Ice Cream, Yogurt, and Cheese all beckoned us as we traveled to Wisconsin for the first time. The morning drive was through cornfields with chicory and Queen Anne’s Lace along the roadside. Peoria Lake looked interesting. We passed the Caterpillar factory. If we come this way again, it might be fun to take the tour.
Passed into Wisconsin at 11:30. Now the corn is at least on rolling hills.
Covered 292 miles in a little over seven hours on our way to commune with goats for the evening. Beth picked LeClare Farm from the Harvest Host offerings for today’s destination.
We checked in at the shoppe where they were courteous and welcoming. Indulging in blueberry goat ice cream while perusing the shop, we managed to find all of the items on our list. Goat Gouda and blueberry yogurt were my favorite finds. As usual, it we didn’t save money staying at a Harvest Hosts* site, but buying local produce and meeting the makers is a fun way of learning about the people and economy of places we visit.
Columbia Park on Lake Winnebago was just down the road. Campsites are available there, but no cheese. Boats lured me to the adjacent marina in Calumet Harbor. You can see from the photos that a channel runs out of the lake offering lots of protection for boats in the marina.
An observation tower, originally built as a water tower, was a fun climb and offered great views. Moved here by the WPA in 1936 it was converted to an observation tower and aid to navigation. Metal stairs and platforms replaced aging wood in 1992 making for a safe and open viewing area.
Back at the farm, the shoppe and cafe were closing, but the real work was just getting underway.
Following the signs to “Goat Viewing” we watched the staff ready the milking area while listening to goats bleating from the barn, obviously anxious to get some relief from their very full udders.
This barnyard cat took up this station shortly after the first set of goats arrived. He stood patiently supervising the two ladies milking the goats for over fifteen minutes.
Her patience was finally rewarded with a bucket of warm goat milk. Her head remained in the bucket while a second round of goats moved through the milking process. When her head finally emerged from the bucket, one foot was white up to the knee, if cats have knees. She cleaned her leg and wandered off looking like one very satisfied feline.
With the van tucked in for the night, I made one more trip to the goat yard to watch these amusing creatures interact. They appeared to be curious and full of energy as they muched on grass, climbed little hillocks and occasionally leapt into the air for no apparent reason.
Beth wandered down the road hoping for a good sunset picture. None emerged, but she visited with a gentleman on his front porch who had lived here for over seventy years. She asked what he thought of the wind turbines and he said that they are sometimes noisy, especially when they are starting up after a period with no wind.
The only negative to this location was the sound from cars passing over three sets of rumble strips on the road adjacent to the parking lot. Once the sun went down, there was very little traffic so we had no difficulty going to sleep with bellies full of dairy products. We definitely recommend Le Clare Farms as a stop if you are anywhere near Lake Winnebago.
