Category: Farmer’s Markets

Humbird Cheese, Madison, Madison, WI Market on The Square, Stores, Water Heater cleaning, Wisconsin

The Madison, Wisconsin Farmer’s Market

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Making our way back to Virginia, we had some interesting stops along the way. I took one last picture of the St. Croix River before driving to Babcock County Park Campground in McFarland, just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin is known for its cheese, but we haven’t really seen it. We drove Rt. 8 east into the sun, then turned southeast on 53 through Eau Claire and the Chippewa River, then I94 and I90 to McFarland. I didn’t realize until writing this that we were running parallel to the Mississippi River. Our friend on the Ferry from Madeline Island had advised us to follow the Mississippi. That might require a dedicated Trip. Interesting how the St. Croix River had a feel of the Mississippi once we passed “The Dells”

https://www.americanrivers.org/river/mississippi-river/

Along the way, we stopped in Tomah to visit Humbird Cheese. I inspected the case, first seeing a price tag of $119. I was shocked until I realized each package of sharp cheddar was arranged by age. We got to our price range at 6 years. Each package was wrapped in wax. The lady helping us, Colleen, was very informative, patiently answering all of our questions. There were many kinds of cheese in the display case, making it hard to choose. The store also had cranberries, jams and an interesting variety of meats. https://www.humbirdcheese.com

“Wisconsin cheese is renowned for its high quality and variety, with over 600 different types produced, making it the largest cheese-producing state in the U.S. The state’s cheesemaking tradition, which dates back to the 19th century, combines European techniques with local expertise, resulting in award-winning cheeses that reflect a rich cultural heritage.” from AI.

Wisconsin has incredible, huge farms and lots of corn. It made driving pleasant along 8 and 53. On the interstates there were lots of orange barrels and bumps. LOTS!

After arriving in McFarland, we had some chores to do; groceries, laundry, gas and a car wash. It was all within two blocks of the campground. Martha made a wonderful dish of chicken, mushrooms, rice and peas for dinner.

In the morning we drove into Madison for the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the United States. “Approximately 130 members attend every Saturday. All of the items for sale are grown, raised, and produced in Wisconsin by the person behind the stand.” Called The Market on The Square, it surrounds the square around the beautiful capitol building. Prices and products are clearly labeled, and every booth was neat and clean. Wisconsin may be known for its cheese, but the flowers were incredible. Vegetables, fruits and mushrooms were abundant, but the largest lines were in front of bakeries with so many delicious offerings. Then there is corn. Having passed miles of huge corn fields on our drive, we wondered what the differences were. At the market there was a huge selection of colors, varieties and popcorn.

Back at camp I wanted to address the water heater issue that Brooke had pointed out in Apostle Islands. A great video showed exactly what to do – 🔥 RV Atwood Water Heater Soot Cleaning & Fix | Improve Efficiency. The problem is it is burning dirty, and essentially needed to be cleaned and also tuned. A short pipe with openings for air can be adjusted to get a clean, blue flame. I will check it more frequently, but it is amazing it isn’t knocked off kilter every day when you consider the bumps we have endured. I may launch into a rant on the state of our highways some time.

As a reward at the end of the day, we scanned our TV reception and found 45 stations using the antenna, which is pretty amazing. We watched the Ohio State/Washington Game while texting Ed and Diego. Ed was at the game and said we had a better view of the game than he did:} He said it is an otherwise beautiful view of the adjacent harbor where many come in boats to the game. They have sailgates instead of tailgates.

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Madeline Island

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Saturday, September 20, 2025 

L:59 H 75

Martha loves a farmer’s market, so we went to Bayfield. It had been cloudy and a bit of rain, but by the time we got there, it was a sunny, beautiful day. It was a nice, little market with about 12 booths. Martha bought a couple of different mushrooms, a candle  and ……

  • Every week a different musician comes to play

We walked down to the water and sat on a little dock, admiring the view. We decided to take the ferry over to Madeline Island. It runs every hour on the hour, returning on the half hour. It is the only inhabited island of the 21 Apostle Islands, named by Jesuit priests for the 12 apostles. 

I love walking the docks, looking at the boats. As we walked the Bayfield docks, every boat was a winner. The Apostle Islands make for great sailing, so there were a lot of sailboats. Lots of people were scurrying around, loading coolers, some with music playing. Turns out there was a two-day regatta. 

  • Maritime Museum

We put our things in the truck, got a sandwich at a little shop and walked a few blocks to the ferry. Since they do this all day, every day, they were very efficient. It’s about a 15-minute ride across the bay. With a clear blue sky and sailboats headed for Hermit Island, it made for a pleasant ride. 

We had no idea what to do on Madeline Island, so we sat in a gazebo, ate our lunch and looked at the town map. I was surprised at all the cars and trucks on the ferry. There was also a group of bikers. Somehow I envisioned a more remote atmosphere. It’s a relatively large town with the usual things. We opted for the museum first. We could have rented bikes, but it’s a big island. This might be the occasion for an electric bike.

