What a treat was in store for our group of travel writers. Following a gourmet picnic lunch at the Pilot Knob State Park in Forest City, Iowa, instead of hopping back into the van that had been our transportation the entire trip, we were greeted with two huge Winnebago motor homes. After oohing and aahing at the $224,000+ homes on wheels, we buckled ourselves into seats. Some sat on a sofa; I sat at the dining table. Our destination: Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa, where we took the Winnebago factory tour. Read more
The Little Fleet, Traverse City MI: Food Truck Bliss

Never before had I experienced a food truck. I’d read about them, sure, trucks that pop up around town offering the latest in gourmet gastronomy, but they don’t exist in my neck of the woods. So when my husband and I stumbled across not one, not two, but seven, trucks all parked in one lot—and it just happened to be lunchtime—I was elated. The Little Fleet is a bar in Traverse City, Michigan, and in their parking lot, spring through fall, up to eight food trucks set up business selling tasty, trendy fare.
Many of food trucks parked at The Little Fleet offer classic foods taken to a new level, like EZ Cheesy, where a grilled cheese sandwich ranges from the Throwback (Velveeta on classic white bread ) to Captain Sunshine (turkey, sauerkraut, house-made raisin dressing, and Swiss on 9 Bean Rows pretzel bread).
If barbecue is your thing, you’ll like Pigs Eatin’ Ribs, which touts itself as “northern Michigan’s only rolling smokehouse,” with a smoker built right into the truck.
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Toasted, like several of the other vendors, uses as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. They offer brunch items like Belgian waffles topped with fresh fruit or an egg and chorizo burrito. I chose one of their non-brunch items, a brisket burrito–a warm tortilla filled with barbecued beef brisket, potatoes and cheese.
Skip went for the Anchor Burger from the Anchor Station.
We purchased beverages from the bar and sat outside at a picnic table to enjoy our lunch.
The food trucks parked at The Little Fleet, located at 448 E Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan. set their own hours. Check The Little Fleet’s web site for links to individual food truck sites or Facebook pages.
Disclosure: My visit to Traverse City was hosted by Traverse City Tourism, but lunch at The Little Fleet was on my own. Any opinions expressed in this post are strictly mine.
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
Rockford City Market: Celebrate the Start of the Weekend

Rockford rocks on Friday afternoons. What better way to start a weekend than to grab a bite to eat at an open-air market and wash it down with a cold beer? Or you may choose to munch on a bag of popcorn while wandering through the market of over 60 vendors selling everything from cupcakes to bowties. Read more
Lauritzen Gardens: Blending Nature with Omaha’s Railroad Heritage

The Union Pacific train rolls through a tunnel cut out of a tree trunk, past Omaha Central High School and several other historic Omaha buildings. You become mesmerized as you watch it exit the covered bridge that spans a flowing river. Then you spot another train cross an overhead steel bridge and travel back into the woods. There is something fascinating about model railroad layouts, especially miniature versions of real existing structures and trains. Add Lauritzen Gardens’ natural landscaping, and the Model Railroad Garden, a miniature Omaha, becomes a work of art. Read more
Fred Scheer’s Lumberjack Show, Hayward WI: Skill, Competition, Laughter

Two teams of two lumberjacks compete in ten events, sawing through logs with a two-man bucking saw, racing up and down a 90-foot pole and running across logs in the water. More often than not they don’t make it across before tumbling into the water with a big splash. The crowd boos the opposing team and cheers for their team with a loud Yo-Ho! At a Fred Sheer’s Lumberjack Show you’ll learn a little about logging life, witness the skill that it took to be a lumberjack, and have a whole lot of fun.
The 1800s lumberjack spent months in northern Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin felling trees, hauling them by wagon or sleigh to the river and floating them downstream. Logging was hard work that took skill, teamwork and the use of manual tools, either one-man or two-man bucking saws or cross-cut saws and axes. At times lumberjacks had to climb high in the trees, and once they were felled, the heavy logs would have to be cut into sections and lifted onto a wagon or sleigh with the help of a rope.
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At the end of a season, lumberjacks left their camp and headed to the nearest small town. There could be 10 to 12 logging teams going to the same town, and one of the first places they visited was the local watering hole. The lumberjacks would greet each other with a Yo-ho, and conversation would eventually turn to banter about who was the better skilled team. They would challenge each other to competitions to prove the better lumberjacks.
The Fred Sheer’s Lumberjack Show emulates those challenges with skilled lumberjacks but adds comedy, making for an entertaining hour. Held at the same arena as the annual Lumberjack World Championships® in what used to be a holding site for Weyerhaeuser’s North Wisconsin Lumber Company, the audience is divided into two sides, one half cheering for one team and the other half cheering for the opposing team. The competition includes events such as a cross-cut saw contest, an axe throwing contest and relay races.
Some try to cheat by using a chain saw.
One contestant demonstrates his speed carving talent.
Okay, so it doesn’t look like he’s such a great carver, but when finished and turned over, the not-so-great carving turned into a cute little stool that was given away to a child in the audience.
You’ll be amazed at the way the lumberjacks can climb 90 feet up a pole and back down again within seconds.
Log rolling and the log boom run are great fun to watch. Most contestants fall in the water at some point. However, lumberjack Charlie, two-time world champion, made it across the log boom several times without falling once.
The final, hilarious act of the show is canoe jousting, where opponents fight until one knocks the other into the water.
With logging such a big part of 19th century Wisconsin Northwoods, a lumberjack show makes fitting and entertaining addition to your trip, particularly a lumberjack show held in the arena used for the annual Lumberjack World Championships.
Fred Sheer’s Lumberjack Shows, located at Lumberjack Village one mile east of Hayward, Wisconsin, on Highway B, run June through August. Lumberjack Village also includes the River Deck Restaurant, a mini golf course, an ice cream shop, a boutique, and log cabin rentals. Check the web site for details, including exact schedule and ticket prices.
Disclosure: My visit to Fred Sheer’s Lumberjack Show was hosted by Fred Sheer’s Lumberjack Show and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
Bristol Renaissance Faire, Kenosha, Wisconsin: Experience 16th Century Life

The year is 1574, and the Queen is visiting the English city of Bristol. Merriment is everywhere: parades march down the streets, merchants hawk their wares, and minstrels and jesters entertain the villagers. For two months every summer, you can go back in time and take part in the recreation of Queen Elizabeth’s Bristol visit at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Read more