Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad: Spooner Train Ride

Me and Carley



I just have this thing for trains. I don't know why. I am intrigued by them.

This was one of the deals I blogged about on Eau Claire Consumer - dinner and a train ride for four on the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad in Spooner, Wisconsin. And I just have to say, this was a really neat experience.

It rained all day and then miraculously, just before we set out for Spooner, Wisconsin, the rain stopped and the sun came out during our beautiful train ride.

I was surprised to see the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad and the Spooner Depot mentioned in this MSN article, All Aboard Eight Great Railways.

Me and Chuck

The article says, "The history of the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad provides a viewfinder into the glory days of railroading, when more than 20 daily passenger trains were greeted by one of the Upper Midwest's most majestic depots in Spooner, Wisc. Seventy-five percent of the town once worked for the railroad, and no less a dignitary than the future King Edward VII of England once disembarked. Today, a coupling of local train enthusiasts maintain the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, which has expanded to daily summer service from what remains of the Spooner depot and includes the new Bed & Breakfast Train, inviting passengers to dine, sleep and breakfast aboard the train, an impressive feat for a scenic railroad."



Carley and Jesse



It is interesting to think about the history of the railroad--what it meant to individual towns and to our country as a whole. To think it was once the main mode of transportation, even transporting the King of England, and yet the Spooner Depot seemed to be as much of a train graveyard as it was a bustling little depot during the Saturday night we embarked on our journey. The depot was littered with abandoned trains and other machinery and things that hadn't been used in years, yet the dining car was full that night.

I enjoyed the time on the train, time with friends, and some good food (especially the cheese and crackers tray). More pictures from our night are below.



My Dinner

A view of the Namekagon River

Namekagon River

Chuck

A view of the highway that we paralleled for part of the journey

Collisions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/waferboard/

I have been putting off some of my writing because I haven't wanted to deal with some very extreme emotions that I’ve been experiencing over the past month.

The other day I was standing on the campus mall, waiting for a friend to pick me up for lunch, when BANG!!! I heard a loud crash behind me.

I turned around to see a pedestrian fall face forward, landing with a loud thud as his bare hands and knees kissed the concrete sidewalk. At the same time, a man on a bicycle plummeted head first into the grass and the bike went crashing on its side down the sidewalk.

It all happened so quickly. Two people going in the same direction collided. The pedestrian couldn’t see what was coming behind him. Perhaps he shifted into the path of the bike. What a shocking feeling, to be walking along, and then SLAM! Someone just nails you from behind.

As they exchanged cordial apologies, the biker put his hat and headphones back on. Sometimes we are so oblivious to what is going on around us. And we introduce so many distractions to our lives, on top of our already distracted minds that are constantly flowing with wants, needs, and to-do lists.

Recently I tried to help a friend who is going through a divorce. I was so shocked I didn’t see this divorce coming. Like the pedestrian-bicycle collision, it just hit me from behind with no warning. Why couldn’t I have seen how unhappy she was? Why didn’t I understand that her distance and isolation meant she needed help? It broke me to think of how long she had struggled and suffered alone, without help.

She was without clothes or basic possessions, so I went to her house to get a few things for her. It was a strange and sad and desperate feeling, trying to fill up one bag of items in the few minutes her husband would allow. What do you take? Surrounded by her pictures, clothes, jewelry, shoes, books, and various items, I quickly threw clothes and toiletries into the bag, as much as I could fit. Then I spied “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle on her dresser. Should I take it, I wondered. I grabbed it and shoved it into the bag. She will need this, I thought to myself.

I never fully realized how important that book was to me until this moment. Yes, I can see now, that in an extreme situation, I will choose to take Eckhart Tolle along with basic life necessities. When I was broken, this book opened me back up, just by helping me to change the way I think about things.

A few weeks later, I was talking to her on the phone, and she mentioned she was continuing the book, a little at a time. Yes, it’s that kind of book, I told her. You have to read little bits at a time and then give it all time to digest. She was dealing with her sadness, starting to make future plans and think about starting a new life of her own. The kind of life she had always wanted.

In the meantime, I worry about her safety, finances, legal issues, and more. I feel limited in what I can do for her because of my pregnancy…I’m not used to this. It frustrates me. I want to do more.

