Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 52

FAST and Fascinating - Blog Post #5 Weekend in Viroqua

     That Saturday afternoon in Southwest Wisconsin back in early June, we made one last stop before heading back to the Airbnb. And this was one of the most remarkable places I’ve been to.

I read about it on the “Only in Wisconsin” blog site several months ago and immediately know that this was a place I needed to visit some time. 

It’s the graveyard of the fiberglass molds used by Fiberglass Animals, Shapes, and Trademarks (FAST) on the east of Sparta. 

What an absolutely fun place to wander around, even though the temperatures outside were pushing ninety. 



And let the imagination wander as well. 
Found this pirate doing the plank (after maybe walking the plank), so I had to join him. Argh. 
While Hubby was looking for a fly ball.  We decided to work on the Christmas card picture. 
As I was pounding Santa's drum, and Hubby was picking the poor pony's nose. Argh, again. 

For more information, click these links:

            The “Only in Wisconsin” site where I first read about FAST (oh, and by the way, counting FAST,  I’ve been to six of these oddball attractions) - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/roadside-wi/

            The company’s website - https://www.fastfiberglass.com/Site-pages/About-Us

            One Fiberglass mold site – https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fast-fiberglass-mold-graveyard

            Another one – https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2253

Separation

  By the rivers of Babylon we sat down;

    there we wept when we remembered Zion.

 On the willows near by 

    we hung up our harps.

 Those who captured us told us to sing;

    they told us to entertain them:

    “Sing us a song about Zion.”

 How can we sing a song to the Lord

    in a foreign land?

 May I never be able to play the harp again

    if I forget you, Jerusalem!

 May I never be able to sing again

    if I do not remember you,

    if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!

(Psalm 137:1-6, Good News Translation)

   Way back in April, I started sharing some of the songs from the musical “Godspell.” This is one of the most moving songs in the movie, but I’ve been putting off writing about it. There is a long story behind these verses from Psalms, and I thought you’d need to know the whole history of the Israel people, their capture and exile in Babylon, and I didn’t want to write that much.

I did run across one explanation of these verses, though, which put it in perspective for me.

Psalm 137 is a song the Israelites sang when they were separated from God. They’d been taken away, physically, from their homes, their temple, and the rest of their people. They didn’t know how to pray anymore, and they didn’t know how they could sing to God when they were so far from home.

In the movie “Godspell,” when these verses are put to haunting music, Jesus is saying goodbye to His followers. They aren’t sure what this means, why Jesus is so somber, but they begin to feel His sorrow.

The true meaning in both of these cases, for me at least, is that there is nothing as horrible, as gut-wrenchingly sad as being separated from God. The Good News is that we don’t have to be. No matter what situation we might find ourselves in, no matter how much despair we might feel, we need to remember that God will never leave us or forsake us. We need only turn to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Lord Jesus

Here are the links to find out more about this song and the movie:

            The easiest to understand explanation I found for Psalm 137 – https://brothersofthebook.com/2017/07/10/on-the-willows-there-2/

            The entire chapter of Psalm 137 (the last line was too gruesome for me to post) –

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+137&version=GNT

            Sources for all the songs from the movie – https://www.godspell.com/godspell-lyric-sources/

            About the movie – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godspell_(film)

Nor-Walking and Biking - Blog Post #4 Weekend in Viroqua

   I was talking to a woman yesterday who was planning a big trip which was going to involve long hikes every day. She was debating whether or not she wanted to carry her bulky camera with the long zoom lens.

I was like – what? If I had a bulky camera with a zoom lens, I would take it EVERYWHERE, no matter how much it weighed or how far I had to carry it. Which is why I only have my little Nikon CoolPix. I loved my Yashica 35mm, but as many pictures as I take and as many miles as I seem to cover, I think I need convenience over the spectacular shots.  

Which brings me to the tiny village of Norwalk, 35 miles north of the cabin where we stayed in Viroqua and 18 miles southeast of Sparta, which is known as the Bicycling Capital of America. Norwalk is one of several stops along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail.

I’d never heard of Norwalk when we stopped there for lunch during our drive around the area back in June. Being my usual somewhat rude self, as soon as I’d eaten my lunch-box lunch, I abandoned Hubby and the others to explore the little park and take way too many pictures. 

And then I imagined how awesome it would be to bike the 32-mile Bike Trail. Sure, Chris, that will happen, camera in hand or not - not. 

For more information, click these links:

            The Elroy-Sparta Trail – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elroy-Sparta_State_Trail

            The city of Sparta – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta,_Wisconsin

            Sparta and the bicycle – https://dekeslaytonmuseum.org/exhibits/evolution-of-the-bicycle/

            The Village of Norwalk –  https://villageofnorwalk.com/

            If you never click on another link, you have to click on this one for a map of the Norwalk Park – https://villageofnorwalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/park-campground-map-1.pdf

Ice Cave Trail, Not so Icy - Blog Post #3 Weekend in Viroqua

Back in June, on that weekend we spent at the cabin in Viroqua, after our hike around the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center, we drove to the trailhead of the Ice Cave Trail at Wildcat Mountain State Park.

