Traveling down the jump with speeds in excess of 50 MPH!

The 89^th Annual Snowflake Ski Jumping Tournament will be taking place February 3^rd and 4th, 2012 at the Westby, Wisconsin Ski Club. Approximately 25 American and foreign competitors will jump on a large Olympic sized hill.

Schedule of Events

Opening Ceremonies will begin Friday evening, February 3rd at 7:00 PM with the jumping done under the lights!!  Competition begins at 7:30 PM with fireworks between rounds. Long standing jump will follow the competition and live music featuring The Freezers from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM.

Saturday, February 4^th will begin with opening ceremonies at Noon.  Competition begins at 12:30 PM. Long standing jump and awards ceremony will follow competition and live music featuring Tunnel Vision from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Admission

A button is required to enter the tournament and are $20.00 at the gate.  Children 12 and under are free as well as Military admitted free with a current military ID card or other proof of service such as  VFW, Legion or DAV current membership card of their DD Form 214 and photo ID.  Children under the age of 18 whose parents are currently on active duty, in the National Guard or Reserves, or are retired from any branch of the military are also admitted free.  

History

The Snowflake Ski Club was founded in 1922. It has its roots deep in volunteerism, community spirit and good will making it one of the two remaining “all volunteer” large hill ski jumping clubs in the Western hemisphere.

Located in the City of Westby, a peaceful community with Norwegian roots, the Snowflake Ski Club is proud to provide a place of entertainment and recreation.

Annually, the Ski Tournament is an event the entire community gets excited about. International and US jumpers compete on the large hill, often traveling down the jump with speeds in excess of 50 Miles per Hour flying for hundreds of feet!!! Ski jumping truly is the original extreme sport.

The Snowflake Ski Club is very active during the summer season as well. The Snowflake Golf Course is used by hundreds of people who want to enjoy the natural beauty and tranquility of Timber Coulee.

For more information about the 89^th Annual Snowflake Ski Jumping Tournament go to http://snowflakeskiclub.com.

However in Tomah, Wisconsin there is small, family owned and operated cheese, meat and gift shop called, A Taste of Wisconsin.  They bring together many of the fine foods that the State of Wisconsin has to offer.  The shop is filled with an assortment of cheeses (including squeaky cheese curds), meats such as buffalo, elk and venison, salsas, soups, mustards, candies, jellies, Wisconsin wines, Amish made baskets, candies from Lynns’s Candies of Sparta, Wisconsin, handmade quilts from Quilt Corner of Sparta, Wisconsin, cemented wall leaves from Cashton, Wisconsin, many foods with cranberries,

Jackie Dwyer of A Taste of Wisconsin.

and more.

A Taste of Wisconsin, owners Paul and Jackie Dwyer have been in the dairy industry (in one shape or form) all of their lives.  Paul had a desire to open a cheese store that would offer the local communities a great product at a reasonable price. He hoped promoting dairy products in their store would help the dairy farming community as well as raise awareness of the great dependency this country has on our farmers.

After a lot of time spent searching out the right products and with help of family and friends, they opened the doors on March 7, 2009 and have expanded their product line many times since then. They are continually looking for and adding new items. They offer a down home shopping atmosphere with the best products and reasonable prices. You are able to walk in and make your own gift baskets right on the spot. If you are not able to visit their store in person, then please shop their on-line store–www.atasteofwisconsin.com. Their store is located at 924 West Veterans St., Tomah, WI  54660.  Phone 608-372-4339; email:  tasteofwisconsin@centurytel.net.

On your weekend get away to Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast stop by A Taste of Home and spend time with Paul and Jackie.  You will not be disappointed—in fact plan at least an hour for your visit!!!!!

Biscotti's with white chocolate coating and crushed peppermints

This past November, my fellow Innkeeper, Jennifer Dunn from The Franklin Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Sparta, Wisconsin and I went on the Lanesboro Inn Christmas Tour in Lanesboro, Minnesota. They were all very delightful and full of decorating ideas. 

One of our favorite Inn’s on the tour was the Hillcrest Hide-Away B & B.  We commented on the array of plates filled with the different flavors of Biscotti’s served with Cider Wassail.  Marv and Carol Eggert were great hosts and kind enough to share the recipes with us.

