On July 10/11 the Inn at Lonesome Hollow, located near Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, hosted its seventh cheese making workshop. Steve Shapson (www.thecheesemaker.com) again led the workshop which teaches participants how to make delicious soft cheeses overnight. As an added feature for this workshop Sid Cook, Certified Master Cheesemaker from Carr Valley Cheese, spoke about his experience as a fourth generation owner and cheese maker. (more…)

 This weekend marks the official beginning of cheese making workshops at Lonesome Hollow. Today we set up the workshop in preparation for 26 workshop attendees who will begin learning the art of cheese making tomorrow morning.

workshop set up for cheesemaking

 Steve the Cheesemaker, from Cedarburg, WI teaches the class. In 2009 Steve conducted four workshops at Lonesome Hollow, and this year he has signed on for another four. The 2009 workshop attendees came from as far away as Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, California, Virginia and Texas. The class will make its own soft cheeses overnight and will go home with some cheese that they helped to make. 

November Cheesemaking Graduates

Other cheese making workshops at Lonesome Hollow are scheduled for the weekends of May 22/23, July 10/11 (already sold out), and Nov 13/14. Call Steve at414 -745 -5483   to reserve a place in the workshop, and call Pete or Nora at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow for your lodging.

The world is a better place because of cheese!

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow is delighted to announce three culinary workshops this year featuring  chef Monique Jamet Hooker.  Participants in any of the 3 culinary workshops staying  2 nights at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow will get a $50 discount on their stay.  The first workshop this year is April 17th and 18th, and will be “Pates and Sausages”.  Learn how to make Pate de Campagne, garlic sausage, onion brats and more!

 Culinary workshop attendants can choose several ways to participate: from a full weekend, starting Friday night through Sunday, which includes 2 dinners, lunch, and Sunday brunch, to a shortened workshop on Saturday, which includes lunch.  The workshop will be located at Monique’s kitchen at her log home, which is nestled in the woods on a bluff above the Mississippi River.  Included with the workshop will be Monique’s award winning book,  Cooking with the Seasons, which introduces readers to over 200 recipes that emphasize seasonal distinctions of taste, texture, and color.

Monique Presents her Delicious Fare

Acclaimed chef Monique  came to the US from France in the sixties and took a position in her brother’s restaurant in New York state before moving to Chicago where she made a name for herself as a food stylist and caterer.  She also began teaching classes for people eager to recreate her art in their own kitchen. In 1983 she opened Monique’s Cafe’ in Chicago’s North River district which has since become the premier dining area in the city.

Since Monique has “retired” to the hills of Southwest Wisconsin,  she has been a spokesperson and chef with Organic Valley Cooperative, and is a frequent guest on “WPR’s “Here on Earth” and continues to teach, lecture and demonstrate the “art of seasonal cooking”.

Additional Lonesome Hollow workshops with Chef Monique Hooker will be November 5th-7th:  “All About Duck”-Roasted, Confit, Foie Gras, and more;  December 3rd-5th: “Chocolate and More Chocolate”-Cake, Truffles, Glaze, Dipping and more.

Photo by Jerry Quebe

It was 7 am, December 29, 2009. The temperature was minus four degrees (Fahrenheit, just in case someone outside the US is reading this). Early glimmers of daylight were just appearing to the east as we left our bed and breakfast, the Inn at Lonesome Hollow, near Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. We quickly made our way to Hwy 131, then headed north. As the sky lightened a bit more we weaved our way past a wonderous white landscape, progressing north through the quiet villages of Soldiers Grove, Readstown, Viola, and LaFarge. About four miles north of La Farge we turned left onto Cty Hwy P. Just a mile after turning onto Cty P we pulled off the road into a small parking area at one of the many trailheads in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

Slight glint of the morning dawn on the frozen river

The Kickapoo Valley Reserve (KVR) is a jewel. It is more than 8000 acres of roughly sculpted hills, bluffs, and valley that are owned by the people of Wisconsin. It is located near the center of the famed Driftless Area, a large island or peninsula of land that was spared by the Wisconsin Glacier of ten thousand years ago. The Kickapoo River has therefore been slowly wearing away the limestone bedrock of the valley for more than one hundred thousand years. In places this erosion is gentle in appearance, with graceful valleys that gradually meld into the hills. In other places this erosion is dramatic and limestone bluffs rise almost one hundred feet vertically out of the river bed. The Kickapoo Valley is twenty five times older than the pyramids of Egypt. It is about 500 times older than the United State of America. It is evidence of the persistence, the patience, and the power of nature.

