"Wisconsin-Happy Festival State", by Eve Phillips. My husband and I love to travel in the state of Wisconsin where we live and get great pictures on the way. My name is Laurie Kutil and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. One thing I have learned in researching each town before visiting it is that, "Every town has it's story". When I do uncover those stories by connecting with local residents, our experience becomes so much richer. In turn, sharing the stories with you brings me joy :)
This was the first time Al and I went to the Knickerbocker Ice Festival in Lake Mills. We started the fun at Rock Lake by taking a look at Icehenge, a take-off of Stonehenge. We made the mistake of not stopping by right after they finished it in late January, the warm weather over the last 5 days took its toll. Read more about it here.
The Fisheree was going on too, somebody was drilling a hole in the ice nearby to fish in. We found a cute fishing shack downtown promoting the Fisheree.
After visiting Icehenge we went downtown to the square (actually a triangle) to see all the activity going on there. We could hear the sound of multiple chainsaws as the ice sculptors were making their creations. Lets watch them!
We enjoyed a great lunch at Cafe On the Park, under new ownership as of 2015. They are open 6-2 daily. Al had a prime rib sandwich and I had a breaded chicken sandwich. Delicious!
The park sure was busy by 12:30!
There was a big ice skating party going on in the park, small children were being pushed in chairs.
There was also target practice with tennis balls for safety. Also to aid the kids to throw snowballs with greater accuracy 🙂
Some other kids were building a wood castle, complete with flags.
It was now 1:00, and it looks like most of the ice sculptures were getting finished. My personal favorite 3 carvings.
The Lewis carving even had little wine bottles, cute!
The Eskimo was especially fun, since this one was interactive and we could take a fun selfie with it.
Other ice sculptures of note.
We had a wonderful time at this festival and got further reinforcement that Wisconsinites love festivals in any setting the whole year around.
This city of 5000 is located in Rock County and is a great place to visit. Only 23 miles south of Madison, it’s a quick getaway from the big city. One thing that sets Evansville apart is the many barn quilts adorning many of the buildings there.
Another distinctive art form Evansville is known for are windmills. They are displayed all over the downtown, made by local artists. The large one is next to the Evansville Grove Society History Museum and visitor center. This was the former Baker Office Building.
The windmill signifies Evansville’s dedication to Green Energy. It was selected as a pilot Wisconsin Energy Independent Community in 2010.
Yet another distinction of Evansville is its strong ties to the local farming community. It earned the title of “Soybean Capital of Wisconsin” in 2007. Evansville has many beautiful historic buildings. This is the former City Hall.
This is the former Leota School for Girls, now an impressive red home.
On the way there are the Baraboo Narrows, essentially the outside of the “bowl” that Devil’s lake is inside.
Now we are headed to Devil’s Lake for to hike all the way around. It’s beautiful any time of year that you go.
Here is a map of the park.
We are heading the concession area first on the north end of the lake. It was especially beautiful there this October.
Here is a rainbow sailboat in the summer.
Now we begin our hike around the lake beginning on the East Bluff Trail. Plan to take the day to do this. First Al and I pose for a self-portrait.
On the way up we first encounter Elephant Cave and rock.
At the top of the bluff trail was a spectacular view of the whole lake, especially the north shore where the concession building is. This picture was taken in Fall 2010.
Further down the path near the south end are three interesting natural rock structures. The first one is Devil’s Doorway.
Another one is Balanced Rock. That day there were lots of people getting their picture with the rock. We did too with a new friend we met on the trail.
Also a great view of a rock face.
We went down the CCC Trail back behind the lake. There is an interesting history behind that as well.
Working our way back to the south end of the lake, there is a smaller concession building and another beach. You can see the north end of the lake.
Now we will follow the path next to the road on the south end of the lake.
Here is the trail head for the Tumbled Rock Trail, leading us back to the north end of the lake.
We work our way back to our starting point, we pass several cabins that have been there a long time. Here is one of them.
We pass a couple kayaking and a dad and young daughter fishing.
Now SOMETIMES, we take the West Bluff Trail that is high like the East Bluff Trail. They have a lookout station in about the middle of the trail looking towards the East Bluff and north end.
Almost back, we see 3 people in kayaks, each a different color.
We make our way back to the north beach area and find someone doing a painting of the lake.
We are back in the parking lot. I hope you enjoyed walking around Devil’s lake.