The hike in and back was just under a mile. The first section ran along Billings Creek. 

With the temperature into the mid-80s, with high humidity – well, we wished there would have been ice at the cave.

Which wasn’t much of a cave, more of an overhang, but still rather cool – okay, except not cool at all in the heat of the day. But it always helps to be in good company. 

For more information here are a few websites:

            https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wisconsin/ice-cave-trail

            https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/wildcat/recreation/hiking

            https://wisconsin-explorer.blogspot.com/2018/01/exploring-kickapoo-ice-caves.html

When Storms Hit

Then in their trouble they called to the Lord, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the raging storm, and the waves became quiet. (Psalm 107:28-29, Good News Translation)

We had storms here twice this week. Many were without power for three to four days. Trees broke off or were uprooted. Thankfully, in my little yard, we only had heavy rain and a lot of branches; our electricity was off for only sixteen hours.

It can be frightening, though. We looked out the back door, and the wind was buffeting the trees so much they looked like flags waving in a breeze. We kept waiting to hear them snap and break, or worse for that sound of a barreling locomotive which would mean a tornado.

We prayed for God’s goodness and mercy. 

When we were driving around our town the other day, it was hard to see that God had been kind to us – one of our cemeteries had been hit hard. But our village, the entire area, even our state, survived. God is good, and He blesses us no matter what the weather – or life – throws at us.

Lord, Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to us in our times of need. Send Your Holy Spirit to the non-believers so that they need not fear when they are faced with troubles. Amen.

KVR - Blog Post #2 Weekend in Viroqua

     We woke up at the cabin in Sidie Hollow on Saturday, June 5, looking forward to a hot, sunny day. Okay, or at least I was. Hubby, his brother and his sister-in-law were looking forward to the air-conditioned car and plenty of shade when we were outdoors.

     After an hour or so at the Farmer’s Market in Viroqua –            

     We next drove to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center.

The Kickapoo Valley is popular with kayakers and canoers, neither of which describe the four of us. There are a lot of other outdoor activities in the Reserve, but the short trail out back of the Visitor’s Center was the only one we took on.

    I discovered many photo opportunities, both in the parking lot and on the trail.





If we would have known that it was also “get to know your llama day”, I might have signed us up.

For more info:

            The Kickapoo Valley Reserve – http://kvr.state.wi.us/About-Us

            More on the Kickapoo River – https://www.driftlesswisconsin.com/explore/kickapoo-river-valley/

            My previous blog post about the weekend – http://chrisloehmer.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-gift-for-you-blog-post-1-weekend-in.html

         

 

A Gift for you - Blog Post #1 Weekend in Viroqua

             Are you kidding me? I’m totally stumped. Here we are, the end of July, and I haven’t journaled anything about our trip with Hubby’s brother and sister-in-law to the Airbnb in Viroqua the weekend of June 4-6. And I only wrote two and a half pages in my Trip Log. Good thing I snapped nearly 300 pictures; I guess that’s the only way I’ll remember the details. 

 First of all, my gift to you is a great gift idea for someone hard to buy for. For Christmas, we gave the brother and sister-in-law part of a weekend in an Airbnb. We’d pay for the first night and split the cost of the second night with them. Together, we would pick the weekend and the place, but Hubby and I took care of finalizing everything. We talked about bringing food for meals to fix there, but ended up only doing that for breakfasts. Lunches were more like communal snacking, and we ordered carry-out for supper Friday and Saturday.

 But, if you should opt for this gift for your loved ones, decide first if you are going with them or sending them off alone. We had a great time and get along wonderfully with this couple. It’s just something to think about.

 Ok, so you can stop reading and go about your business now if you feel satisfied with the information I just shared.

 Or plunge onward.             

On the way to our cabin in Viroqua, we stopped to visit family near Cashton. The Fish Creek Ridge Lutheran Church holds many memories for them.             

As does the Fish Creek Cemetery.

 Just so no one drinks the water. On to our Amish Cabin at East Sidie Hollow.

Our bedroom. At first, it looked pretty small, but it worked out totally fine. 
The bedroom in the loft. 
The downstairs - kitchen and living room. 
Come back Friday to hear of some of the things we did. 
The cabin's info: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/45217530?source_impression_id=p3_1627471662_p%2BYuw%2BTsUwd3dxFV&guests=1&adults=1

Are You Stuck?

    Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do. (Philippians 4:13, Easy-to-Read Version) 

When I sit down to write my Sunday morning inspirational post (which I usually write on Saturday night), something always comes to me. Or, actually, God puts something before me, either in the form of something which happened over the past week or something He plops into my head or my heart.

Occasionally, as in today, I got nothing. Or I have a few thoughts which feel lame and don’t come together for me. I have a list of Bible verses to turn to when that happens, but sometimes, even none of those jump out at me.

Last resort. I did a Google search of “Bible verses for when you’re stuck”. Isn’t it great to be able to get an answer to any question?

Oops, stop right there, Chris, the answers to your questions aren’t found on the internet. Well, they sort of are. But the reality is that even if the answers are there it’s only because they were in the Bible first and someone put them on the world wide web. Which is where the verse above came from.

Good words, but what can I say about them? So, my final last resort is to pull out my actual Bible on paper, randomly open it and point to a verse.

    The Teacher tried very hard to find the right words, and he wrote the teachings that are true and dependable. (Ecclesiastes 12:10, Easy-to-Read Version)

Hmmm? Well, there you have it. God is good. 

Indianhead Motel

  I’ve been going to share this story for quite a while – you know how I love sharing random, boring tales of my life. But, since I just finished writing about my weekend in Chippewa Falls this May, I thought I’d tell you about the first time I spent the night there.

I was in my second year of college when my friend and I decided to spend spring break at her sister’s house in Rochester, Minnesota. So yes, while all the other college kids were going to Florida or Texas or Virginia Beach, we went to Minnesota to get away from winter weather. That worked so well for us.

My friend’s brother picked us up at our dorm on Saturday morning. If I remember correctly, he had been on spring break the previous week and was heading back to college himself – veterinarian school – I have no idea where – but he was willing to deliver us to their sister in Rochester on his way.

Of course, it was starting to snow when we slid into his car early that morning. As we began the drive west, the snow fell heavier and heavier. The vehicle was soon crawling down the highway. Finally, after four hours of that, when we had only gone ninety miles or so, we decided that we needed to hang it up. There was no way we would make it to Rochester by dark at that rate.

We pulled off the highway at Chippewa Falls and checked into the first motel we saw – the Indianhead Motel. We got one room, with two double beds. Remember, we were all starving college students. I can’t remember what we did all afternoon in that uncomfortably small room, while snow continued to fall. But by late in the day, when the snow finally lessened, we ventured out to the Catholic church for Saturday night mass, picked up some fast food, and went back to the room to eat while we watched the movie “The Jazz Singer” with Neil Diamond.

That night, I slept closest to the window in the bed with my friend, while her brother slept on the far side of the other bed. I’m sure one of them called their sister to tell her of our delay; I don’t remember if I called home or not. This was way before cell phones. 

In the morning, we brushed the snow off the car and finished the two-hour drive to Rochester. The weather was a little better, but not warm enough to go swimming outside. Good thing we were able to use the indoor pool on the top floor of the Kahler Hotel.

Over the years, I’ve driven through or past Chippewa Falls many, many times. But every time I looked for the Indianhead sign. Yes, the little two-star motel is still there. I can’t believe I don’t have a picture of the outside.

 

A Few Old Buildings from Chippewa Falls - Blog Post #7

 As you may already know, Hubby, Dino and I were camping all week last week. Even though I really want to tell you all about that trip, I have that weekend in May in Chippewa Falls to finish up, as well as an entire weekend in Virocqua in June that I haven’t even whispered to you about.

I get this from my father you know – he called it Wanderlust. Yes, I’m always ready to go bumming again as soon as I get home, shower, and wash some clothes.

So, let me finish off that weekend at the AirBnb with my friend by showing you a handful of random pictures from downtown Chippewa Falls.  

You know how fascinating I find old buildings. 

And especially old buildings with mural.  Even if the murals are a little old and worn.  Or modern.  Or on a building which has an old mural on one side -  And a new mural on the other side -  And what could be the original slaughter house out back.  
And then there are the adorable pictures on window fronts. Or is that chicken in the middle really adorable and exactly what is it doing? 
And though most buildings don't readily reveal their history, 
Others do. 
Which is when the camera really comes in handy. 
Because I usually don't have time to read everything there is to read on the streets I wander.  Oops, I almost forgot my favorite building, which is not my favorite on the outside,  but because of what they sell inside!
And though I'm home for a little while, I still have many travels to share. Stay tuned. 

For more information about downtown Chippewa Falls:  

            The Meat Market –

 https://streets.mn/2016/09/29/wheres-the-beef/

            A list of the historic buildings –

http://www.chippewafallsmainst.org/historic-walking-tour.html

            Somebody took even more pictures of these building than I did –

https://www.dewitzphotography.com/eau-claire-wi-photographer/wisconsin-historic-city-series-the-view-from-chippewa-falls-mainstreet/