"Spring to Wisconsin"
Racine, Wisconsin
June 5-8, 2007

We arrived at the "Spring to Wisconsin" Roadtrek rally in Racine, WI. The rally was held at the Jellystone Campground in Caledonia, just outside Racine. We were told that 29 vans (and their occupants) were coming to the rally.
 

The welcoming banner at the pavilion where meals were served and the program took place.
 

The weather was cold, even for Wisconsonites, but the people were warm and friendly.
 

The pizza was good, and the dinner conversation was even better.
 

Two of our rally master, Bud Ruter  and Gerry Barth, are giving out door prizes. By the end of the rally, everyone got something. Our prize was a 2007 Trailer Life campground directory, which we hope to make good use of.
 

The next morning we boarded a bus for a tour of downtown Milwaukee.
 

We heard that free beer at the Miller Brewery was on the tour for the day; that must be why everyone looks so happy!
 

The first stop was a "photo op" of the Milwaukee Art Museum, which was designed by Santiago Calatrava. In this view the "wings" are in the extended position. But, in a few minutes, .....
 

the wings started to go into the closed position. This was probably because it was a windy day along the lakeshore.
 

Another view of the Milwaukee Art Museum, with the wings retracted. Lake Michigan is in the background.
 

After visiting the Milwaukee Public Museum and seeing a planetarium IMAX show,  "The Wonders of the Universe", we headed for Miller Brewery. These are the huge kettles in which the beer is brewed.
 

After the tour it was "Miller Time", courtesy of Miller Brewing Co.
 

One of the more colorful characters at the rally was "Congo", an African Grey parrot from the Congo area of Africa.
 

"Maybe I can make a break for it and bust out of this jail!"
 

The next day's outing included a stop at the Wind Point Lighthouse, which is one of the largest still functioning lighthouses on Lake Michigan. John, a very entertaining volunteer at the lighthouse, gave us a tour.
 

The Wind Point Lighthouse. The place was well-named, since it was very windy while we were there. The tower was erected in 1880 and is 112 feet above the lake level
 

"Now this is how  Fresnel lenses work ..." Actually, John gave a very good explanation of the Fresnel lens, that directs the light into a horizontal beam that makes it possible to see something as weak as a mineral oil lantern from 18 miles out on Lake Michigan.  Today a 1,000 watt halogen light with a rotating parabolic reflector is used.
 

In downtown Racine, the businesses had commissioned local artists to construct lighthouses as art exhibits. This "lighthouse" had a Star Wars theme.
 

The Johnson Wax complex in Racine. The Research Tower, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1950, housed the R&D department until it outgrew the space. The tower is now unused since it no longer meets fire safety codes. The Johnson Wax Administration building, also designed by Wright, is behind the tower. It is open for tours on Fridays, so we went back after the tour to see it.

After the rally we went back here for a tour of the Administration building. Unfortunately they didn't allow photography on the tour, so I can only show you a photo downloaded from the Internet . It was a very impressive building. It has a lot of natural light coming through glass panels, but no windows. The story we were told is that Wright didn't want the building in downtown Racine, but H.F. Johnson insisted, since he wanted it near his factory. So Wright designed it without windows so people couldn't look see the "ugly" views in the area. Despite being a huge room with a lot of people working in it, it was a very quiet room.
 

The final stop of the day was Wingspread, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to be the home of H.F. Johnson, the third generation of a series of five generations to head Johnson Wax Co. The Johnson family lived here from 1939 to 1959; currently it is a conference center run by the Johnson Foundation. The tall structure in the center of the photo contains the great hall, bedrooms, kitchen, and other rooms are in wings spreading out like a pinwheel, hence the Wingspread name. The crow's-nest can be seen at the on the roof.
 

The interior of the Great Hall which was the Johnson living room, dining space, and library. A guide told us a story about the leaky room (it seems that all Wright buildings have leaky roofs!). Shortly after moving in, Johnson was entertaining the governor of Wisconsin when a thunderstorm started and the roof started to leak, dripping directly onto Johnson's bald head. After a few minutes and without moving, he asked a maid to bring him a phone. Johnson called Wright at his home in Taliesin West (in Arizona) and told him that he was "entertaining the most important people in Wisconsin, it is raining and the damn roof is leaking and dripping directly onto my head!"  Wright answered, "Well, Sonny, why don't you move your chair!"
 

The spiral staircase ascends to the crow's-nest. The view from the crow's-nest was nice, but it was very hot since the Plexiglas enclosure combined with no ventilation makes for a good solar oven.
 

Dinnertime!  It seems that the way to a Roadtrekker's heart is through his stomach.
 

Thanks to our rallymasters, Gerry and Don Barth, Bernice and Bud Ruter (left to right) for an excellent rally!
 

Evening entertainment on the final night was an Elvis impersonator. He was good, but not all the women fell for his charms. After his performance, he told us that he does this to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; he donates his entire performance fee to them.
 

The next day it was time to say good bye to old and new friends. This is Ben and Marsha from Menomonee, MI. This was their first rally and we hope to see them again at another rally somewhere, sometime.