The museum was surprisingly good. A pretty, young lady and an Objibwe man greeted us. We asked for two senior tickets. She asked is we were veterans. Martha said I was, but I don’t carry a card. The young lady said, “That’s OK, we don’t check ID’s anyway.” My phone battery was about drained, so Martha asked if they had a charge cord. The man rummaged around in the back and found one. 

I charged it as we watched a fast paced movie of the history of the island. The Ojibwe people had some disagreement and the tribe split, half migrating west, ending up in these islands. They built their beautiful birchbark canoes, sliding through a great marsh while thrashing wild rice into the boats. Fishing and hunting were great.

The white men came, trading furs. The Jesuit priests came, and then the tourists came in summers. Like most museums, it’s hard to take it all in, but I was intrigued by the boats. There were tools, starting with the Ojibwe, then the early European settlers. I liked the coffee roaster. 

Walking back to the original museum, a man dressed in early settler attire, greeted us. This building was like an old cabin. Actually, the man said, it was three buildings combined – a cabin, the original jail, and something else that was brought in. 

I asked what the difference was between the Chippewa and Ojibwe. He said they are the same people, but the Chippewa had a different way of sewing their moccasins. Hanging on one room was a sleigh, older than ours, but very similar. It’s a great museum. We thanked them and put a 20 in the donation box. 

We walked a couple of blocks to the bike shop. A very large crowd gathered at a municipal building. It seemed like the whole town was there. A couple of doors down was another crowded place with a different atmosphere.

At the bike shop, mopeds and electric bikes were lined up outside, but the door was locked. Martha went next door to ask. They said there was a funeral that many people in town were attending. That accounted for one of the large gatherings we had seen. This seemed a great way to see the island. Perhaps another day.

The town map showed a trail across part of the island, so we walked up the main road with yellow lines down the middle and a fair amount of traffic. Heck, it was as large at the Trans-Canada highway! 

It took us 20 minutes to get to the Capser Trail, a well-maintained trail through a pretty forest. A couple of loops would make a longer hike, but we weren’t up for that. Early on, it went through a beautiful stand of big white birch trees, and later what I thought were black birch, but my plant identifier app said they were big quaking aspen.

We came out to another road and followed it to the ferry. Our timing was good. There was only a short wait. We sat next to a gregarious couple. They were celebrating his 80th birthday with their children, and had been to Tom’s Burned Down Cafe. Tom’s is apparently a famous place, but it burned down. After some time, Tom bought a trailer and opened back up, saying, “I ain’t done yet.”

They had been drinking Bloody Marys, and although not drunk by any measure, he was talkative. They have been coming here from the St. Croix area for years. They had a sailboat and love sailing these islands. “Best place to sail in the world!” He pointed out a boat in the distance that they sailed yesterday. The boats were sailing against the wind now, moving slowly.

The wife asked us where we had been and where we were going. She suggested following the Mississippi River south. She said it is quite pretty, and there is a lot of history. I thanked her and said I would look into that. She also said to go to the little town of Cornucopia, just west of our campground.

Back on land, we walked back up through the busy, little town of Bayfield to the truck. It was only 2:30, so we drove to Cornucopia just to get a preview. There is a busy marina on the north side of the highway. We turned left to find a “town” composed of 5 buildings. the interesting one was a very large general store. I’m quite sure that would be interesting, but having gotten up this morning at 3:00, I was pretty tired.

We turned left at the stop sign to see the rest of the town, but there wasn’t any. We were getting ready to turn around when we saw a sign for Siskiwit Waterfall. We were the only ones in the parking lot, but as we walked down a pretty, little trail, we saw people on the other side on another trail. 

It was a very unique cascading waterfall over solid rock. I don’t know how far this goes, but we followed it for 300 yards. A sign posted limits for trout and salmon. The river was crystal clear and depth would be measured in inches.  Looking up the name later, I would find a site for “18 Waterfall Hikes Near Cornucopia!”

Heading back to camp, we stopped at Myer’s Beach in Apostle Islands National Park. Cars had filled the parking lot and spilled out along the entrance road. It was Saturday, sunny and warm, but hardly swimming weather. A large sign warned of the dangers of kayaking here. If you turn over, you have limited time to get upright. In 30 minutes your hands and feet will get numb. In an hour you will lose consciousness. Martha read another warning  for the current lake water temperature. It was 47 degrees!

But another part of the sign showed the attraction, and a large part of the attraction of the Apostle Islands – sea caves, arches and tunnels. Several kayaks were returning from their trip. The beach is very long and pretty.

The drive back to camp didn’t seem so long, and we saw 6 more turkeys. Now I was very tired. Martha made a very nice dinner of pork chops and cooked the mushrooms with peas in butter. Yum!

Abingdon Farmer's Market, Abingdon, Virginia, Airstream Rally, Farmer's Markets, Silver in The Streets, Abingdon, VA, Virginia

Silver in The Streets, Saturday

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May 18, 2024

Saturday’s highlight is the Farmer’s Market, which is conveniently at the end of our street. Starting at 8:00 gave us time to have coffee and sweet rolls as well as cleaning up our trailers. As a good will gesture, people can go into our trailers and check them out like an open house. We also find it interesting to go and see what other Airstreamers have with their trailers. Martha had new bedspreads made, which we were quite proud of.

