potosi’s goodies. I’m sure one of them would have to “break the ice” with the museum and somehow convince them to sell their exhibits for half of what their worth (these are the kind of things I wonder when I’m around old Americana these days). So after cruising through the museum and only getting lost once, (this is a picture of me on a floor visitors aren’t supposed to be on)
we headed to the restaurant half and stuffed our faces.

Chris will most likely kill me for posting this picture, but I think it best sums up how we ravaged our delicious foods. Chris actually enjoyed his BBQ sauced burger so much that later in the day I honestly found a glob of said sauce behind his ear. How fantastic. Then after our eating frenzy, which came with a free root beer and Potosi beer (you have to buy a ticket to the museum to reap that benefit), we headed to the boat landing just at the end of town. Here's one of the best pictures we took there.
And here's the other one...

We took the long way getting back home to Dubuque by driving down Wisconsin's Rustic Road. I did not take any pictures of that drive because that's when I discovered Chris's BBQ'd ear, so I was understandably busy laughing at that the whole way back. Anyhoo, I just wanted to share this awesome day with you all. We both highly recommend you do it sometime too.

Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage: The Place You Haven't Visited but Should

How many of you have seen this sign while driving on 81 West in Platteville?


Now, how many of you have actually stopped into the cottage for a tour? I'm guessing not too many. You see, I've worked at the Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage for three years now, and the people who come in usually have no idea what the site is about, even if they are from the Platteville area. We simply don't get many visitors in to see us. And that, folks, is the reason why I'm writing this. I want to encourage more people to stop by and learn a little about some interesting and somewhat forgotten Platteville history.

First, I should probably get some of the logistics out of the way, like the price for a tour, location of the building, and so on. If money is an issue for you, there's no need to fret over that stuff, because when you do decide to make the trek to the cottage, you'll notice right away that there is no set fee for visitors. The Stone Cottage recommends a donation to the site, which of course is put towards maintenance and electricity bills (things of that nature). Also, the cottage can be found in Platteville on Highway 81 West, headed towards Lancaster; it is a very noticeable stone building on Madison St. And finally, the hours in which the museum is open. Unfortunately, the cottage is only up and running during the summer months (I believe this year we opened on Memorial Day weekend) until Labor Day. And being as we don't get too many people in, we can only stay open on Saturdays and Sundays, from noon until four o'clock. So, there you go. You're set to finally see the place.

But let's talk a little about what us docents will discuss on a typical tour. One thing many people don't know, is that the Stone Cottage is the oldest, standing building in Platteville, WI, and it was once lived in by Platteville's founding father, Major John H. Rountree. This is of course all briefly mentioned in the beginning, but the topic of interest in the home is of John Rountree's granddaughter, Laura Rountree, who lived in the home her entire life (up til 1966, when she passed away at the age of 95), even when she gave the cottage to the Grant County Historical Society just seven years before.

The home is still full of most of the original furniture that was used by Laura and her family from the 1890's, and there are plenty of stories and facts to go along with them (Note: I am not posting photos of the inside of the house, because I didn't want to ruin the surprise for you all, and also because I didn't want the neighbors to think I was breaking in). And it may seem like a home dedicated to the granddaughter of a prominent figure from Platteville wouldn't keep one's interest, but Laura was quite a character herself. Come and hear about the battles Laura had with the Grant County Historical Society over furnaces and sink faucets, or listen to secondhand stories from what residents of Platteville had to say about her. The tour even allows people to walk in and out of each room in the house, to better see and interact with the exhibits.

The Stone Cottage also concludes its tours with a walk out to the gardens on the lawn. As always, we have a three sisters garden blooming.

And at the far end, we have our Bunny Cottontail Garden.


In case you were curious, the inspiration for both gardens will be touched on during the tour (I don't want to give too much detail away!)

And there you have it. So, if all of my babbling and pleading still hasn't convinced you to stop by for a quick browsing or full on spiel from yours truly, just know that out of all the tours I've given in my Stone Cottage career, I always have my visitors very pleased with their decision to come in. I'm just not sure yet if it is my interpretation abilities, or if it is the site itself, but either way, it's worth the trip for you to find out!

Wordless Wednesday: Stone Cottage Preview

What Do You Do After Work?

I was feeling spontaneous after work on Tuesday, so instead of heading straight home to Cuba City to watch the end of the SVU marathon that was on, I decided to take a detour. I had heard a few things about Cassville's ferry, and since all of them were positive, I figured a perfect way to complete my day would be for me to take a quick ride.

The price was incredibly reasonable ($4 for a round trip walk-on), and the people running the show were very helpful and willing to answer any questions I had, like where could I walk on the ferry, and would they take my picture for me?

The result...
O.K. Let me explain the garb. I had just gotten off work at Stonefield, and I realized I was too lazy to change out of my entire outfit, so I just left on the skirt. But don't worry, because I explained to the "captains" why I was dressed this way. They were fine with my appearance. But, enough of that talk, check out the awesome view of the river behind me. It was a bit humid and hot that day, but the second I got out on the river, I had never been so comfortable in that skirt before!

I also took this signs advice...


Want to see some more scenery, readers?


After I had taken about a hundred photos, I chatted a bit with the person who greeted me at the beginning. He gave me a rough history of ferry boats and talked about how busy he gets on the weekends. It was then discovered that we attend the same university, so we spent the rest of the journey suggesting classes for the other to take. We both agreed that history courses were the best (I'm not the only history nerd out there!).

About twenty minutes had passed and the ferry boat was pulling into shore.



My ride had come to an end. And even though I missed the marathon on TV I had planned on watching, my trek down the Old Miss was completely worth it.

Wordless Wednesday: Stonefield Chicken!