Kickapoo River from Bridge 15

Our walk was exceptional. We saw no other person. The trail wandered through pristine forest and valley bottom, often right alongside the ever wandering Kickapoo River. Our lungs sucked in the frigid air. We walked quickly to accelerate our heart rates and make our family doctor happy! Dr Dave would approve of our start to this day. 

Bridge 15

It is too easy for midwesterners to stay inside during the cold winter months. We can always find diversions that keep us in the warmth and protection of our homes. But if you can muster the energy to venture out into the cold, the rewards can be amazing and beautiful. And blessed.

Happy winter!

Pete and Nora, Inn at Lonesome Hollow

The weekend of August 14-16, 2009 will be very special in the Kickapoo Valley of Southwest Wisconsin.  Two great events are scheduled: Wild West Days in Viroqua and Larryfest in LaFarge.

Wild West Days in Viroqua

Wild West Days will feature a rodeo, cattle drive, country music concert, and a parade that features more than 100 horses. Many of the Wild West Days events take place at the county fairgrounds in Viroqua, but the music event will be held in the beautifully restored Temple Theater in downtown Viroqua.   

The Crowd at Larryfest 2008

Larryfest is an exceptionally good bluegrass festival that takes place on a rural property near LaFarge, smack dab in the middle of the beautiful Kickapoo Valley. This will be the 12th annual Larryfest event, and they just keep getting better. Somehow bluegrass music and the Kickapoo Valley seem to be a perfect match.

Giddup and Dance

Over the past few years many area visitors who have attended these events have stayed at a rural B&B just south of Soldiers Grove, WI – the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com). Rooms are still available for these nights.

If you are in the general area of Southwest Wisconsin this July, check out some fun local events that will take place. The southwest corner of Wisconsin is very rural in character and very rugged in landscape. The Driftless Area is best expressed and best enjoyed in the “Coulee Region” – the area from LaCrosse south to Prairie du Chien and from the Mississippi River east to Baraboo. The land is a constant series of 300 to 600 foot high, wooded hills that rise from picturesque valleys. It is an area of small villages, abundant trout streams, and diverse cultural heritage.

Here are some suggested events:

July 4: experience small town Fourth of July in LaFarge or Ontario - both small towns on the Kickapoo River; just a short distance from the Kickapoo lie Hillsboro and Westby which also have interesting July 4 celebrations.

Mississippi Cruise Tour to Effigy Mounds

July 4: board the Mississippi Explorer Cruise boat for a five hour Mississippi River cruise guided by a ranger from Effigy Mounds National Monument. Call 1-877-647-7397 for information.

July 10-12: enjoy the Eighth Annual Gospel and Bluegrass Festival in Viroqua; check out the Viroqua city website at www.viroqua-wisconsin.com.

July 11-12: The War of 1812 in Wisconsin – an interpretive living history camp at Villa Louis Historic Site in Prairie du Chien. Call 1-608-326-2721.

Stiltwalkers at the Country Fair

July 25 and 26: Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic food cooperatrive presents the Kickapoo Country Fair at the beautiful Organic Valley headquarters building on the edge of LaFarge. Enjoy great food, music, dancing, and artisan vendors. For info go to www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo. 

July 31-Aug 1: Prairie Dog Blues Festival. Regional, national, and international blues bands perform on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien. Visit www.prairiedogblues.com for info.

On August 28-30, 2009,  an uplifting women’s retreat with yoga instructor and wellness coach, Jeanne Penton, and author, Colleen Baldrica , will take place at Lonesome Hollow.  Take some long overdue “you” time and restore work/life balance through yoga, meditation, mind-body wellness workshops, circle time, laughter, and wine tasting. This retreat will offer morning and evening yoga and meditation sessions (90 minutes).  Weather permitting, the meditation portion will be held on the serene grounds of Lonesome Hollow. Yoga and meditation is a wonderful and awakening practice that doesn’t discriminate.  All levels are welcome.   The style of yoga taught is a non-purist blend, combining the elements of Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Anusara. The focus is on connecting breath with movement, letting go of competition with ourselves and others and achieving harmony within mind, body,and spirit.  Healing Touch will also be offered by Nora Knapik, Innkeeper at Lonesome Hollow, and Healing Touch Apprentice.  For more information, contact Jeanne at pathways2wellness@yahoo.com, or Colleen at colleenbaldrica@gmail.com.

