OpenAir Tours

26/05/2024

Heres your opportunity to share your opinions regarding tourism to and around Madison/ and to consider its impact on the area/

Take our 10-minute survey

11/05/2024

I’m sharing this because I graduated from the famous Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School and hope lots of my friends- especially those who have never been there- will drop in sometime this summer and experience the warm hospitality of a “charming little Wisconsin resort town on a lake.” …With an excellent golf course, a world famous racetrack, and TopChef quality dining. Go for it! (GGK)

Don't miss the events of the summer from Road America racing to live music every weekend. Check out the full list of special events in Elkhart Lake.

09/04/2024

What I love about Minnesota folks is that they don’t mind it when people mistake their honest travelogues for April Fools jokes!

NEW! NEW! Introducing… Mosquito Parasailing!Our Newest Attraction in the Miami of Minnesota! We know…You’re probably wondering how that’s possible. Well, we’ve got a special place on the Mississippi River called Mosquito Island, and we don’t know if it’s because of aliens or radiation ...

24/03/2024

Egg hunts shouldn’t be only for kids! 🪺

Sat 30 Mar, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM [CDT]: Dust off your bunny ears and load the car with friends, family and neighborhood stalwarts for an afternoon of the kind of fun that the child in all of us truly appreciates. The Adult Easter Egg Hunt b

20/03/2024

Hi friends /
Passing along this message from WI Sec of Tourism - Anne Sayers - FYI - and hoping you’ll have a chance to enjoy some of the Top Chef series that starts tonight (3-20-24 on Bravo) and puts the spotlight directly on Wisconsin!

It’s great to see our state get some much deserved attention - and we might even get some good ideas to add to our own favorite Wisconsin recipes!

Cheers!
Grab a beer, glass of wine, Old Fashioned, or Springtime Soda - and hey -Curds Away!

Travel Wisconsin + WEDC

16/03/2024

Happy to share!

That’s great photo - it looks like a glacial wave gliding across the prairie!
The Driftless Region truly is an under-appreciated corner of Midwest America. The good news is there’s fun ahead too.
This August the OpenAir Classic (convertible) tour will be based in Dubuque, Iowa, to take about 200 cars through a spectacular corner of the Driftless country. It will explore parts of northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois. We will be cruising along the Great River Road, featuring twisty-road drives through the coulees and river towns, visiting historic communities in Grant Wood’s American Gothic country, and stopping at plenty of special attractions along the way. The OAC is open to membership for owners of all makes and vintages of convertibles, sports cars, t-tops, and jeep style OpenAir cars. This will be the 18th OpenAir Classic which in 2006 picked up the tour traditions started by the Wisconsin Convertible Classic in 1993. We have over 200 members and more than 100 are already planning to join the 4-day expedition. Members get the first shot at registration which is limited to 200. Tour registration will likely begin in mid-May. OAC membership ($35/year) is open to owners of all highway-legal and licensed open-air vehicles.
The tour will probably fill before early July and room blocks are now open in Dubuque. Along with lots of jaw-dropping back roads, Great River Road vistas, and Driftless Region delights, a major tour highlight will be participants witnessing this year’s only twilight edition of the ceremonial “Ghost Team Baseball Game” played on the legendary “Field of Dreams” movie set in Dyersville, Iowa.
The tour features easy to follow turn-by-turn written routes and additional “don’t miss it” stops at attractions, parks, and checkpoints along the way. It’s a classic at your own pace, in your own open-air drive- not a race or rally. It’s a fun and friendly event with no prior road rally or tour experience needed. Find more details at OpenAirTours.com

The Driftless Area refers to the hilly landscape topography of southwestern Wisconsin. This area was left untouched by the last glacier that covered most of Wisconsin, resulting in its hillier and more rugged features. It is without the "drift" left by glaciers so it is "driftless."

About 15,000 years ago, and several times during preceding ice ages, glaciers flowed out of Canada as far south as the Ohio and Missouri Rivers. During the most recent one, the glaciers were diverted to the east or west by the highlands of north-central Wisconsin, leaving the Driftless Area untouched. In most of the Midwest, the ice sheets smoothed the landscape flat by eroding away the crags and filling in the valleys. The Driftless Area escaped this fate. Its ancient, rugged hills, and steep valleys pre-date most of the rest of the state's landscape.

What towns and cities are at the heart of the Driftless Area here in Wisconsin? Viroqua, Prairie du Chien, Gay Mills, Hillsboro, Readstown, C**n Valley, Soldiers Grove, LaFarge, Viola, Ferryville, Ontario, Westby, Stoddard Genoa and lots more.

Driftless Wisconsin

📸: Aerial view of U.S. Highway 14 southeast of La Crosse | Nov. 1951 | WHI Image 40179

02/03/2024

Happy 100th Birthday, Deke, the pride of Wisconsinites in Space!

