Wisconsin

Growing up in Northwestern Ontario, Minnesota and Wisconsin were my neighbors and we regularly traveled in these states – we even picked up some of their lore. For example, the story, in the mid-1970s, surrounding The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. We knew that the mill in Wisconsin the ship was "comin' back from," was in the port of Superior.

And as a child, a huge bit of fun was a summer road trip to the Wisconsin Dells in the southern area of the state. Located along a spectacular stretch of the Wisconsin River with sandstone cliffs and towering rock formations, the Dells have many attractions and amusements to keep both children and adults entertained: water parks, golfing, scenic tours, horseback riding, camping. What I didn't know then was that with more than 2.5 million visitors each year, Wisconsin Dells is the Midwest's number-one family vacation destination.

Wisconsin is a four-season state with warm, sometimes humid, summers during which one can definitely be pelted by thunderstorms. The state also has spectacular autumns and cold winters (with an added wind-chill factor). The climate allows for winter sports such as cross-country and downhill skiing and snowmobiling and summer activities such as hiking, camping, boating, fishing, and hunting.

Designated America's Dairyland in 1971, Wisconsin reportedly has as many cows as humans – about 4 million of each. But Wisconsin is not all pasture: it also contains large pine forests, thousands of lakes, and picturesque valleys and bluffs. Some spectacular bits of nature include: the stalactite-filled caverns at the Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mound State Park, the state's largest onyx cave at Eagle Cave Natural Park, and the canyons, streams and falls (such as Big Manitou Falls and the Black River Gorge) at Pattison State Park. Wisconsin also has Lake Superior in the north, the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers in the west, and Lake Michigan in the east. The Ojibway definitely knew what they were talking about when they termed the land Wisconsin, which means "gathering of the waters"!

With this background, it is not surprising that Wisconsin is best known for its liquids: from the clear water of the northern lakes, to the milk from the dairy cattle, to the beer – remember, it's what made Milwaukee famous!

Located along the Lake Michigan shore in the southern part of the state, a little bit south of Milwaukee, is the charming small city of Racine, which is famous for its irresistible Danish kringle pastry and the Wind Point Lighthouse (which was built in 1880 and is both the tallest and oldest lighthouse still in use on Lake Michigan).

Meanwhile, Madison, the capital, is a mix of big city and small town that works. Its state capitol is modeled after the capitol in Washington, DC. But on Saturdays, from spring to late fall, Capitol Square hosts an open-air market. And, for the architecturally interested, Madison's Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, completed in the late 1990s, was based on a 1938 design by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, a native of the state.

More interested in the great outdoors, than indoors? Madison has been recognized as one of the top canoe towns in the US by Paddler magazine, and as one of the 10 best bicycling cities by Bicycling magazine.

And for the combination history buff and oriental cooking/medicine aficionado, the central town of Wausau boasts a 10-square-block historic district, which preserves the city's past and is a center for the buying and selling of the energizing root ginseng. And the county in which Wausau is located is the world leader in the production ginseng.

It is a state known for liberal and progressive views. Many major national social programs such as labor laws for women and children, assistance for the elderly and the disabled, and unemployment compensation originated in Wisconsin.

Overall, things are not quite what one would expect – but that's the way it is with Wisconsin!

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