House on The Rock - Wisconsin

 A couple of years ago, I was on a road trip and managed to find this place near Spring Green, Wisconsin, on my way to Taliesin.   I wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wright's house up close. 

I never made it there; instead, I found The House on the Rock, conceived in brilliant madness by a man named Alex Jordan Jr.  You can read more about him here.    I didn't tour the entire complex; I was tired and had already been to the Cave of the Mound earlier that day.   But what I did see, was mindboggling and amazing and intriguing, (too many superlatives?, nah)  you can experience it for yourself.  

The drive towards the house was fascinating, and honestly, if that's all that there was to see, I probably would have been happy.  
There were so many Strawberry Pots festooned with the most fantastical creatures, lining the drive.   I couldn't get pictures of them all.  

I tried, but honestly, when driving a car, one needs to be cognizant of traffic if you're trying to take in everything and also take pictures. 

Once I got to the "House", I discovered I was really tired, but wanted to at least see it.  And true confessions here, I didn't see the whole thing.  I missed the animatronic music portion completely. But I did wander through the 'House' itself, including the museum dedicated to Alex Jordan.   

Legend has it that he constructed the majority of the house with the help of laborers, but he was the one with the vision.  

It was a bit of a maze walking through, some rooms, barely big enough for more than one or two people, others really large.  

I'm going to post pictures of my wanderings.  

I think I spent most of my time there wandering through the museum.  Here's a few more pictures.

 

And then I went into the main house, and WOW, the amount of Tiffany Lamps there is just unbelievable.   

Here are just a few of them... The best part, they were all lit, and you could admire the sheer artistry of Louis Comfort Tiffany.  

 I wandered and took so many pictures, my poor phone's battery almost died. 

There were so many places to look and admire and the whole experience was pretty overwhelming.  But I enjoyed pretty much all of the pictorial overload.  All the little nooks and crannies...  And as a chef, of course I was fascinated by his 'modern' kitchen...

And then I came to the much vaunted 'Infinity' room.  

I'm going to finish off with some more of the Strawberry pots that were decorated, not only drive towards the house, but were also all around the grounds.

I actually purchased one of the replica strawberry pots, but I want one of the full-size ones.  Especially if I can find one with all the creatures crawling around on it. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder House and Museum

 If I'd made a bucket list, this place would have been on the short list.    I was driving back to Florida, discovered my Road Trippers app had been renewed, so took advantage of it.  sorta...  I decided to let it plan out some stops, and one of the stops was in Mansfield, Missouri at the Laura Ingalls Wilder House and Museum. 

This house started out as a two-room cabin, but was moved to its present site, and was built onto and improved over the next 17 years.  Before they moved into it permanently.   You can read more about it on Wikipedia.  Or here.   The website has lots more pictures. 

I have no idea why I had never thought about making a pilgrimage here, cause I'd read every single one of her books in elementary school.   I guess I'd never realized I could actually see where she composed and wrote the books.  OMG, it was amazing.   

While I toured the house, I didn't take any pictures inside; I felt it was intrusive.  Apparently, Laura (if I may be so bold as to refer to her by her first name) was a very petite woman, and the counters in the house reflect that.  Her husband Almanzo built them 'Laura' high.     

Their daughter Rose Wilder Lane, was an accomplished author and journalist and built her parents a more modern home, Rock House, in which they lived for many years before moving back to the original house, where she remained until she died.  

I did take pictures inside of this house, as it just didn't feel as intrusive to do so.   Laura loved her pretty dishes and Rose bought her this rather gorgeous set.  

She also collected other pretty glass.  Like this pretty Depression glass.  Back in the thirties, this glass was often given away, either for coming in to see a movie, or inside a soap box.  Hard to believe.

The interior of the house was very modern, including this rather handsome bathroom.

The upper kitchen cabinets are the original to the house, had been taken out at some past date,  and were discovered in a barn, restored, and replaced in the kitchen.   The stove is not original, but is of the 'period'. The floor is also not original.  The little table and chairs were purchased by Laura, as she wanted a small table that they could eat at.  She also painted the chairs and table.   I was told she bought the table and chairs for $10.  

There is an incredible view via the French Doors in the Rock House, and I was told that Laura liked to sit in here and look outside. 

In the main house, there is also a sitting room and a library consisting of over 300 books.  You can see the pictures of the interior on the website for the museum. 

On my next road trip, I'll be stopping by there again and taking lots more pictures.    The museum was amazing, and I would have taken more pictures in there, but I was accompanied by an overenthusiastic docent, and it was hard to just take my time and explore.