Colleen Baldrica

About the Retreat Directors:   Colleen Baldrica (Moran) began her spiritual journey as a child.  Inspired by the teachings of her Native American grandmother, she carried that wisdom forth into her career as an adult.  With a Masters degree in Counseling  and a PhD in the Philosophy of Education, she worked in public education for 28 years. As the author of “Tree Spirited Woman” (Beaver’s Pond Press 2006) she has begun a new quest – to share with others what experience has taught her about those simple truths she learned as a child.  Colleen continues to enjoy the path she has discovered by taking long walks in the woods, sharing meaningful conversations with friends and family, and taking time to curl up with a good book. Colleen lives in Stillwater, Minnestoa.  Her website: www.colleenbaldrica.com.

Jeanne Penton

Jeanne Penton, B.S., ACSM has 15 years of experience in the health and wellness industry.  She is nationally certified through the Amerian College of Sports Medicine, and is a yoga instructor and public speaker.  She has worked with many populations including children, seniors, physically disabled, post-cardiac, diabetics, pre-post natal, cancer survivors, athletes, and general population fitness enthusiasts.   Jeanne has shared her knowledge and passion for wellness with many groups, having worked with corporations, schools, churches, fire departments, and served on faculty for the Department of Health and Human Performance at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL.  Self-acceptance, mind/body awareness, and stress management serve as the foundations of her teachings.  Jeanne lives in Sycamore, IL.

On the weekend of January 17th and 18th fourteen people attended a fantastic cheesemaking workshop at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow conducted by The Cheesemaker, Steve Shapson, from Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  The weekend started with a visit to Mount Sterling Co-op Creamery to see the cutting, milling, and pressing of the cheese made in the early hours.

Making Cheese

After a hearty brunch, The Cheesemaker, Steve, began the intensive workshop, where the participants learned the craft of cheesemaking.  They learned to make Camembert/Brie, Chevre and Feta cheeses, which they each took home to finish aging and to enjoy at home.

Steve and MJ Shapson

After the workshop, a wine and cheese social was held sampling various local, homemade, and imported gourmet hard, soft and rind ripened cheeses on French baquettes, served with other hors d’oervres.

Because this workshop was very successful and fun, the Inn at Lonesome Hollow is hosting a Spring Cheesemaking Workshop.  Sign up now, as space is already limited.

Inn at Lonesome Hollow Cheesemakers

The winter of ’08-’09 is off to a wicked start at Lonesome Hollow. This is good news for outdoor enthusiasts who look for outside activities even in Wisconsin’s coldest months.

First Snowfall of 2008

Last year we had the most winter snow of any winter in recent memory. Showshoeing opportunities were obviously better than ever at Lonesome Hollow and a good number of our guests took advantage of our offer for free use of snowshoes and ventured onto our valley and ridge fields and trails to experience the beautiful winter snowscapes of the Driftless Area and the Kickapoo Valley. We have modern, Cabelas’ aluminum frame snowshoes and traditional rawhide web snowshoes that guests may use.

Our first winter snow of ’08-’09 came on November 30. This snow was followed by abnormally cold weather, setting a good amount of frost into the ground. Several smaller snows followed that initial snow, and then on December 8/9 a major storm dumped about 10 inches of new snow on us. Here we are in the first half of December and we already have ideal snowshoeing conditions.

Guests are welcome to explore four miles of our own private trails at Lonesome Hollow. Almost 100 of our 160 acres are wooded. We maintain these trails throughout the warmer months to keep briar and tree branches from encroaching on the trails. There are 20-30 acre fields both in our valley and on our ridge that offer more open snowshoeing with great panoramas of our Driftless Area hills.

On a Trail at Lonesome Hollow

Take advantage of our special holiday and winter pricing, and come to Lonesome Hollow for snowshoe fun and exercise. Guests are also encouraged to use our snowshoes at any of the five state parks that are within a 45 minute drive. You can finish a day of winter trail exercise with a thermos of hot chocolate sipped at a warm winter bonfire, or soaking in one of our two person whirlpools!

Pete & Nora