The Outdoor Scene

Last weekend I visited my hometown, Wausau, for the first time in years. Riding in the back of my mom and dad’s car, I gawked at the sights of this north central Wisconsin city of 38,000 people like I was in New York City or Washington, D.C. A lot has changed in the 25 years since I left. And a lot has stayed the same.

Of course in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, I was the kid who read too many books and heard too much music, causing me to believe Wausau was a dead-end, backwater burg. There was a world of things happening out there, and I had to go find them. While I never found the hub, I have discovered some interesting people and places along the way, as well as a milder climate.

During my visit last weekend, I saw plenty of evidence to remind me what made Wausau such a terrific place to grow up.  First, several rivers traverse the city, including the mighty Wisconsin. In fact, it was the Wisconsin River that first drew settlers to the area originally known as “Big Bull Falls.”  And it still attracts people today with its plethora of paddling adventures. The same rapids that first provided power to the lumber mills of Wausau’s early residents are now the site of world-class whitewater kayak and canoe competitions.

Outdoor traditions such as fishing are holding strong in my hometown, too. Kids still ride their bikes to Lake Wausau, fishing rod in hand ready to do battle with pike, walleye, muskie and pan fish. While not crowded by any means, kayaks, canoes and motor boats dotted the reservoir and neighboring wetlands last weekend.

Mountain bikers have it good, too. Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area has great trails for bikers as well as hikers and horseback riders. In the winter, this area becomes the domain of cross country skiers and is famous for its fabulously groomed trails.

Speaking of skiing, did I mention I grew up in a town with a downhill skiing area? Known as Rib Mountain back then, today Granite Peak is becoming one of the premiere ski facilities in the Midwest.

Then, of course, there’s my mother’s garden to enjoy. It’s a work of art, worthy of envy by any horticulturist for its color, variety, fragrance, wildness and sheer presence. Sorry, folks, it’s not open to the public.

Wausau is not without culture either. And I was able to sample a bit of it by visiting the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, which focuses on art in nature. The museum’s permanent collection features birds in historic and contemporary paintings, sculptures, and sketches. I can tell you, I felt right at home strolling past a beautiful sculpture of wild turkeys at the front entrance.

I’d love to go back in September or October when the museum hosts its annual Birds in Art exhibition. This internationally acclaimed, juried exhibition showcases a variety of styles created by artists the world over. In conjunction with Birds in Art, the Woodson Art Museum selects an artist to receive its Master Wildlife Artist Award. This year, Scottish watercolorist and draftsman John Busby is honored with the award for his outstanding achievements in using bird imagery in his work. If you can’t be there in person, the art is documented in a full-color catalog available for purchase.

Stately gardens dotted with sculpture are another treat at the museum. It’s worth taking a turn along the brick walkways of these outdoor galleries, which also offer views of the picturesque museum, an updated 1931 English Tudor period Cotswold-style residence.

You can learn more about the Woodson Art Museum by visiting http://www.lywam.org/. If you’re planning a visit to central Wisconsin, you’ll also want to check out this site: http://www.visitwausau.com/.

For the life of me, I can’t imagine why I’d want to leave a town where I played at riverside parks, enjoyed downhill and cross country skiing as well as hiking, biking, canoeing and bird watching. Sometimes, you just never know what you have until you leave it.

If you get the chance, stop by and say hi to me on Facebook and Twitter @TammyDianeSapp

So baby let’s sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high society you cry all day
We’ve been so busy keepin’ up with the Jones
Four-car garage and we’re still building on
Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics of love

-Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) Waylon Jennings, 1977

Waylon’s powerful baritone in this anthem to the simple life is as unforgettable as the hard economic times the country faced in the late ‘70s. For those of us old enough to remember, getting back to the basics was more of a necessity than a choice for many Americans.

And now, more than 30 years later, here we go again. This country’s economic woes hang over us like the cloud that floated over Pigpen’s head in Charlie Brown. Skillful, dedicated workers are laid off, houses are lost and lives, if not ruined, are horribly disrupted.

Unless you’re a believer in the apocalypse, you can trace the history of the world as a series of bad times followed by good times. The Dark Ages and the Renaissance. The American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. Through it all, humans have thrived when they could and endured when they had to.

Some say we wouldn’t know or appreciate prosperity without hardship. In fact, if there’s a bright spot, coping with adversity can bring out people’s better qualities. Entrepreneurship takes off. Thriftiness becomes admirable. And there’s a new yearning and appreciation for the simpler things in life. The love of our friends and family. The feeling of being connected to nature. Traits that will help us regain our foothold in our quest for success.

We’re already seeing signs that this idea of getting back to the basics is catching on. There’s an Allstate Commercial where Dennis Haysbert reminds us America has endured 12 recessions since the Great Depression.  Haysbert’s voiceover “After the fear subsides …people start enjoying the small things in life” is underscored by photos of families enjoying a home cooked meal and young boys shooting hoops in the driveway. I don’t usually rave on commercials, but this one is spectacularly done because it recognizes the pendulum effect of our economy and reminds us of our resilience.

A 2009 TripAdvisor travel survey verifies that this return to the basics is not just something you’ll see in a commercial. One of the primary trends identified is people are planning to enjoy the outdoors. A whopping 73 percent of respondents said they plan to visit a national park while 53 percent plan to go hiking.

Camping is also on America’s agenda this year as attendance and sales were up at recent RV shows in Michigan, Maryland, Utah and Florida. It’s a buyer’s market now and even with the cost of an RV, camping is still 27 to 61 percent less expensive than other types of vacations.

News such as this begs the question, will more people also hunt?  A reference to a study in the book “The Future of Hunting and Shooting Sports” suggests there’s a correlation between new housing starts and license sales. The study looked at 43 variables including economic data and found that as new housing starts increased, the sale of hunting licenses decreased. This could be the result of a couple of different factors: urbanization takes away hunting land or access to it and/or increased construction activity leaves less time for hunting (another part of the study found many hunters are in the construction business).

Doesn’t it stand to reason that if housing starts decrease then hunting and fishing license sales will increase? While researchers may not have the answer to that one yet, it sounds logical. And hopefully it would have a snowball effect as men (who make up the majority of hunters and anglers), would introduce their wives, girlfriends, sons and daughters to the woods and waters.

Hunting and fishing are great back-to-the-basics activities because not only will you enjoy the time spent outdoors, you can fill your freezer with healthy, nutritious meat that any locavore would love.

That reminds me of another classic country song by Hank Williams, Jr. Released in 1981, “Country Boy Can Survive” is an ode to survival and self sufficiency that rose to the top of the charts when times were tough in America. For many, the message still resonates today.

And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive

Come to think of it, so can a country girl.

This is a difficult period for many Americans. But have faith. Plant a garden this spring. Go turkey hunting. Enjoy a picnic at a nearby state park. Watch the birds at your feeder. Catch a fish. And live like you mean it.