Day 11 part 2: CHEESE

If you thought the moon was made of cheese, you'd be wrong. Wisconsin is made of cheese. I visited a cheese factory in Mauston Wisconsin and bought a 4 year old cheddar, a wedge of Sheep's milk Truffle cheese and the ultimate in Wisconsin cheese: Cheese curds. Also known as Squeeky Cheese for the sound it makes when you bite into it. Imagine the sound of two balloons rubbing up against each other and that's what it sounds like. Salty, queeky and yummy. I love cheese curds. I found out that you need to eat them within 24 hours of their being made or it loses its freshness and squeek. The fresher, the squeekier.

Those other two places were discovered by impulse. My real destination was Baraboo Wisconsin. Baraboo is where the Barnum and Bailey Circus started and wintered for many decades before being bought by the Feld family and moving to Sarasota, Florida. They have a museum called Circus World. It is also home to the fantastical scrap sculpture garden called Doctor Evermore's Forevertron.

I'll talk about the Forevertron first as it was my priority and the first place I visited today. Finding the forevertron is difficult. My directions listed the following: "On Hwy 12 between Baraboo and West Freedom, behind the salvage yard and across the highway from the munitions plant." There are no signs for it, just a few steel sculptures near the side of the road that hint at it's existence. I pulled into the drive way only to be met with a locked gate. There was a small washed out sign that told me to call Elenore. So I called her and she told me she was halfway to Madison, but that I could pull into the surplus yard next door, walk through their back lot and into the garden, but that I shouldn't climb on anything. She wasn't kidding. I walked through all this refuse and caught a glimpse of a very tall fantastical looking sculpture looking like something out of an apocalyptic disney land hiden amongst what looked like wild forest. Once I hiked through overgrown vegetation, I came upon 2 acres of rusted steel menageries and whimsical welded Jules Verne-esque futurist machinery. There was a little planning on its layout, but pretty much stuff was everywhere. with little thought to its placement. The whole grounds were overgrown and I'm sure there were many more pieces that I couldn't see hidden under brush and tall grass. My pictures do not do it justice. Go look it up and see someone else's attempt to document it. Here's a selection of the best of what I took.This represents about 1% of what is there. The forevertron alone made this trip worth it. please, come see this place. You won't believe it.

Also in the yard (and an excellent segue to the Circus World Museum) was this awesome Clown Car. Read the back inscription. Priceless.

Across Baraboo I found the awesome Circus World.

As it was a Wednesday in September at 3pm I had the whole place to myself. It was very creepy. Lots of circus music being piped in with no one to hear it. The museum was great though. Amazing displays of floats, costumes, clowns, animals and the world's largest collection of circus wagons.

Fuck Yeah!

They have 2 whole buildings dedicated to the restoration and display of hundreds of beautifully carved and painted circus wagons, most of which had the full life history of each explaining which circus and when they were used and what act or animal it was used to display. I didn't take enough pictures. oh well. They also had life masks of some famous clowns who then painted their own faces.

Later that night I met up with my couchsurfing hosts Rachel and Nick who were awesome. I so love couchsurfers. They just moved here and were as excited to see Madison as I was. We didn't get to see much as I wasn't able to stay that long, but we went out to dinner at a very Wisconsin restaurant where I had Mac and Cheese with grilled rings of bologna. Oh, and a can of Schlitz. i wish I had more time in Madison. I very much want to come back.

Today head to Chicago to visit my friend Joy who moved there to work for the Goodman Theater. I don;t think I'll get to see much Chicago, but then I'm off to Toronto to see my Burning Man campmates KGD, June, and who know who else. I should drive through Buffalo on my way down to New York on the 16th (?) and then finally see pick up Justine who I miss terribly on the 20th in DC.

written by

JRadhirsch on September 11, 2008 from Baraboo, United States

from the travel blog: The Great American Road Trip

Send a Compliment

I may be partially lactose intolerant, but damnit, I want me some nom nom nom on the squeeky cheeses!

written by clear on September 12, 2008

I'm speechless after seeing what the Forevertron is. I'm so in love with the idea... and the execution is fantastic.

I miss you too. Terribly? Maybe... but I sure am glad you're where you're at. Where ever that is, right now.

written by Justine Smith on September 13, 2008

This is by far my favorite glimpse of the towns you have visited thus far!

My family used to drive up to WI for cheese festivals every summer when I was a kid. Ahhh yes, eating the yum-yum squeeky cheese curds are fond memories for me.

As for the sculpture garden and the circus museum, priceless! The circus museum made me think of House on the Rock in WI...DAMN! I REALLY wish I would have given you the heads up to see that before you left. It's like the circus museum, but on CRACK, and it takes a whole day to see it. Well worth the visit tho.

And PS, you're gonna have to stop the car more often at gas stations. I have a bladder the size of a walnut and these long driving stretches are killing me! (hee hee hee!)

written by The Zote on September 13, 2008

Holy crap, Jared. This place is amazing. I wish we had known about it when we did that road trip in '97. I am so impressed with your adventure. Yay for you!!

written by Shameless Heather on September 17, 2008

comment on this...