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I’ll admit it, I am a Cheesehead—in more ways than one. First of all, I love cheese (all kinds, except maybe Limburger). Then there’s the fact that I lived in northern Wisconsin for a short stint in the early 90s which is directly responsible for my being a Packer-Backer. So I was more than happy to spend a week in the Badger State.

From our home base in a small county run campground we took in a few highlights near Madison and even zipped over to Milwaukee. Of course, the number one item on our to-do list: buy cheese curds! They are a regional delicacy, and if you are ever in Wisconsin you should try them. Best thing about them (besides being a form of cheese, I mean) is that they squeak when you chew them. Evenings we roamed the trails at the park and played a round of disc golf on their very challenging, but well designed, course.

The weekend brought with it more free time and it was difficult to narrow down our choices. Ultimately we decided to start with a trip to the International Crane Foundation in tiny Baraboo. We had learned about ICF and its work during our excursion to see endangered Whooping Cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge so we were eager to see the foundation’s work in person.

ICF is the result of George Archibald and Ron Sauey’s fascination with, and concern for, the tall birds. What began in 1973 as a small operation with a dozen cranes on a horse farm is now the leading resource for information on all the world’s species of cranes. The men couldn’t have started their work at a better time—thirteen of the fifteen species are listed as either threatened or endangered. Here in North America our two species, the Sandhill and the Whooper were at record low numbers; in the 1930s there were roughly thirty Sandhills in Wisconsin and in the 1940s there were only twenty-one Whoopers on the entire continent.

Cranes on the other four continents were also suffering population declines (and some still are). Through research, conservation and breeding programs by ICF and many other agencies around the world most of the species are slowly recovering. During our tour of the facility we viewed all but one of the species (the beautiful Blue Cranes weren’t visible as they had recently moved into a new exhibit). It was uplifting to learn more about the stunning birds and the success of the ongoing conservation work.

Our guide also mentioned another local conservation story, Aldo Leopold. Our original plan when we left our RV that morning had been to tour a cheese factory after visiting ICF—after all Wisconsin is famous for cheese, producing more cheese (in variety and quantity) than any other state. We didn’t even have to discuss it, we both knew that our next stop would be Leopold’s.

Born in Iowa in 1887 Leopold came to the state to teach at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1933 after a diverse career working for the US Forest Service. While at the University he undertook an ambitious restoration project out at his ‘farm’ and compiled the lessons he learned from his years of work in the natural world into what quickly became the conservationists’ bible: A Sand County Almanac.

As we wandered through the restored prairie and woods on Leopold’s property it was hard for us to imagine it as it was when he bought it in 1935: worn out and abandoned farmland. With determination Leopold and his family cleaned out and renovated an abandoned chicken shack, where they lived during summers and on weekends. Every year Leopold and his family headed out to the old farm for planting; instead of crops, native trees and grasses. It wasn’t easy work, yet there was plenty of time for participation in and observation of their environment along the Wisconsin River. As we stood there in the shade of Leopold’s trees, watching the birds wading in the shallows of the river, we were grateful for his work. Though Leopold never saw his influential book in print—he died in 1948 while fighting a brush fire on a neighbor’s property—I think he would be pleased with its impact.

From the farm we made our way south to the Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac. The winery came to our attention since it was established in the 1840s by none other than Agoston Haraszthy, the “Father of California Viticulture.” Agoston had recently immigrated from Hungary when he arrived in western Wisconsin. A resourceful and ambitious man he set to work at once: founding a town (now Sauk City), opening a store, running a ferry, building a brickyard, farming and planting a vineyard. Though Agoston was off to a running start, the Wisconsin winters devastated his vines so he followed many others to California during the Gold Rush years.

Once in San Diego Agoston never pursued mining, instead he opened businesses and hopped into politics. The latter moved him to San Francisco where he was again thwarted at grape growing by the weather. In 1856 Agoston purchased a small, hillside vineyard near Sonoma which he named Buena Vista. Finally, Agoston had the right ingredients—third time’s a charm. His landholdings, vineyards, wineries and reputation grew. Though phylloxera wiped out his vines and bankrupted him Agoston’s impact on California’s wine industry was undeniable. And that winery he started? Buena Vista Carneros has a slightly different name but it remains California’s oldest commercial winery.

As for the winery he left behind in Wisconsin, it continued under the ownership of the Peter Kehl family. It remained in operation for two generations but in 1900 the winery became a farm and the cellars were no longer used to age wine. In 1972 the property changed hands again and the Wollersheim family set about making wine. Currently the winery has twenty-five acres under production, growing primarily French-American hybrids such as Marechal Foch which can tolerate cold weather.

Our tour took us through the historic sections of the property and ended in the brand new addition, a large sales and tasting area. Overall neither of us were that impressed with their wines and we weren’t thrilled with the fact that the winery imports grapes from other states, notably Washington for some of its bigger-bodied wines. We did purchase a couple bottles that were quite unique: a light, fruity and slightly sweet Dry Riesling and a spiced wine made by Cedar Creek (another winery that the family owns).

The following day dawned cool and drizzly—some of our plans were thrown right out the window but we still headed over to Milwaukee. Historians agree that the name originated from one of the local tribal languages though they disagree on which one. If it came from the Algonquian language it means “beautiful land,” if it came from Ojibwe then it means “gathering place by the water.” Both translations make sense to me, the first one is figuratively true while the second one is more literal since Milwaukee was founded on the shore of Lake Michigan where three rivers meet (Menomonee, Kinnickinnic, and Milwaukee). Besides the waterfront and its importance as a manufacturing and shipping hub Milwaukee had one other great early industry: beer.

Founded in 1818 by French-Canadian Solomon Juneau the town underwent a huge growth spurt in the 1840s as German immigrants flooded in. In 1856, the year after Frederick Miller established his brewing company there were close to thirty breweries in the city, most of them owned by Germans. Miller, who had been a royal brewmaster in the castle town of Sigmaringen, brought over his own secret yeast which he used at his Plank-Road Brewery. By 1918 Miller Brewing was producing 500,000 barrels of beer a year, helping Milwaukee become the world leader in beer brewing (along with Schlitz, Pabst, and Blatz).

During our tour of what has now grown into Miller Valley, a complex of seventy-six buildings covering eight-two acres, we learned they now produce 500,000 cases of beer a day—just at this one brewery! Though family owned until the late 1960s Miller Brewing is now part of a multi-national conglomerate that operates breweries around the world including several in the U.S. The brewery wowed us with its size and immense capacity; it is one of the city’s main employers with over 2,200 workers. And during the course of our tour we learned a few things: forty percent of the brewery’s production is shipped straight to Chicago which outdrinks five states in Miller beer and all of the spent grain is used for cattle feed. Don’t worry, the grain contains no alcohol, Wisconsin cows are not drunkards.

We had a pleasant stay in Wisconsin, though it dropped down into the 30s one of the nights—brr! We weren’t there long enough to fully convert Lance into a Cheesehead but don’t worry, I’ll keep working on it.

Photos: View the photographs from Wisconsin.

Dates: We stayed in from Wisconsin from 08/24/09 to 08/30/09.