Astronaut Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton was born in Sparta 100 years ago today on March 1, 1924. He graduated from Sparta High School (Sparta Area School District) and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 1949.

Slayton entered the United States Air Force as an aviation cadet and received his wings in April 1943 after completing flight training at Vernon and Waco, Texas. During World War II, he flew 56 combat missions in Europe as a B-25 pilot with the 340th Bombardment Group and later joined the 319th Bombardment Group in Okinawa and flew seven combat missions over Japan in A-26s.

Slayton was one of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts selected in April 1959, but he did not make a space flight until 1975. He was assigned to fly the second Project Mercury orbital mission, but was grounded by an irregular heartbeat. Slayton made his first space flight as Apollo docking module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. From December 1975 through November 1977, Slayton served as Manager for Approach and Landing Test Project. Slayton retired from NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1982.

Slayton died of brain cancer on June 13, 1993 in League City, Texas.

Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum in Sparta honors his memory.

Learn more: https://wihist.org/3P5GBNv

📸: NASA | WHI Image ID 11364

27/02/2024

Here’s a great Madison car show to add to your June outing plans. Free, always a nice variety of cars, meet the owners
and enjoy some good Capitol photo opps.

One of Madison's finest downtown summer traditions, the 15th Annual Classic Car Show will be held Saturday, June 1st. This free event spans 6 blocks of State Street in Downtown Madison.
This is a family friendly event that offers an opportunity to see cars from across the decades and talk directly with the car owners. Car enthusiasts can also explore the histories and unique characteristics of the classic cars.

One of Madison's finest downtown summer traditions, this FREE Annual Classic Car Show is held the first Saturday in June along State Street.

02/02/2024

A NICE SAPPY LAW - that we should have!
If you're from Wisconsin you want your milk to be a real dairy product (not the juice of a nut!), you want your cranberries to come from a bog (not a lab in Maryland), and your public water drink to come from a "bubbler" (not a "water-fountain", for Pete's sake!) And by gosh, you want (and deserve) your MAPLE SYRUP served by a restaurant on your waffle or pancakes to be the delicious boiled down sap of the Sugar Maple Tree, preferably harvested from a real WISCONSIN Maple Tree!

Check out this Wisconsin Public Radio recent story by BY ANYA VAN WAGTENDONK about a bill proposed by State Senator Kelda Roys from Madison.

I had the privilege of tapping trees, collecting buckets of sap, and watching my grand parents boil it down (about 40 gallons of sap to get one gallon of REAL Maple Syrup!) when I was a 7 year old kid growing up in the heart of Kettle Moraine County.

I think this is a long overdue law and a sweet proposal. However, apparently to appease fear-struck and guilt-ridden restaurant owners who are afraid they may accidentally (in the course of saving a few bucks) serve some edible sweet-flavored gunky laboratory chemical glop and tell gullible customers it's "Maple Syrup" - there's no chance they'll be hit with a hefty $$ fine or haver to sit pondering their crime for a few days in the hoosgow.

Wisconsin restaurants would be forbidden from saying they serve maple syrup if it's not the real thing under a bipartisan proposal being debated in the state Legislature.

27/01/2024

09/01/2024

Amish Open-air Ditch surfer!

02/01/2024

Great news for this restaurant that is a part of the Visitors’ Center that has served as a checkpoint on several OpenAir Tours - most recently in 2021 for OAC XV. Always a fascinating stop when you get to the Spring Green are.

02/01/2024

And Happy New Year to one of our favorite checkpoints on the OpenAir Tours Classic XVII IN 2023!

Happy New Year from Queen's View Bed & Breakfast!🦩🎉🩷💙

26/11/2023

We haven’t had a Packard in the OpenAir Classic - or even our predecessor WCC tour for quite a few years. If you have topless one in your collection, consider bringing it next August 15-18, 2024 to OpenAir Classic XVIII!

The Packard Proving Grounds (the remains of which are now called the Packard Proving Grounds Gateway Complex), was a proving ground established in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan in 1927 by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Packard had been founded in Warren, Ohio in 1899 by brothers James Ward Packard and William Doud Packard.

The Packard Proving Grounds consisted of a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) high-speed concrete oval track with timing tower, miles of test roads of various conditions, an airplane hangar (Packard was also involved in developing aircraft engines, and used the track's infield as a landing strip), a repair garage, and a gate house/lodge that housed the Proving Grounds manager and his family. The Tudor Revival lodge building also had garage space for eight cars, plus dormitory rooms for visiting engineers.

The garage building contained experimental and engineering laboratories allowing the testing of engines, chassis, electrical components, fuels, and lubricants under a variety of conditions.

(Below) Life Magazine cover in 1949 celebrating the golden year of the Packard.

04/10/2023

Love those KGs!

