Wausau WI

Wednesday, July 16

We decided to make a day trip to Wausau, WI.  We saw lots more barn quilts but did not take any more pictures.  Every one of the quilts we've seen are different.  On the way to Wausau we went to Tilleda Falls at Tilleda campground.  The sites there were not big enough for our rig but it was a beautiful campground.

Here is one view of the falls.

Here is another view of the Tilleda Falls.  

Our next stop was in Wausau at the Robert W Monk Gardens.

This 20 acre park was inside the Wausau city limits. I tell you this to tell you that as we walked into the park we were greeted by a young man that told us a momma bear and her cub were spotted about 1 hour previous in the northwest corner of the park.  We were told to be aware and don't get between the cub and sow.  We basically stayed away from that part of the park.  Tic whistled or we talked all the while we were in the park.

Lots of different flowers and trees had been planted. These gravel paths wandered throughout the park.

This was a pretty flower that no one could tell us what it was.  The bloom is much like a rose, but the leaves are very different.  Anyone know this flower?  

Within the park was this "treehouse".  You could see a pond from a good view.

Thru the trees in the middle of the picture you can see a washed-out duck.  It was a mallard decoy to attract ducks.

This was a pretty cloud formation that morning.  We have been so privileged to see so much of God's handywork!  Certainly beats sitting in a cubicle without even a window view!

Next we went to historic downtown Wausau.  This is the building where you had to buy the tickets to see the Yawkey House which you will see below.

Here is the whole Woodson History Center.  It was full of local history also. This area is big logging country.  We were only here for a short time, but could have spent hours checking out the exhibits.

This is a 3 story house with a basement built in 1901 by the wealthy Yawkey family at a cost of $35,000.  Then in 1907 much of the interior was redesigned to encompass the new "Arts & Craft" era of decorating.  The house is now as it was in 1907.  This family made their money in logging and lumber mills.  Because Mr. Yawkey had such a love for wood the house is filled with fabulous wood flooring, molding and various kinds of wood.  Each room is in a particular wood.

The 3 pictures above are of the outside of the house.  In this picture the far left side is the sun room.  Keep that in mind when you see other pictures below.

This is the carriage house.  It was not changed in 1907 so all of it is original.

This is the garden just outside the sun room.  It can be rented today for weddings and special occasions.  Now for the inside.

This is the entry floor.  It is maple and mahogany.  It was installed in 1901.  Beautiful!!  The tour guide folded the carper back for us so we could take photos.  And now is as good a time as any to tell you that we could take photos as long as we did not use flash, so some photos did not come out so well.

This is the entry ceiling.  Look at the beautiful molding.  Also the top left is canvas painted in 1907.  Amazing it has lasted so long.

This is the original 1901 stairwell.  The wood is still in immaculate condition. AND it has not been restored, still original!  There was no evidence of wood splitting after all this time.  Craftsmanship!

This stained glass was put in in 1907 with the remodel.  It is at the landing of the staircase.

This is the sitting area just to the right of the entry.  That is marble on the fireplace along with mahogany wood.  They match beautifully.  See the semi-circle sitting area to the left.  The seats are heated by a register built under the seats.  (Hot water heat, not steam).  This is one of the rooms that was totally remodeled in 1907.  The fireplace now sits in the center of what was two separate rooms.  That means they moved the original fireplace which had been centered on the half room on the right side of this photo.

Each room downstairs had its own thermostat and separate set of light switches.  As you can see the light switches are push buttons.  These are in Mr. Yawkey's office.

Mr. Yawkey designed his office to be like the inside of a ship; thus the beams.  The wood paneling is held together with those bowtie looking pieces of wood.  That is the way it would have been done in a ship.

This is the fireplace in the office.  Notice the bricks are designed to look like the bowties in the walls.  All this was done in 1907!

This is the formal dining room.  This room had a lot of floral design to it; the carpet, the top of the chairs, the fabric on the chairs and even the light fixture which we forgot to take a picture of.  Also on the seat of the chairs had patterns of a king and queen. Remember the king and queen. The fabric on the chairs is the original from 1907.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic to share.

 

This buffet was in the dining room also.  See the king and queen on the doors.

There was also a built-in buffet at the end of the room.  The windows looked out at the garden.  The serving pieces shown are silver and some crystal.

This was an iced water serving piece.  Look at the detail.  Just beatiful!

We are now in the sun room that opens onto the garden.  This rocking chair was believed to belong to Mrs. Yawkey's mother.  See the register in the brick floor.  Part of the heating system from 1907.  

This is the mother-in-law room.  The mothers never came to visit at the same time so they both used the same room.  Look at the sink area.  That is the original from 1907!  This bed is from 1907 also.

This is the master bedroom.  It is hard to tell but there is a queen and king at the head of the beds left to right.

This is the master bathroom shower.  The bottom handle said "shampoo".  They attached a bottle of shampoo and turned the handle then the shampoo came out of the shower head.

This is the sitting area of the daughter's bedroom.  She was an only child.

This bookcase with tiffany glass was just behind the chairs you saw above in the daughters sitting area.  The books in the bookcase are first editions and as a result are quite valuable.

This was the daughter's bedroom right next to her sitting area.  Her rooms were fancier than her parents' rooms.  If the chairs look small, it is because she was only 4"10" when grown.

This is the arched doorway between the sitting area and the bedroom area.  It had solid wood swinging doors.

Look at the detail of the wood on the outside of the house.  This was done in 1907.

Next we went to the carriage house.

The city houses this old fire truck in the carriage house for lack of any place else to put it.  Look at the wood on the walls and sliding doors.  All original from 1901.  They did not remodel the carriage house.

This is an old fireman's ladder.  Our guide is holding it in a way that it is starting to fold.  The side pieces went together so that it looked like one pole.  The steps all folded up between the vertical rail sides.  Also note the bricks on the floor of the carriage house.  They were molded to provide grip for the horses hooves.  The entire tour was a solid hour, and it seemed like we rushed thru.

Next we went to a park in town that was actually on an island.  This is the foot & bicycle bridge across to Stevenson Island.

The bridge crosses the Wisconsin River.  Rivers here look like large rivers as opposed to the rivers I'm used to seeing in Texas that look like small rivers.

This was one of the office buildings seen from the island side of the bridge.  The bridge you see is one of the main roads in downtown.

The train actually crosses this island.  This trestle bridge is being viewed from the island side, headed West to the mainland.

After leaving Wausau we decided to go to the Mullins Cheese factory. http://www.mullinscheese.com   Wisconsin is know for cheese, right?

We bought only 3 kinds of cheese, too many choices.  We bought colby, Monterrey jack with salsa, gouda, and a package of cheese curds.  Cheese curds squeak when you eat them.  They say that is because the whey is still in the cheese.  Curds look like they would be a by-product but are actually what is pressed together to form a block of cheese.  When it is pressed the whey is pressed out. We did not get to see the cheese being made so don't have any pictures.  We were told we would have to be there at the crack of sunrise to see the process.  Our lifestyle now does not include getting up early unless absolutely necessary.