Sometimes, when I’m walking on the campus mall, I remember the collision. And I think of all the collisions that could happen. But my goal is not to fear all the collisions that could happen. Just focus on the moment. That’s what Eckhart taught me.

I blogged about two of my favorite Eckhart stories in a previous post, Ducks Crossing. Check it out.

Cranberry Wine, Rhubarb Wine, Dandelion Wine...

The fun thing about our annual family homemade Christmas exchange is that we get to work on it all year! Last fall we froze about 40 pounds of cranberries and 20 pounds of grapes, and I also had about 10 pounds of frozen rhubarb left from my annual May harvest (all this fruit was locally grown and at no cost to us). As we were thinking of the gift exchange, we also wondered what to do with all this fruit?

About a year ago we took a winemaking class (a gift from my friend H) at a local winery called Cap N' Corks and we learned how to make wine from a juice-based wine kit (not from whole fruit). Here are some pictures of the wine we bottled (green apple) and a couple other flavors we purchased from the winery.

As part of the class, we received an instruction book with a lot of information and helpful tips about the winemaking process. The instructor also told us that he likes to make wine in the spring from last season's leftover frozen fruit. The freezing process breaks down the cell walls of the fruit, making it easier for the fruit to break down and release its juices.

Wines bottled and purchased at Cap N' Corks, winemaking instruction book from the workshop

Green apple wine that we bottled during the class

Even if you do nothing more with your wine skills after this day, the class is fun. You get to drink alot of wine. A lot. Thus, the empty bottles.

Empty bottles of wine...consumed during winemaking class!

We figured why not put our very novice winemaking skills to use and start some wine that we can bottle and give in the gift exchange? Perhaps I will give a sampler of bottled wine and Chuck will design and build his own wine rack! We invested in the winemaking kit at Cap N' Corks (about $130) that comes with most of the equipment you need, including a recipe book for making wine from juice and whole fruit.

Here are some pictures of the process we followed to start some cranberry wine.

Starting with about 18 pounds of frozen cranberries that we washed and sorted

The "must" -- a solution that includes the mashed cranberries in the mesh bag submerged in a solution of water, sugar, and other ingredients called for in the recipe

This five gallon food-safe container holds the "must" and is known as the "primary fermenter"

Adding the yeast mixture to the "must" (cranberry wine is difficult to get going so most recipes recommend that you start your yeast separately and add it to the "must" after 24-48 hours)

Checking the specific gravity of the wine using a hydrometer. The specific gravity measures the potential amount of alcohol that can be created as the yeast eats the sugar

The "must" after several days: the yeast is working because the must has become frothy

Starting to look more like wine...

The wine is being "racked" -- siphoned from the primary fermenter into a glass carboy where it will sit for 2-3 months before it is racked again, and eventually bottled

Five gallons of cranberry wine!

Five gallons of rhubarb wine, just racked

At this wine workshop the instructor also introduced us to dandelion wine, which was absolutely delicious. We went right home and picked enough dandelions for one gallon of dandelion wine. This was a whole day project that turned our fingers yellow...at that point we were too tired to start the wine and promptly threw the three quarts of dandelion petals in the freezer. So after a year, we have finally started our dandelion wine. It better be good, because I don't think either of us will be picking dandelion petals again!

Harvesting three quarts of dandelion petals for ONE GALLON of dandelion wine

100-Mile Thrift Sale Treasures

This is my favorite event that marks the kickoff of summer! I have blogged about this beautiful Mississippi River Valley area before, in my post about our Labor Day weekend tour of the Upper Mississippi River Valley and on Eau Claire Consumer, my 100-Mile Garage Sale post.

This year the weather was gorgeous--in the 70's and sunny--and we enjoyed a picnic lunch and hit most of our sales in Lake City, Minnesota, after stopping through the Alma and Nelson areas. I'm relying on these pictures to show you my treasures, as I seem to be a little short on words lately...

First stop on the 100-mile thrift sale route: Nelson Cheese Factory

Picnic lunch in Lake City, Minnesota

Scenic view in Lake City, Minnesota



1961 VW Single cab pickup that I want



Fifty cents for a book for my husband

Various thrift sale treasures: four bamboo place mats, baby sleeper, four wine stoppers, two new Ikea pillowcases

Score on baby clothes and blankets!

Twenty five cents for a baby album