October 7-8, 2017 Baraboo, Wisconsin

Baraboo is right where we are camped. It is not a glitzy tourist trap like Wisconsin Dells the neighboring town. In the 19th century it was the winter headquarters and  home of the Ringling brothers circus.

The  Fair in the Square is this weekend in historic downtown Baraboo. There were deep fried Twinkies, candy bars and oreos among the food stands, lots of craft vendors, this man was engraving flagstones with a super dremel, a farmers market and live music. The clock on the corner went down to minus 40 degrees, that is a bad indication of how cold it gets here in the winter. There was even a walking whoopie cushion handing out flyers for the local thrift shop. The Ringling theatre opened it's doors in 1915 and has been operating since. 

 Between 1886 and 1918 Ringling Brothers Circus occupied at least 22 winter quarters buildings in the Ringlingville area as well as a railroad car shop across the river. 10 of those still stand today and 8 of them are now part of the Circus World Museum. The  museum celebrates the history of the American circus. In the summer there are big-top circus performances, concerts, , circus animals. In the winter we get the exhibits. It was fascinating. There are exhibits of circus posters, clowns, costumes, music, the animals, the support staff etc. Here are some posters, a flea circus( he got the fleas from the local dog pound), some costumes and a couple wild kids in one of the animal cage wagons.

Gargantua the Great, a famous gorilla , had his own railroad car that was glassed in and had climate control with air conditioning and controlled humidity. It is pictured on top. The best way to feel slim is to pose by the famous fat people. There were a number of buildings for the animals including the Elephant house, a couple animal houses, a camel  house and horse barn. The corner photo has some of the statistics of the famous fat people, their ages, some measurements and weights. Some weighted up to 700 plus pounds. John is dwarfed by the fat lady and I am in a circus mirror.

  My favorite part was the Circus Wagon Pavilion. It has the world's largest collection of hand -carved circus parade wagons. For close to 100 years the circus brought color and pageantry to cities and towns across america through their lavish free street parades. They were intended to drum up business for the evening's performance. They were a glittering array of wagons that were grand, fanciful and extravagantly larger than life. They were amazing. They were originally pulled by horses around the country, but later rode on huge trains of around 108 double sized cars carrying 149 wagons and cages, 46 tents, 184 horses etc. Here also is a giant cannon they used to shoot people out of. Many of those wagons were made right here in Baraboo in the winter. 

An original RV- this is a Living Carriage that was built in 1883. It served as living accommodations, office with built in sleeping, eating and living quarters for the owner. There is a wood burning stove in it. Below is an elephant wagon. There was a hand carved wooden  carousel that is closed in the winter. Boo I love those. 

After an exhausting afternoon at Circus World we went to the Port Huron brewery. John tasting an IPA. It was so crowded inside that we went to the patio. John is sitting in the band shell, made from the cap of a silo. It was out of the wind and the rain. 

Today we went to Devil's Lake State Park. It is the biggest state park in Wisconsin. The most popular I think too. It was pretty crowded. John is hiking up the East Lake Bluff Trail. Oak leaves with some of last nights rain, red sumac bushes and ferns.

A view of Devil's lake and the Devils Doorway rock formation. After all the rain it was a beautiful 76 degree day and sunny. It was lovely to be out.

The view down the south side of the bluff. Some trees are starting to turn. Hickory nuts, pot holes in  the rocks and the sign for the East Bluff Trail- you can even ski here! And some brave soul, there is a big drop off this bluff. 

A carpet of ferns. We then hiked Parfrey's Glen, it is another trail at Devil's Lake. It is a narrow gorge that is another very popular trail. John going up the stairs at the beginning of the trail.

The 'glen' narrowed up. John is the white dot in the middle of the trail. At the end of the canyon was this nice waterfall. 

On the way back John is the white dot above the big rock. In the second photo he is climbing down the big rock. It was another lovely little trail, but also pretty crowded.

Cool reflections, a maple on top of water with reflected color, lovely red poison ivy, a strange thing- a stem with red berries at the end, and a Wisconsin Cheese head. 

On the way home we stopped and toured Driftless Glen distillery. Their aging building and the three stills. The middle still is 42 feet tall. Then they let us taste a selection of the vodka, bourbon, whiskey and moonshine they produce. They were pretty good, considering I don't really like any of those liquors. The s'more flavored moonshine  and the lemon vodka were the best.