Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
D, Highway B, and then WIS 17 to Merrill—along here you pass by two nature areas, clas-
sic moraine topography, and Lookout Mountain (the highest point on the Ice Age Trail) be-
fore whipping by Gleason, a.k.a. the Trout Fishing Capital, and ending up at Haymeadow
County Park and the gorgeous Prairie Dells Scenic Area.
Southeast of Rhinelander about 20 miles are tiny Pelican Lake and Jennings. The latter
features the 1899
Mecikalski Stovewood Building
(County Trunk B, Jennings). Also
called “cordwood”or“stack wall,” thestyleofarchitecture referstotheshortend-cutlogs,
which are “stacked” and bonded with mortar or clay. Economical and practical, it didn't re-
quire entire log lengths. The practice is decidedly American, and 19th-century Wisconsin
was prime country for it; this is the best example and the only commercial building of this
style.
Accommodations and Food
The pinnacle of Tomahawk lodgings is undoubtedly
M
Palmquist Farm
(N5136 River
Rd.,Brantwood,800/519-2558,
www.palmquistfarm.com
,
from$66).Generations ofFinns
on this 800-acre beef, deer, and tree farm have welcomed guests to their cozy North Woods
cottages,andman,whatagrandplaceitis.Youcanindulgeinmyriadtrails,lusciousbreak-
fasts, deep hospitality, and a real-deal sauna. My faves are the winter by-the-fire hootenan-
nies. It has worthy weekend package deals, a steal at the price.
The dining room at
Bootleggers
(Bus. 51 N at Hwy. L, 715/453-7971, from 5pm Tues.-
Sat., from 4pm Sun.) is right on Lake Nokomis, and plenty of snowmobiles pull right up at
the door. It was another mob hideout in gangster days.
Rhinelander is also a gateway of sorts—to water (the confluence of the Wisconsin and Pel-
ican Rivers in town and all those lakes to the north) and to forests (the Northern Highland
American Legion State Forest to the northwest, the Nicolet National Forest to the north-
east).
The Sioux used the rivers' confluence for a base; in 1870, young explorer Alexander
Brown spied the same spot and foundhimself the owner ofa town. Abit ofexpedient glad-
handing (naming the town for a railroad magnate) paid off and soon opening one sawmill
each year was the town's average.
