Wisconsin Love: Part 2

 We headed over to Alma Center since they had a really nice KOA that could fit our big rig.  We went into town to see some local sites, and saw all these flags and cars along the way.  Our curiosity got the best of us, and we decided to pull over and see what the fuss was about.

  Turns out, we were at the location of the Barefoot Water Skiing World Championship!!!!!  No WONDER it was so hard to find RV parks! We always seem to manage to do that...in town just in time for a rodeo we weren't attending or the week before Bike week, etc.  Haha!

  Kids had fun trying to spot all the different teams represented.  We saw Korea, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden and Australia to  name a few!

  We headed into town for some authentic Mexican that got good reviews on Trip Advisor, called Cinco De Mayo.  Best Chimichangas we have had yet!
  On our way home we decided to do some exploring of the area..... 

 We pulled over to check out the HUGE dam. They call it the Black River, but its very very golden brown.  The force of the water coming out was terrifying and powerful.  It was so loud it was overwhelming to the ears!  On the other side, it was perfectly still, like glass.
  Great use of nature to produce energy but I felt bad for the people that build big cabins with windows to see the river that now see the cement buildings and barbed wire surrounding the dam.

   One of our favorite places to stay is a KOA, because of how beautiful and well kept they usually are, as well as offering great things for us to do while we are there!
   A favorite in particular, is the bouncy pillow. We do family relays (if no other kids are around to get hurt or scarred for life) or just sit like adults and let the kids go wild.

  We wanted to see our sweet friend, Miss Ruby, while we were in the area.  We met Ruby down in Texas of all places, and hit it off right away.  She lives in Wisconsin and loves to RV too! 

​ She treated us to a fun date to the Cranberry Museum and showed us around the local bogs.  
Warrens, WI is the Cranberry Capital of the WORLD!

 In fact, they produce enough cranberries in one year, to give every man, woman and child in the WHOLE WORLD, 26 cranberries.

 Crazy right?!
​
  The museum was SUPER well done!  The kids did a great stopping at each display and reading about how Cranberries grow and are harvested. I was proud of them, we have made some good improvements in how we "museum" in the year and a half on the road.
 They also loved the scavanger hunt at the end.....

  Our stop wouldn't have been complete without some cranberry purchases and cranberry ice cream from the gift shop, of COURSE!
 I had Cranberry Cheesecake ice cream and it was DIVINE!

  Our time with Ruby wasn't over yet, she took us out to the actual bogs to show us where they grow.
  You know, cranberries are only flooded like the commercials in the fall for harvest.  They are flat and carefully maintained all year long, then there are natural gravity waterways that allow them to flood when the time is right.
 A field must be surveyed perfectly level, or the water will flood one area and not another.  
  The old huts you see are from the 50's when the Ho Chunk Indians used to come help with harvest....

  Bye friend, bye Wisconsin, we WILL be back!
Thanks for all the fun! :)
​Hugs, T