The Oscar Mayer car was there, of course. And Mr. Mustard as well. I can’t begin to tell you how much unexpected fun this experience was. They even had a car show, of course all the cars were painted mustard yellow. Are you ready for a good pun. This cheese photo makes for a pretty “cheesey” photo. Get it? Not much to get anyway was there?
Cheesy Photo
Meet Gertrude the Guernsey Cow. Looks an awful lot like Sissie the Cow just below. Maybe they’re related? Anyway, she was the last Animal we visited on our Wisconsin trip. Gertrude is actually near Rockford, Illinois in Lockwood Park. I’ll have to say that 4 days of Big Thing hunting was pretty exhausting. When Deb asked me what the next object was and I told her a Big Cow, she replied, “Another cow?” I knew at that point we should head home, and we did!
Gertrude the Gurnsey Cow
Once we got to the Wisconsin Dells it was pretty late – we had dinner and turned in for the night. This was the large flamingo we came to town to find. The Dells are a great vacation spot. Lot’s to do if you have children in the family. We went on a couple river tours and enjoyed ourselves. It is a classic resort town — fudge and moccasin stores abound.
Flamingo Motel
Leaving one of the river tours, which involved an ex-US Army amphibious duck we spotted this Trojan Horse at the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. A water park, go cart track, mini golf all rolled into one. Gives you an inkling of what the Dells has to offer.
Mt. Olympus Trojan Horse
Wisconsin Dells Lumberjack
Papa Bear’s Bed
Wisconsin Farmer
Southbound from the Wisconsin Dells we were cruising down US-12 to get a Muffler Man in Baraboo. We never did find the Muffler Man – turns out it was laying in pieces behind a wall. Anyway, we spotted the Big Corn in front of Mark’s Market. Did a quick u-turn and pulled into the open air market. After introducing ourselves Mark invited us to take all the photos we wanted. That’s when we noticed the Big Strawberry. Not quite as large as the one in Indiana but good size all the same. They also gave us the tip on the Big Bed which can be found on the Big Objects page.
Mark’s Market Strawberry
Mark’s Market Corn
I like these Big Elephants. There is one close to home in Pendelton, IN and another at Jim Hipp’s Nursery in Southwest Indiana. A big animal made ever Bigger is fine. This one in DeForest, Wisconsin is at the Citgo gas just off Interstate 90/94. We had to wait to take this image, some parents were taking photos of their kids with the elephant, then the dog walkers were next in line. I had to be careful where I stepped to get this image.
DeForest Elephant
Let me introduce you to Sissy the Cow in DeForest Wisconsin. She is in front of Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet just off I90/94 exit 126. Nice cow and an even nicer cheese store. We spent some time inside and, of course, bought some cheese.
Sissy the Cow
In Madison Wisconsin we stayed the night at the Edgewater Hotel right on Lake Mendota. Our room overlooked the lake and we had dinner on the deck with a live band playing. One interesting thing about this hotel was the floors are backward. Our room was on the first floor and we had to go down to the 5th floor to get to the deck. I was a little confused when I went to get some ice. Oh, and we got these giant metal birds called Dreamkeepers outside an office building.
Madison Dreamkeepers Birds
On the way out of Oshkosh we were passing through Omro and spotted this Big Pig outside the Piggly Wiggly supermarket on Route 21. Omro had a couple of slogans posted on the side of the road. “Bridge to the Future” and “Picturesque and Proud.” Sounds like a nice town.
Piggly Wiggly Pig
Adam’s Flea Market Guy
Oshkosh Muffler Man
Mel’s Atlas
Mel’s Motorcycle
Seymour, Wisconsin claims it is the home of the hamburger – and they have a statue of Charlie to prove it. See him in the Big People section. Across the street is this grill that cooked the World’s Largest Hamburger. I think the burger is a replica now to stand up to the Wisconsin winters. Seymour was planning a “Burger Fiesta” for August 8th. We were too early, maybe some other time.
Seymour Hamburger
Tribute to Reggie
I find a lot of Big Things using the Roadside America website. This time I was looking for a giant flamingo and followed the directions to this place outside Oshkosh. Actually Vinland, Wisconsin. We were not prepared for what awaited us. These fish and the following birds, moose and other animals were all in a field outside M. Schettl Sales. And this was just the start. Check out all the photos of Animals here! There were more Big Things too, see Food and Drink.
Mel’s Fish
Mel’s Catfish with Daily Specials Board
There are a lot of these chickens scattered around the country. I don’t know that much about them but Mel has two of them in the park. I wish I could have learned more about why he collected all these items. BYW the White Chicken is virtually identical to the Barnburner Chicken in LA, except this one has his tail painted.
Mel’s Painted Chicken
Mel’s White Chicken