Why do people like classic Volkswagen Karmann Ghia so much?
It's fair to say that the automotive world now goes mad for a performance-driven supercar, but during the '60s, this wasn't the case. A cheap reliable vehicle, that was easy to maintain and offered a comfortable drive was exactly what people wanted – and the VW Karmann Ghia was able to offer exactly that

Was the VW Karmann Ghia a good car?
It's a fun car to drive on the right road (and the aftermarket for VW performance bits is huge, so more power is certainly possible), but its sexy Italian shape wrote a check that the wheezy air-cooled flat-four never could cash. The 2+2 Karmann Ghia therefore never fit into a neat category

Is a Karmann Ghia a classic car?
The first Karmann Ghia prototypes were created in 1953, and the car was in production from 1955 until 1974, with a total of over 445,000 units manufactured. Today, it remains an iconic and highly sought-after classic car, with an incredibly loyal following.

Why do people love Volkswagen cars?
Why do people love driving Volkswagen vehicles so much? Quite frankly, they make amazing vehicles that are actually fun to drive. Granted, they may be used for running errands and making the dreaded daily commute, but they consistently offer an enjoyable experience each time a person gets behind the wheel.

What does Karmann Ghia mean in German?
The sporty VW took its name from Karmann, the German firm that built the body, and Ghia, the Italian design house that came up with the styling.

Is the Karmann Ghia rare?
There are historic Volkswagens that are as rare as a Bugatti and as expensive as a classic Porsche. These include the “large” Type 34 1500 Karmann Ghia.

The VW Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia is one of the most delightful, yet affordable to own.
The first Karmann-Ghia was introduced in Europe in 1955 and arrived in America as a coupe in 1956. The convertible soon followed in 1958. It cost $300 to $400 more than the coupe, but was sportier to convertible-loving Americans, for whom it initially was built.

06/09/2023

HAVE ENOUGH ON YOUR PLATE?
Maybe not…

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- Upwards of a million cars are still driving the roads of Wisconsin with license plates that are more than 20 years old. The Department of Transportation (DOT) says it is working o

23/08/2023

A bit of humor, from our British friends, via a photographer friend in FL - https://fb.watch/mBa6Y2H2Ix/

05/08/2023

2023 registered OpenAir Classic XVII participants - remember - Apostle Islands Cruises has invited you to book a cruise with them this season at a special OpenAir Tour price. This is one of the best ways to get a great look at the spectacular Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Bon Voyage!
https://fb.watch/mdvTN_1FS6/?mibextid=cr9u03

14/07/2023

Every convertible should have one - order yours today and see where it will take you!

JUST ANNOUNCED: WisDOT along with Governor Tony Evers unveil the new 2023 Rustic Roads guide which offers 124 backroad trips and an introduction to Wisconsin’s five Scenic Byways.

Available in print or online, the Rustic Roads guide includes the latest Rustic Road, RR-124, which passes rock outcroppings and a trout stream in western Dane County. New for 2023, the guide devotes 14 pages to Wisconsin Scenic Byways, five non-interstate highway routes that explore Door County, the Mississippi River, the lower Wisconsin River, the Wolf River and Lake Superior.

The Rustic Road program highlights approximately 750 miles of scenic, lightly traveled country roads through 61 counties. Full news release: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/364b461

08/06/2023

We are arranging for participants in the 2023 OAC Classic to get a special rate on these tours during this sailing season - so if you’re coming on the Aug 17-20, 2023 tour you can book a Grand Tour at a special rate for a tour before or after our OAC XVII. We’ll provide details to registered participants - and Registration materials should be in the mail this coming Monday The 12th for members. If you have already made hotel plans in Ashland, you may want to consider staying on Sunday to do the tour. Our hotels all had agreed to offer OAC Rates for the 16th thru the 21st.
Cheers!

Plan your 2023 adventure. 🌅

08/06/2023

Here’s a great way to get a look at the Apostle Islands!

Plan your 2023 adventure. 🌅

17/05/2023

Our 2023 OpenAir Conditioner guest presenter’s new “ Small Town Wisconsin” guide book is about to hatch on Thursday - and you are invited to the blessed event! Looks like it will be an epic party - so get your navigator, gas up the car, and head this way! Thurs May 18 - details below!

Calling all book lovers and adventure seekers! Join us at The Musky this Thursday, May 18th from 3:30-6:30 for a special event as we host author Mary Bergin's latest book release, "Small-Town Wisconsin: Fun, Surprising, and Exceptional Road Trips". Discover the enchantment of 50 unique Wisconsin communities with populations under 5,000 through Mary's captivating storytelling. Mary will be selling copies of her new book, and to make the celebration even sweeter, we'll be serving up a tasty Old Fashioned on tap. Mark your calendars and join us for a delightful evening of literature and libations!

13/04/2023

Great News for OAC XVI Checkpoint!
Good things happen (in addition to all the smiling faces that visit our OAC checkpoints)!

Christiana and Nic Trapani plan to use the money for business improvements and expansion following the success of their Ukraine Candle relief efforts.