House on the Rock

Hal writes:

I had plans to visit the House on the Rock before I left this area of Wisconsin. Last weekend Trapper and I did not have anything to do, so we plunked down some money for the "ultimate tour" which was four hours of hiking around an interesting house that had some interesting collections. What else can I say? It was interesting. And in case you were wondering, Anna was with classmates at a national conference in Valley Forge, PA, but she didn't want to go on this trip anyways.

Here is Trapper and I near one of the flower pots outside.

The house was pretty dark and there were a lot of unusual things, but nothing that really said, "Hey, take a picture of me, I'm photo worthy!" But I did have my picture taken in the chair that tests your sense of humor. It turns out I'm hilarious.

There was a jackalope in the bathroom!

So, this is my first attempt at trying to upload some video from my camera. If this works for you, you get to see ten seconds of the world's largest carousel. If not, then you will just have to visit the house yourself.

Letterboxing weekend

Hal writes:

My 3-day weekend (Friday was fall break) consisted of watching some movies and going on some adventures. Anna and I watched "The Holiday" and while she babysat for a professor, I was able to watch Casino Royale for the first time.

On Friday we went on a couple letterboxing adventures. The first one was supposed to be in a park outside of Potosi, WI, but as you can see from the picture below, my searching did not find the whereabouts of said box.


I was more lucky in Governor Dewey Nelson State Park. This is the first time I have actually found the letterbox. Usually I like to read the directions which leaves other people in the group more opportunity to see it before I can.

A picture of Anna and I overlooking the Mississippi from the top of the state park.

This week also feels like a short week coming up. Wisconsin students have Thursday and Friday off, so I am spending those days helping the Admissions office through tours of the halls and answering questions about Housing. My favorite part is that I get to spend some time in the morning giving a brief presentation about housing to all the prospective students and family members.

For my Dad

Hal writes:

My dad expressed concerns that I haven't written in a while...

Homecoming ends, weekend in the cities

Hal writes:

This is me with my new niece. I was able to drive up and see my brother and his family, including his new daughter Daisy.

While I was at Jay's, my sister Lindsay also stopped by to visit.

I also spent some time with Kevin and with my father in law. While I was waiting for Dales to get done with work, I wondered around the neighborhood (not far from the U of M campus) and took some pictures.

Here is what cracks me about about the photos above: the "Honey, stop the car!" sign. I don't know if this is put on every sign by this particular agent or what criteria she has for a home to make it a "honey, stop the car!" type of house.

Dale took me ski shopping. I got my first set of XC skis from Finn Sisu! Now that I have the skis and boots (one is attached to the ski in the photo) all I need are some poles and a set of spandex clothing and I'll be ready for winter outdoor fun. (I hope my snowshoes don't get jealous.) In case you are wondering, my skis are 190 cm tall.

The leaves are just starting to turn in Platteville, but there were more colors in the cities this weekend.

As a final tribute to the end of homecoming, the lighting of the M was held last night. This is not a good picture because of the distance we were from the M as it was being lit, but it was fun to watch as it was lit from the bottom and worked it's way to the top in flames.

Welcome Daisy!

Hal writes:

Here is a picture of my brother and his new daughter. This photo was sent to me by my mom, but I am hoping to visit them soon.