Baraboo - The Circus

Baraboo in Sauk County is often called “Circus City” because Ringling Brothers saw the city as its home from about 1884 - 1918. The Circus World Museum features many historical remnants of the Ringing Circus and also holds live shows.  Baraboo is one of the cities in the country where many varied commercial entities surround the courthouse in the center. One of those is the Ringling Theater, “America’s Prettiest Playhouse.” It opened its doors in 1915, has been restored, and now hosts plays, cinemas, and orchestras. There is a lot to do in the city and in the rural areas around it.

Granite Peak - Fun in the Snow

Rib Mountain in Wausau stands over the southwestern part of the city. Rib Mountain State Park and the Granite Peak Ski Area are there. Rib Mountain is not a mountain. It is a ridge. It is a four-mile-long chunk of very old quartzite, one of the hardest rocks known to humankind.  The land around it has worn down faster than this quartzite ridge. That’s why Rib Mountain stands out so much. The skiing area is known as Granite Peak, an understandable name. It advertises as the oldest ski resort in Wisconsin, “kicking around since 1937.” Granite Peak’s longest run is almost a mile. It has over 60 runs, “the state’s only high-speed six pack with two additional high-speed quad chairlifts, 7 in total!” It also is open for night skiing.

Dells Mill Museum

I have read that Dells Mill in Augusta is “the most photographed site in Wisconsin. I believe that. Dells Mill is a water-powered flour and feed mill built in 1864, the first flour mill in the Chippewa Valley, which still stands to this day. It is three and one-half stories high, called by many five levels. It originally ground wheat which at the time was the agricultural mainstay of the state. It is but of hand hewn timbers with wooden pegs joining the timbers together. It operated continuously from 1864 through 1968. The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.