1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (70 page)

The museum’s main complex also includes a towering Missile and Space Gallery, an IMAX theater, and a flight simulator that treats as many as 14 people at a time to the experience of flying in a fighter jet. A separate hangar houses presidential planes, among them the modified Boeing 707 known as SAM 26000, the first
Air Force One.
Perhaps the most revered aircraft on display, it flew JFK to and from Dallas that fateful November of 1963. The Research and Development Hangar displays mind-bending experimental aircraft such as the bladelike Lockheed Martin–Boeing DarkStar. A cursory tour can easily take a day, and the technological complexity and historic impact of the exhibits may leave your mind feeling as though it’s taken a test flight with Chuck Yeager.

You can return to a simpler age of aviation by following in the Wrights’ footsteps at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, composed of four sites around Dayton. The bike shop where they built their first Flyer has been relocated to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan (see p. 526), but the previous location is maintained as a museum, as is the Huffman Prairie Flying Field where they tested their designs in 1904–05.

W
HERE
: 6 miles northeast of Dayton; 1100 Spaatz St. Tel 937–255-3286;
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
.
A
VIATION
H
ERITAGE
P
ARK
: Tel 937–225-7705;
www.nps.gov/daav
.

Double Your Pleasure and Double Your Fun

Twinsburg, Ohio

In 1819, New Englanders Moses and Aaron Wilcox arrived in Millsville, Ohio, to sell parcels of land on behalf of the Connecticut Land Company. The identical twins offered a deal to the residents of the small
settlement, which had been established just two years earlier: We’ll give you six acres of land for a public square and $20 toward a school, if you change the name of the town to Twinsburg.

Jump ahead a century and a half to 1976. City officials planned to mark the nation’s Bicentennial with a commemoration of the Wilcox brothers, who had stayed lifelong business partners, married sisters, died within a few hours of each other of the same disease, and were buried in the same grave in Twinsburg’s Locust Grove Cemetery. Organizers extended an open invitation to all twins; 37 sets of twins participated, and twice that number came two years later. Today Twins Days is the biggest festival of its kind, drawing nearly 3,000 sets of twins and triplets—and in some years, even quadruplets and quintuplets—to this city of 17,000. Ranging in age from mere days to over 90 years old, they (and in some cases their parents) come from as far away as Australia, Nigeria, and Japan for three days of socializing and entertainment. The full schedule includes most- and least-alike competitions in several age brackets, a 5K foot race, a twins talent show, the “Double Take Parade,” and even the occasional double wedding. Little surprise that
there is talk of establishing a Twins Hall of Fame and Museum.

Twins Days is mostly for multiples and their families and friends. But almost since the beginning, the festival has also attracted researchers, especially geneticists, interested in the mysteries of multiples’ shared traits; parents toting their toddlers commiserate and exchange tales; and then there’s the throng of spectators with no better reason to come than just to join in the fun.

W
HERE
: 20 miles southeast of Cleveland. Most of the festival is held at Glenn Chamberlain Park, 10270 Ravenna Rd. Tel 330–425-3652;
www.twinsdays.org
.
W
HEN
: 1st full weekend in Aug.

Dressed in all kinds of wild costumes, twins strut their stuff during the Twins Days parade.

Under the Big Top in Baraboo

Baraboo, Wisconsin

In 1884, seven enterprising brothers named Ringling turned their back on the family farm, founded a circus, and took their show on the road. Eventually, they grew big enough to buy out even Barnum & Bailey, and brought the headquarters
of the “Greatest Show on Earth” home to this quiet dairy-farming community in south-central Wisconsin. Baraboo served as the base for the Ringling Bros. Circus until 1918, when the troupe moved on to warmer digs in Florida. Today the original site celebrates the Ringling legacy—and dozens of other circuses that had their origins here—at the Circus World Museum, operated by the Wisconsin State Historical Society. Throughout the summer, a bona fide three-ring circus springs to life in all its frenzied glory under the museum’s Big Top, with clowns, elephants, aerialists, tigers, jugglers, magic shows, steam calliopes, and a master of ceremonies presiding over it all in his booming baritone. It’s a spectacle that delights older folks with its authenticity and young kids with its audience participation and pure sensory overload.

Circus shows are just one piece of this 51-acre complex. The museum itself is home to a grand collection of memorabilia, including more than 50 wooden circus parade wagons—easily the largest and most extensive collection anywhere in the world. Visitors can watch skilled workers repair, restore, and repaint the vintage wagons at the museum’s Fox Wagon Restoration Center. Behind the scenes, the museum’s Parkinson Library and Research Center is the world’s foremost archive of circus history, preserving artifacts such as circus business records and handbills.

W
HERE
: 40 miles northwest of Madison; 550 Water St. Tel 866–693-1500 or 608–356-8341;
www.circusworldmuseum.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: mid-May–early Sept for daily live performances under the Big Top.

