Rhinelander is a charming little town in Oneida County in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Located near the convergence of the Wisconsin and Pelican Rivers, Rhinelander got its start as a lumbering town and was first called Pelican Rapids. They changed their name to Rhinelander after Frederic Rhinelander, who was president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railroad at the time, in an effort to bring the railroad to their town.
In 1893 a local man named Eugene Shepard came to town with stories of a savage beast he caught which he called a “hodag”. A couple of years later, he told people he had caught another hodag, but this time it was alive. He brought his catch to the county fair where he charged people for a peak at the beast. When news of the hodag reached the Smithsonian Institution, they were determined to send a team to document the find. It was then that Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. Despite this admission, Rhinelander took the hodag and ran with it. Today you can find hodag statues at the Chamber of Commerce, the courthouse, the library and many other locations. You can drink Hodag Blood Ale at the brewery and cheer on the Rhinelander Hodags at their high school sporting events. It is definitely the town’s mascot.
I had a wonderful visit to Rhinelander. I loved the beautiful downtown area, the county courthouse and especially the photogenic feed store in town which was especially magical the evening I took these photos. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to Rhinelander, Home of the Hodags.
Hello Everyone! It’s been a little quieter out here on the road this week than the last few weeks. I’ve tried to slow down a little and get some fishing in while I’m here and the warm weather is too. Unfortunately, I’ve also managed to catch a cold this week which has only slowed me down further. I’ve caught this cold even with all the hand-washing and masking and being careful which just goes to show how easy it is to pass things along. I’ll be laying low for a couple of days, hydrating and getting some sleep and hopefully it’ll pass on through sooner rather than later. This week brought me from the middle of Wisconsin’s section of the Great River Road to the heart of the Northwoods, and it’s been a really wonderful week which I can’t wait to tell you about.
When I left you last week, I was in La Crosse which really is quite a nice little city. There are lots of old buildings and corner bars and with a reasonable sized student population it felt very vibrant and alive. Last Wednesday night I went for a cruise on the La Crosse Princess, a sternwheel paddleboat that does several different tours on the Mississippi River. I went on a short 90 minute beer and pizza cruise which was definitely a bargain at $21. It was nice to be out on the river, and that length of time was just about perfect for my attention span. The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed it. After the cruise I went and saw some live music at Big Al’s downtown which was great and sat with a wonderful older lady who was very into the live-music scene. It was very kind of her to ask me to join her. We had a nice chat and enjoyed some good music and she invited me out the following night to a different venue.
Thursday I spent a good chunk of time in the library, trying to get a jump on some work for this week. In the afternoon I drove up Grandad’s Bluff, La Crosse’s most well-known geologic feature. The road took me right to the top for wonderful views out over the city and the Mississippi River. It was cool and quiet up there and I stayed up on top for quite some time. Later that evening I went for a stroll along the Mississippi and then to a wonderful night of live music at the amphitheater right there on the river. It’s getting a little cooler out and it was nice to just sit outside and have a beer and enjoy the music. The band was good and I stayed right up until the end. Afterwards I joined my friend from the previous evening at the old train station for a really good grandfather-grandson duo and met her boyfriend and granddaughter. When the band finished up, I took one last stroll around town and then called it a night.
Friday morning I was up and off and headed north along the Great River Road. I stopped in the small and charming river towns of Trampealeau and Alma for a while and found a nice apple orchard along the way to pick up some fresh apples which are just coming into season up here. Then I headed on to Nelson for lunch under the Twin Bluffs and an ice cream at their wonderful creamery. From there, I moved on to Pepin which is best known as the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
