Woodlanders Gathering in artsy Mineral Point
The day before I meet Ann Gronbeck-Peterson, she spends a part of the day converting an old railroad spike into a knife. Why? Because she […]
Eco Efforts
New Jerry Apps book, events, trips for gardeners
One of my treats on Sundays is reading the latest blog entry by prolific Wisconsin writer Jerry Apps, whose keen observations about life always seem […]
Fight gas price hikes with train trip travel
By the time you read this, I’ll have returned from a trip to Germany that involved planes, trains and no automobiles. Mass transit has long […]
Old World Wisconsin: How the gardens grow
May is a month of hope and faith for gardeners who begin with seeds or fragile stalks and dream of a cornucopia of color and […]
Pinehurst Inn, Bayfield: Color it deep green
Listen to how Nancy Sandstrom torments herself. The topic is organic cotton sheets, and these are a few of the questions she contemplates: Where does […]
Mining: a matter of heritage, tourism, survival
Note: A proposal to resume iron ore mining in Wisconsin, after a lag of four decades, means we’re likely to hear more than usual about […]
Tourists assist at Apostle Isle sled dog races
We know we are in the right place because tire tracks over fresh snow lead only one way, to the Echo Valley gravel pit, and […]
Valley of the Kings: exotic animals’ last stop
I have not met Jill Carnegie, but I know what’s on her wish list: blankets, office supplies, wheelbarrows, lumber, fly traps, chest freezers, straw and […]
Indy via Segway, in White River State Park
For years I’ve been a master at avoiding the Segway. Those little helmet-headed drivers would look pretty dorky, I decided, if their sets of wheels […]
Traverse City: new uses for insane asylum
Sunshine, fresh air, beauty as therapy, physical exercise through work: These were crucial components of mental health treatment in the mid 1800s, and Dr. Thomas […]
Little Lanesboro’s slogan: Live local, live well
Engrave your name on a brick or add it to the back of an auditorium seat: That’s how a lot of nonprofit enterprises raise money. […]
North House Folk School in Grand Marais
Forty miles southwest of the border with Canada, a Minnesota village of 1,400 overlooks a shore of near-paradise, its foundation hardy in character and nostalgic […]