(Insert Clever Blog Title)

You may not realize this just yet, dear readers, but I am a bit of a nerd. I get excited and obsessed over nothing, or what may seem like nothing to someone else. And as of late, I have caught myself fantasizing, even drooling over the handmade brooms that are sold at Stonefield. In case you are all wondering, which I hope you are, no, I have not bought one yet, because I keep forgetting to bring enough cash with me, and I’m still not done dreaming about what it would be like to own one of those beauties.

I apologize for the lack of words in my previous two entries, but I seem to have hit a little bit of a wall when it comes to thinking of topics to write about. With all the jobs I work (there are five of them), I don’t have too much time to go out and discover Southwest Wisconsin like I would want to, so I decided I need to explore my surroundings better.

While I was waiting for a train to pass on Tuesday morning, so I could set up shop in Stonefield’s confectionery, I finally thought of my brilliant blog topic.

I realized that even though I get a little too excited about their brooms, there could still be people out there who are equally intrigued as I am. Luckily, I have bonded with the resident broom maker, being as she trained me to work in the confectionery, so I knew she wouldn’t mind if I watched her make a broom one afternoon.

Meet Kathy! She is very talented, and was very hospitable when I just barged in while she was busy making a broom. She told me that she had been working in the broom shop for several years now, and on a really good day, she can whip up five, sturdy brooms for Stonefield. She discussed the process and said it takes roughly an hour to assemble a single broom.

The weaving process was my favorite, because Kathy has her own little technique that gives the brooms a really unique and pretty finish (as you can see in the picture above). And while I didn’t get to see her make a broom from start to finish, (I had to get to my post in the confectionery and serve up some ice cream) I still got a lot of joy out of watching my favorite gift shop item at Stonefield come together.

Wordless Wednesday: Preview of Next Blog

Wordless Wednesday: Pendarvis in Bloom

On the Job

Even on a rainy day, Stonefield still kept me busy on my first day of work. Besides scooping ice cream or making phosphates for the people who stopped in at the confectionery, I was out and about from my post seeing what our visitors were up to.

Today, there just so happened to be a group of eleven or so kids here from the Madison and Appleton areas doing a little apprentice work the old fashioned way. I was told by the blacksmith on site that the kids would learn how to farm as people would have at the turn of the twentieth century. They were also in the midst of hammering out some tools when I stopped by to get the scoop.

The other half of the group was immersed in making footstools, and I was later told that the kids would be here for the rest of the week camping near Nelson Dewey's home, while learning a few survival skills like building fires and how to filter stream water to make it drinkable.

Later in the day while I was cruising the boardwalk, I decided to check out the print shop to see what Dennis, a talented printer, had going on. It was the first time that I had seen the shop bright and actually in use. Dennis and I chatted a bit about how he would be on site through Thursday, before he showed me what he wanted to accomplish this day. He of course needed to clean out the equipment, which is what he was doing when I walked in on him, then he needed to tighten up the machines to get them performing as best as they could.

He then began to practice printing and told me about a sign he was going to make to replace another in the shop that had been ruined by age.

It was truly fascinating to hear where his work in newspapers began and how he joked about printers today not being able to work such equipment that he so comfortably used right in front of me. This was definitely not what I expected Stonefield to offer the public. I figured such antiques or artifacts to be kept locked up behind a velvet rope to ensure preservation, but it was refreshing to see these objects in action. I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy them.

Little Norway: Lawn Gnomes Included

I finally got a chance to take advantage of my free pass that would grant me admission into select museums this past Friday, when I headed to Little Norway just outside of Madison. I decided to take along my boyfriend Chris pictured with me to the left (that’s us waiting for the tour to begin) to not only have someone I knew who I could “ooh” and “ah” with me at all of the pretty buildings, but he was also willing to drive the distance and cover the gas money. This made even more excited to travel (note: I repaid Chris later by buying him a hearty lunch that afternoon…appetizer included!). With the brochure of Little Norway I grabbed from Stonefield’s gift shop in hand, we set out on the open highway to finally visit the museum whose sign had intrigued us so many times we had cruised 151 North. When we took the road that promised to lead us to our destination, we immediately realized we were heading down a winding path into a forest.

What a wonderful surprise! Being as I have never been to Little Norway, I sort of expected the museum to be in the middle of some campground a few hundred feet away from the highway. But, when we had to drive deeper and deeper into the woods, I knew I was going to experience an authentic piece of history.

The moment we parked the car in front of the gift shop, I got a little camera happy.

Once I was done hamming it up, Chris and I jumped in on the next tour. The group I was with was greeted by our guide who was decked out in traditional Norwegian garb. After she gave us an overview of what we were going to see and when we could take pictures (I really paid attention to this advice) we hustled to the first of the four buildings we would visit. I was once again pleasantly surprised to see that all of the places we stopped had been altered from their original purpose (i.e. the farmhouse changed to an actual home) and filled full of personal items and antique treasures.

Throughout the entire tour, our guide kept throwing in information about Norwegian superstition, which Chris and I both thought was a nice touch. Some other information I learned was that Norwegians are not short. You see, the buildings we walked into had been revamped, meaning that the original dirt floors were no longer in sight, because they had been covered by wood flooring. Well, the “new” floors shortened the height of the buildings, and made us unknowing tourists believe that the people who once lived here were indeed not tall. Don’t be fooled by this!

The entire tour kept the group going in and out of buildings, and made Chris and I more and more excited to explore the streams, flowers, and nature encompassing the museum after our tour would finish. With all of the places one would get to see, and a replica Norwegian Church included, this place was definitely worth the trip. I got a chance to learn some Norwegian quirks, see some very impressive craftsmanship on both furniture and clothing, and I can now say that I went to Little Norway. It was a good day.