The Annual Fall Road Trip in Southern Wisconsin

 By Bruce Shawkey

The annual Fall circle tour is a tradition started many years ago by my sister, Dawn, and me. It takes in many points of interest combined with family memories.

We start on the West Side of Madison, heading northwest on U.S. Highway 12. The route was originally signed as WIS 12 in 1917 prior to the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926. The first stop is a McDonalds in Sauk City for a large coffee to have with our apple pie we will eat at our next stop, Ski Hi apple orchard. 

Ski Hi apple orchard has been around for a century. Founded in 1925 by the Bassett family, it has long been part of our family history. My grandfather used to go there every Fall in the 1960s to buy apples. Today, Ski Hi offers some 30 varieties of apples throughout the harvesting season. Currently, Honey Crisp is our personal favorite (and their biggest seller) but their website urges people to sample Ginger Gold, Tolman Sweet, Snow, Macoun, Idared, Golden Russet, and Empire, offered throughout the growing season. Certain varieties are better for eating, while other varieties are better for pies, donuts, fritters, etc. And speaking of pies, ours was delicious with the McDonald's coffee. Sis land I split a whole pie, currently priced at $20. Individual slices can be ordered, but that is for wimps. Since we only do this annually, we don't feel gluttonous about sharing a whole pie! The outlet has blossomed into a store offering everything from T-shirts to wine and cordials, produced especially for them by the nearby Wollersheim Winery and Distillery. Sis and I do not go there, as we are not big wine and spirit drinkers.

Next is a drive through Devils Lake State Park. The park was founded in 1911. It was home to five resorts, two of which were perched on the west bluff. There were many private residences in the west and south shores of the lake, only four of which remain. At various times the lakeshore hosted water slides, lodges, ferry boat launches and golf courses. By the 1940s, the hotels were all closed, and the park reverted to its former natural state.

From 1934 to 1941, approximately two hundred members of the Civilian Conservation Corps resided in a work camp. These young men built many of the trails, buildings, and benches still in use today. I and my sis have camped there several times. One of my more memorable trips involved bicycling from Madison and camping in a pup tent for two nights.

Next up is the Merrimac ferry. In 1844, Chester Mattson obtained a charter to provide ferry service at the present-day location. The ferry was in operation long before there was a marked road leading to or away from it. Mattson charged 35 cents to ferry a team and wagon across the river. The ferry was human-powered until around the turn of the century, when the first gasoline engine was added. The State of Wisconsin took over the ferry as part of the state highway system in 1933, with operation and maintenance performed by the Columbia County Department of Transportation. The toll was eliminated. The wooden ferry then in service, the first Colsac, had a capacity of eight cars. It was replaced by the Colsac II in 1963, with a capacity of twelve cars. The name is derived by the combination of Columbia and Sauk, the two counties where to ferry ends and begins. The latest, modern-day ferry, Colsac III, was launched on May 16, 2003. It cost $2.2 million to build. The ferry winches itself across the river on three submerged cables. A round trip usually takes 14 minutes. Colsac III can hold up to fifteen normal-size cars or trucks, as well as bicycles and pedestrians.

After landing Columbia County, we headed south on Hwy 113 to the city of Lodi, home to our grandparents and our mom. We drove past the high school where Mom graduated valedictorian, and the Quam home at 615 Corner Street (also Hwy 113). The house went through a major remodel when it was sold to couple that took in foster children. Dawn and I actually stopped there one time and asked if we could do a walk through, which the owners let us do. This was about 20 years ago. Could you imagine such a thing in this day and age? The house is currently valued at $485,600. Our grandparents would be absolutely floored to learn of this. I think they paid around $5,000 when they bought it around 1917.

From there, we took Highway 113 home, arriving about 2 p.m. All in all, a great adventure.