Last week Jennifer visited Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast and we managed to make 5 different Biscotti recipes.  For those who don’t know, a biscotti is an Italian cookie baked twice and served with something hot.  They are commonly dunked in the hot coffee, tea or hot cider to soften them a little before eating.  What makes the biscotti special is the white or chocolate coating on one end which makes them delicious to enjoy with friends and family.

Here is one of the recipes:      

Carol’s Almond Biscotti

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line large baking sheet with Parchment paper.   Cream sugars and butter.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until light and fluffy.  Thoroughly mix in extracts.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and add carefully into wet mixture.  Mix almonds into dough.  Dough will be thick and sticky.  If it is too sticky to handle, you can coat your hands with powdered sugar or flour to help. 

Shape the dough into 2 logs roughly 2×12”.  Place logs onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Carefully move to cooling racks.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Slice into ½ inch slices and lay cut side up on baking sheet.  Bake for another 15 minutes to dry.  Remove to cooling rack when done.

Your Innkeepers--Anita, Paul, David, and Rachel--5K Finishers!!!!!!

It’s not too late to start planning for the 5^th Annual Rails to Trails Marathon which takes place each fall in Norwalk, Wisconsin. 

The 4th Annual Rails to Trails Marathon took place on Sunday, November 6, 2011.  The day was a bit windy and a cool fall day-a beautiful day for a race. The Rails to Trails Marathon is not only a full marathon (Boston Qualifier) but also a half marathon, 5K and 1 Mile fun run. The course takes runners and walkers on tour of the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, a former railroad that’s been converted into a 32 mile paved recreational trail that winds through the small towns and countryside areas of southwestern Wisconsin between the towns of Elroy and Sparta. 

The 4th Annual Rails to Trails Marathon had 230 marathon finishers of which 164 were male and 66 female, 436 half marathon finishers of which 170 were male and 266 female and 124 5K finishers of which 45 were male and 79 were female.(results taken from www.itsracetime.com).

Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast was honored to have 3 of the 2011 marathon finishers as guests at our inn for the event. Last year’s marathon guests were so positive and encouraging that 4 of the 2011 5K finishers were your Innkeepers, Anita, David, Rachel, and Paul.  Paul finished 28^th overall, Rachel 83^rd overall, and David and Anita at 104th and 105^th overall.

More information will be given when it becomes available for the 5^th Annual Rails to Trails Marathon.  Here are a couple websites to follow for more information as well:  www.railstotrailsrace.com and www.elroy-sparta-trail.com.

Known for its steady and challenging uphill stretches that await runners along the first few miles of the course, the Rails to Trails Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run takes runners and walkers on a tour of the Elroy Sparta State Trail, a former railroad that’s been converted into a 32-mile paved recreational trail that winds through the small towns and countryside areas of southwestern Wisconsin between towns of Elroy and Sparta, and features three long tunnels that hikers, walkers, bikers and runners can pass through — one of which runners will run through during the race.

Marathon Summary

The Marathon start time is 9:00 AM and is a Boston Qualifier (Certification # WI-08024-DM).  The course is from Norwalk to Sparta featuring a ¾ mile train tunnel.  The course starts in the Norwalk Village Park, heads Southeast of Norwalk Village Park approx. 1.5 miles & then turns around and heads back to the Norwalk Village Park and then heads Northwest approx. 11.5 miles and then loops back to the Village Park to complete the course.

Half Marathon Summary

The Half Marathon start time is 10:00 AM.  The course is from Norwalk toward Sparta featuring a ¾ mile train tunnel.  The course starts in the Norwalk Village Park, heads Northwest on the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail.  The course follows an out and back configuration that returns to the Norwalk Village Park.

5K Run Walk Summary

The 5K Run Walk start time is 10:15 AM.  The 5K course starts in the Norwalk Village Park, heads Northwest on the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail 2.5K, turns around to a finish back in the Village Park.

1 Mile Fun Run Summary

The 1 mile Fun Run start time is 11:00 AM.  The 1 Mile Fun Run course will start in the Norwalk Village Park and travel ½ mile Northwest, turn around and return to the Village Park.

Race Weather & Climate

Located in the southwestern corner of the state, just over 40 miles from the border with Minnesota and about 2 1/2 hours from Madison, the town of Norwalk typically experiences cold weather conditions in the mid-fall season, with occasional wet or frozen precipitation. In November, average monthly temperatures range between 40°F and 26°F, while precipitation totals average around 2.54 inches for the month.

