This year the Windy City BMW Club headed to the wet and wild north of New Glarus, Wisconsin courtesy of tourmeisters Ed and Kathleen Kowalski.  We started at 7:45 on a very cold, wet Saturday morning in the Gurnee Mills parking lot.  We meet fellow members and received our instructions. It looked like there were about 40 cars participating in the event with at least two or more in each car. The fall tour is a true family event as several members brought the whole family. There were infants, kids and parents of all ages.

At about 8:00 we hit the road. We started on Hunt Club Road heading north towards Wisconsin. I had never taken this route before and was surprised at how quickly we moved from mega mall-land and congestion to bucolic horse country. There are many farms with huge fields all surrounded by white fences. We had to be on our toes as several of the first clues were in the first 10 miles of the trip.

Before we knew it we crossed the state line into Wisconsin. After heading north for a few more miles we began to zigzag our way west on various county roads. We were passing through corn country on tree lined roads. Despite the rain the fall colors were at their peak.  As we worked our way west, we managed to collect a few more clues as we passed many well maintained farms with beautiful and unique barns. Eventually we made our way to Lake Geneva and cut through the center of town. The traffic was not too bad.  Just past down town we exited off of route 50 onto Snake Road. This is probably one of the most scenic roads in Wisconsin. As you take this route you drive by many estates belonging to old Chicago families. Judging by the huge gates and well appointed gatehouses you know that there are some spectacular old homes down by the lake, but you can’t see them from the road. You can see the Arabian horse farm that is part of Green Gables.  We saw some of the finest horses at play just in front of the barns.  The drive is twisty and heavily wooded.  If you ever take this drive, be careful and take it slow.  There are hikers on the road and you can not see oncoming traffic.

As we rounded the lake we made a stop for a tour of the Yerkes Observatory.  To get a sense of what we saw, visit their web site.  The Observatory has just celebrated its centennial.  It is a fabulous piece of architecture. The main dome is huge, and it holds the world’s largest refracting telescope.  The lens at the opening is a single piece of glass over 40” in diameter.  The technology is a bit antique but it is still functional.  We had a great tour of the facility and got into quite a discussion about extraterrestrial spacecraft.  If one does come our way we will see it coming, unless of course it’s hiding from our view behind a star, planet, or the moon!

With the stars to guide us we made our way towards lunch and a sweet treat in Monroe.  Sandwiches were prearranged at the Garden Deli and a chocolate BMW awaited each tour member at the Chocolate Temptation sweet shop.  The town has a central square with lots of shops and a huge brick Victorian courthouse. A downpour dampened our clothes but not our spirits.

With a full stomach and on a sugar high we made our way out of town in search of cheese. We managed to work our way west through some very rural country where we had the roads to ourselves.  We traveled many twisty country roads as we passed through America’s dairy land. Eventually we made our way to the Prima Kase Cheese House.  This family operation is home to some world champion Gouda cheese.  After tasting it, you had to take some with you! The Gouda is turned by hand and the quality is exceptional.  The shop makes other specialty cheeses as well, such as a sweet baby Swiss.  Couldn’t resist buying some of that!

The tour was in its home stretch towards New Glarus.  A few more twists and turns on the country roads and we arrived at the Chalet Laundaus.  Once you entered the hotel you were in little Switzerland.  The décor was authentic and the rooms were great.  This hotel has all the modern convenience and comfort you would expect.  After we checked in some folks took to the town while others took a nap (I was out like a light).  At about 6:00pm we met for cocktails and plenty of cheese.  Everyone was engrossed in conversation over the sights and events of the day.  About an hour later we sat down to a family style dinner of fish, wienerschnitzel, and Swiss Steak. During dinner we were entertained with a sampling of Swiss songs and yodeling.  One song involved yodeling to the tune of coins spinning in bowls. This fascinated the kids and amazed the adults

After the singing and dessert, the prizes for the day were awarded.  These ranged from handsome vintage posters and Dinan performance chips to a few jars of mustard.  A silent auction was held and hundreds were raised for the Love Letters charity.  No matter whether on not you walked away with a fabulous prize-- everyone had a winning day.

After a good nights rest we had a full breakfast at the hotel.  The fare included pancakes, sausage, sweet rolls, potatoes and much more.  Everyone left with a full stomach.  At this point the formal part of the fall tour was over. The tourmeisters put together a great return trip that took us through some less-traveled farm country with a stop at Ferguson’s for hot cider and an opportunity to get some fresh apples.  We also stopped at Vermont Creek Farm to pick up some hand made soaps. The Vermont Creek Farm will recycle an old fur into a teddy bear for you.  There were some very cute examples at the shop.  The tour also offered a visit to the caves in Mt. Horeb but we decided to pass on that and make our way back to Chicago.

The fall tour this year was a well-planned event that was fun for the whole family.  The fall colors were at their peak and, despite some rain, everyone’s spirits were high and dry.  It was a great chance to take in the scenery, partake in a treasure hunt, and give your driving skills a workout.  Hope we see you next year!