Sanctuary in North America’s Largest Lake

Bayfield, Wisconsin

Strewn across 450 square miles of Lake Superior’s pristine waters, the 22 Apostle Islands present a striking tableau: tiny jewels on an immense inland sea, the largest freshwater body in the world. With the exception of
Madeline, the largest of the Apostles, all of the islands are undeveloped and uninhabited, a showcase for craggy shorelines, remnant old-growth hemlocks and hardwoods, and sculpted sandstone cliffs and caves. From tiny 3-acre Gull Island to 10,000-acre Stockton, the islands are protected as the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, along with 12 miles of mainland Wisconsin shoreline on the adjacent Bayfield Peninsula. Natural beauty and outdoor recreation take center stage here, with more than 50 miles of trails crisscrossing the islands, and native populations of black bears, bald eagles, and more than 200 species of migratory birds. This watery playground is best explored by boat, and opportunities abound. The Apostle Islands Cruise Service offers a variety of narrated cruises that sail past rich russet sandstone formations, lighthouses, and other historic sites, sometimes dropping off passengers to explore for a few hours. Captained sailboat charters are another option. Guests and the wind determine the day’s itinerary, which often revolves around beachcombing, hiking, and swimming in sun-warmed bays. The national lakeshore is home to six historic lighthouses—more than any other national park—some of which are staffed in summer months for tours and interpretation.

Kayaks have become a popular way to explore the archipelago, perfect for open-water passages between islands and for ducking in and out of the sea caves that pock the sandstone shoreline. Loaded with food and camping gear, kayaks are the ticket to seeing the Apostles’ island backcountry. Those with plenty of experience can tackle Superior’s vast waters alone, but even beginners can paddle safely with a reputable outfitter.

With sweeping island views and a yacht-filled marina, the gateway village of Bayfield (population 600) makes a great “base camp” to explore the national lakeshore and arrange island excursions. Start at the handsome National Park visitors center, built in the 19th century with sandstone quarried from Basswood, Hermit, and Stockton islands. Bayfield also offers appealing entertainment like the acclaimed Big Top Chautauqua, featuring music and maritime-themed theater inside a huge tent. The Old Rittenhouse Inn pampers guests in a lovingly restored Queen Anne, and serves some of the best meals in town. Local favorite Maggie’s, and its upscale cousin, Wild Rice, offer more great dining, with fresh whitefish and other local catch on the menu.

W
HERE
: 90 miles east of Duluth, MN.
Park info:
Tel 715–779-3397;
www.nps.gov/apis
.
Bayfield visitor info:
Tel 800–447-4094 or 715–779-3335;
www.bayfield.org
.
A
POSTLE
I
SLANDS
C
RUISE
S
ERVICE
: Bayfield. Tel 800–323-7619 or 715–779-3925;
www.apostleisland.com
.
Cost:
tours from $25.
When:
mid-May–mid-Sept.
K
AYAKING
: Living Adventure offers guided sea kayaking trips. Tel 715–779-9503;
www.livingadventure.com
.
Cost
: half-day trips from $52.
When
: June–Sept.
B
IG
T
OP
C
HAUTAUQUA
: Tel 888–244-8368 or 715–373-5552;
www.bigtop.org
.
When:
June–Sept.
O
LD
R
ITTENHOUSE
I
NN
: Tel 800–779-2129 or 715–779-5111;
www.rittenhouseinn.com
.
Cost:
from $109; prix fixe dinner $49.
B
EST TIMES
: Jul–Aug for warm weather and calm waters; Sept for the annual lighthouse celebration and clear, warm days; Feb–early Mar for hiking to the ice-coated caves that form along the Bayfield Peninsula.

Elegant Escape Deep in the North Woods

Chetek, Wisconsin

The spring-fed lakes, deep pine forests, and clean air of northwestern Wisconsin’s Indianhead Region have long been a getaway for everyone from industrial-era tycoons to U.S. presidents—Calvin Coolidge, for one
, who so enjoyed his fishing trips on the Brule River during the 1920s that the Wisconsin lodge he frequented was renamed “the Summer White House.” In Chetek, the 280-acre Canoe Bay resort brings alive that era of contemplative, back-to-nature luxury for couples seeking solitude. With no children, telephones, or motorboats to pierce the serenity, Canoe Bay frequently makes the various magazine lists of “most romantic” getaways.

No motorized boats allowed—only canoes, kayaks, and rowboats on Canoe Bay’s crystal clear, glacier-created Lake Wahdoon.

Couples at Canoe Bay enjoy an array of civilized indulgences: breakfast in bed, in-room massage, and innovative dining in a candlelit restaurant with an ever-changing menu and a 700-bottle wine list. Twenty-one elegant lakeside rooms and cottages each feature a stone fireplace, double whirlpool, and wilderness views. Recalling the genius of Wisconsin native Frank Lloyd Wright, buildings here blend beautifully with their natural surroundings. In fact, Wright’s protégé and collaborator on New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (see p. 184), John Rattenbury, designed two of the resort’s exquisite stand-alone lodgings, the Rattenbury Cottage and Edgewood, a 3,500-square-foot showpiece of stone, wood, and glass.

Guests can hike to three private lakes via 4 miles of scenic trails that wend through Canoe Bay’s 280 forested acres, and the resort provides canoes, kayaks, and rowboats for gliding across the crystal-clear waters of Lake Wahdoon. Largemouth bass and panfish provide catch-and-release fishing opportunities, and swimmers can enjoy warm, sand-bottom waters on summer afternoons. The lakes are especially lovely in early morning and evening, when loons often float across the placid waters. Come winter, Canoe Bay rents snowshoes for traipsing around the snow-blanketed property, and Nordic skiers can enjoy 20 miles of groomed trails on a county
trail network nearby. A dancing fire and a big globe of pinot await you at the end of the day.