It’s a great Farmer’s Market – not too big, not too small, but with great variety. Martha made two trips. My college roommate, Doug Schnabel, came up from Nashville for a visit, so we stood in front of the trailer talking while people came to take a look. It had been raining, so they were very polite about not wanting to walk all the way through. Two couples stayed to talk a while. They were friends who had come to watch the play. One lady was in the Marines for 27 years, so we called our neighbor across the street who had also been a Marine. They talked in terms we didn’t understand and told stories about 46’s, which we finally learned were helicopters that had a habit of crashing. Our neighbor, Richard, had flown helicopters, told about a 46 going into a combat area to pick up a squad, but they refused to get on, saying, “We’d rather fight the enemy than get on that thing!” Then they asked where they were stationed and what their duties were. David said he was SecNav while she was there. We later learned that was Secretary of the Navy.

Richard’s beautiful table
Jeff and Kevin Slevin’s gorgeous 33′
Jeff wants to catch a trout in every state

Then Doug took us for a tour around town. He had raised his family in Abingdon, and they still have a house here. He had a sawmill for about 8 years until he sold it. He showed us where it used to be and the machine shop which was so valuable for his business. A few weeks ago he had walked into the building and was attacked by two German Shepards that tore him up pretty good before the owners came out. We drove through his neighborhood, then through a rather high end development on a golf course. He took us through a lot of places we hadn’t seen. Then he took us to his ice cream store, “The Ice Cream Stop,” which he owned for four years before selling it. We went in to see it and give it a try, and it was very good. We told the young lady with a Virginia shirt on that Doug was the original owner who had built the building. That brought a big smile to her face. Turns out she had just finished her freshman year at UVA.

We had dinner at the Greek restaurant on the corner, having a nice dinner and solving all the world’s problems. Walking back, we toured a large, new business that Doug called a yuppie grocery store. He wondered if there were enough to support such a business. We would continue our conversations in the morning.

Abingdon Farmer's Market, Abingdon, Virginia, Silver in The Streets, Abingdon, VA, The Tavern, Abingdon, Va, Virginia

Abingdon, Virginia Farmer’s Market

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Saturday, May14, 2022

One of the highlights of the Virginia Airstream Club’s Silver in The Streets rally is the farmer’s market at the end of Remsburg Drive. It is one of my favorite farmer’s markets. Seemingly small, there is a lot of good stuff. One guy is so well-know for his strawberries, they are usually sold out within an hour. Some people order in advance. Martha was right there at 8:00 and there was a line behind her. People were buying cases! As I watched the show, a young boy standing in line told me there is a great bakery on the other side. “Is that your bakery?” I asked. He nodded and smiled. I went over and bought a few things and told the ladies of the little salesman. I think his name is William. They just raised their eyebrows and continued their busy orders.

Since we were traveling, we had to pass up lots of beautiful produce. A cider shop had all their varieties out. There was a great coffee stall with a line of people. A woodworker displayed butcher-block tables and cutting boards. At 8:15, the place was hopping. I spotted Martha talking to a man who made pork rinds. Behind her was William talking to a lady. I walked behind, listening to his great pitch. He was so nonchalant and engaging – the perfect salesman at 9 years old.

From 10-12:00 we had an open house, where anyone from town can come look through Airstreams. I was surprised by the turnout. Lots of people were asking questions and going through trailers. During breaks in the action, I went into other Airstreams. It’s a great opportunity to see how people do things. Mindy had a great solution for shoes, which are often stacked by the door. Pat McLemore did some great things with pictures. He has a similar solar system, also done by Lew Farber. I liked Jeff’s bedspreads.

In the evening we went with Gary and Lynn Brink to dinner at the Tavern, which started as a tavern in 1779. It is one of the oldest buildings west of the Blue Ridge. It has served as post office, bank, bakery, antique shop, hospital and once again, a tavern. Maybe I was still in New Orleans mode, but I ordered Jambalaya in Abingdon, Va! It was excellent! Everyone enjoyed their dish in a very pleasant, outdoor, environment.

The only available time for seating was 5:00
Martha ordered soft-shell crabs, also excellent

Then on to the Barter Theater to see “Kentucky Spring”. From https://bartertheatre.com/history/

June 10, 1933

Barter Theatre opened its doors, proclaiming “With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh.” The price of admission was 40 cents or an equivalent amount of produce. Four out of five theatregoers paid their way with vegetables, dairy products and livestock.
To the surprise of many, all the seats for the first show were filled. The concept of trading “ham for Hamlet” caught on quickly. At the end of the first season, the Barter Company cleared $4.35 in cash, two barrels of jelly, and a collective weight gain of over 300 pounds.
Today, at least one performance a year celebrates Barter’s history by accepting donations for Feeding America Southwest Virginia. Barter Days happen in the month of June as a birthday celebration for Barter Theatre, and we will list those performance times on our Ways to Save page.

The theater is in great condition. We have been to another play across the street, a smaller, intimate venue. It was a very enjoyable play, receiving a standing ovation at the end. I hope to be back for many more. Maybe I can coordinate with Cadence’s softball games.

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