Websites for More Information

  Visit these websites for more information regarding Registration fees and awards:

www.railstotrailsrace.com and www.elroy-sparta-trail.com

Kyra Neumann and Tonya Gnewikow, daughters of Jim and Nodji Van Wychen

There are two events that take place every year which help us get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas:  the Warren Cranberry Festival and the Wetherby Public Harvest Day.  The 39^th Warrens Cranberry Festival just ended which means the Wetherby Public Harvest Day is fast approaching!

For those of you who would like to learn more about cranberries, the cranberry industry and be able to purchase some fresh cranberries, the Wetherby Cranberry Company of Warrens, Wisconsin has a Public Harvest Day the first Saturday in October each year from 9:00 am to 12 noon.  This year it will take place on Saturday, October 1.  The Public Harvest Day is free to all who attend and no reservations are needed.

The Wetherby Cranberry Company is a family owned and operated cranberry marsh. Wetherby Cranberry Company has been in business for over 100 years and specializes in high quality fresh fruit.  The marsh is operated by Jim and Nodji VanWychen together with son Henry and son-in-law Michael Gnewikow.

The Van Wychen’s guarantee that visitors will be able to see cranberries being harvested whether there is rain, shine or snow (they have harvested in them all).  They set aside several beds each year for this occasion and try to show several different stages of harvesting taking place.  Visitors will be able to take pictures and videos of cranberries being harvested and have all your cranberry questions answered.  Family members of the Wetherby Cranberry Company will be your personal guides to explain what you are seeing and answer all other questions you have.  The packaging warehouse will be open and fresh cranberries will be available to be purchased.  It a great way to see the harvest first hand.  From young children through senior citizens, all will enjoy the sights of the “sea of red” being harvested.  You also may be able to put on a pair of hip boots and step out into the sea of red cranberries for a picture of you “harvesting” cranberries.

 For more information and directions to the marsh or to order fresh cranberries if you are unable to make the Public Harvest day visit www.freshcranberries.com.

Never touched by glaciers, the Driftless Area is characterized by its beautifully sculpted topography. Forested hillsides reach down to valleys cut into limestone bedrock by cold-water trout streams. Forests, prairie remnants, wetlands, and grasslands provide habitat for wildflowers and wildlife. Land is farmed by the descendants of those who first settled here, by the Amish who adopted the area, and by a new breed of organic farmer.

The Driftless area is an inspirational setting to all manner of talented artists.  Its hills and valleys are home to painters and potters, woodworkers and weavers, metalsmiths and musicians, vintners and brewmasters.

To see, hear and taste the exceptional variety of their creations, you usually have to visit studios and stores, cafes and concerts. But once a year, on the third weekend in September (September 17 & 18, 2011), the Driftless Area Art Festival is held along the banks of the Kickapoo River in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin at the Beauford T. Anderson Park.  The Art Festival is distinguished by its mission to showcase only regional artists.  The popular festival features over 80 visual arts exhibitors, live music and performances, and great local foods.  Free Admission and parking.  For more information, visit www.driftlessareaartfestival.com.

If you are unable to visit the Art Festival consider visiting at another time. The great diversity of the area means something to suit the taste of every visitor. You can simply enjoy the peace and beauty of the countryside with a good book, a cup of coffee from a local roaster, or a glass of wine from a local vineyard. You can don your waders and hope to outwit a brook trout on a cool foggy morning. You can get on your bike and wind your way through magnificent scenery. You can shop for art, antiques, handmade furniture, artisanal cheeses, or locally-grown foods.

Whether for a weekend, a week, or longer, you’ll enjoy your stay in the beautiful Kickapoo Valley!

Vannetta and Anita

This past June, Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast was blessed to have author, Vannetta Chapman and her husband as guests.  Vannetta was in the area to complete research on the Amish community.

Vannetta Chapman holds a BA and MA degree in English and has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving over two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace in Albion, Pennsylvania. She published a novel with Abingdon Press called A Simple Amish Christmas in October of 2010. Her first Quilt Shop Murder Mystery, Falling to Pieces (Zondervan), will release in September of 2011.  She currently lives in the Texas hill country.

Here is a synopsis of Falling to Pieces:

In the Amish community of Shipshewana, two women—one Amish, one English—reluctantly join forces for a short-term business venture. Neither is looking for friendship, but when the town’s newspaper editor is murdered, and an unexpected prime suspect is identified, the women form an unlikely alliance to solve the mystery.
 
In this first book of a three-book series, author Vannetta Chapman brings a fresh twist to the popular Amish fiction genre. She blends the familiar components consumers love in Amish books—faith, community, simplicity, family—with an innovative who-done-it plot that keeps readers guessing right up to the last stitch in the quilt.
 
When two women—one Amish, one English—each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town’s reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.

For more information or to schedule an interview, you may contact her publicist, Katie Broaddus. Katie can be emailed at : Katie ( at ) katiebroaddus.com.

 You may also contact Vannetta directly at VannettaChapman (at) gmail.com.

 Vannetta can also be reached via facebook (Vannetta Chapman, author) as well as on the following sites:
     Webpage:  http://www.vannettachapman.com    
      Blog:  http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com

The 4^th of July celebration begins at 6:00 PM on Saturday, July 2 with the String Ties Bluegrass Band on the Community Hall Deck.

The other planned activities are as follows:

     Sunday, July 3^rd

          1:00 PM Blacktop Stock Antique and Farm Tractor Pull

          2:00 PM Kids and Pets Parade

          7:00 PM Ontario Talent Show

     Monday, July 4^th

          7:00-10:00 AM Pancake Breakfast at the Community Hall

          8:00 AM Run for Fun—5K for everyone

          9:00 AM Kids Run for Fun—Ages 17 and under

          9:00 AM Flag Raising at the Community Hall

          10:00 AM Parade Lineup

          11:00 AM American Legion Auxiliary Chicken Barbecue

          Noon Parade-Theme of this year’s parade is ”God Bless America”.

          2:00 PM Mini Tractor Pull

          3:30 PM Pie Eating Contest

          5:00 PM Pedal Tractor Pull

         6:00 PM Ridgeland Dutchmen

         Dusk  Fireworks!!!!!!

        Afternoon activities on the square and in the Community Hall:

               Inflatable’s Kinds Games

               Horse Drawn Wagon Rides

               Food, Craft, Flea Market Booths

               Pie and Ice Cream Social in the Community Hall

               Climbing Wall from the Wisconsin National Guard

               Military Artifacts display in the Community Hall

               Kids Softball Games

For more details on the day’s events visit www.ontariowi.com.

Jennifer and Eric

The Kickapoo River is the Wisconsin River’s longest tributary. The Kickapoo River meanders for 130 miles from Wilton, Wisconsin to Wauzeka, Wisconsin, where it empties into the Wisconsin River. As the crow flies, this distance is less than half that long, about 60 miles. The name Kickapoo is Algonquin for “one who goes here, then there” and accurately describes the river, which flows in all directions of the compass for portions of its length.

The Kickapoo is a slow-moving river which overflows its banks rapidly in heavy rains.

Surveys in 1999 and 2000 of the Kickapoo River between Ontario and Gays Mills documented a total of 46 species, including an abundance of brown trout. Since then, the Kickapoo River has been classified as a Class II trout stream from Wilton to Gays Mills. Trout use this section of river for food and shelter, but likely spawn in tributary streams. 

Streams classified as Class II may have some natural reproduction, but not enough to utilize available food and space. Therefore, stocking is required to maintain a desirable sport fishery. These streams have good survival and carryover of adult trout, often producing some fish larger than average size.

There are 5,929 miles of Class II trout streams in Wisconsin and they comprise 45% of Wisconsin’s total trout stream mileage.  For further information about Wisconsin’s trout streams and fishing regulations visit http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/regulations.

Our guests Eric and Jennifer of Sheboygan, Wisconsin were pleasantly surprised to find out that the Kickapoo River was only a few yards from Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast.  Eric being an avid fisherman took advantage of his stay by fishing the Kickapoo River on both days of their stay and was successful as the picture indicates. 

Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast strives to give our guests a special and memorable visit to the Kickapoo Valley.  Eric’s fishing success triggered an idea of having a special location along the Kickapoo River for relaxation and a location to enjoy the scenery of the Kickapoo River and maybe throw out a line!