BudgetTravel

Lodging

Kalahari Resort 1305 Kalahari Dr., Wisconsin Dells, 608/254-5466, kalahariresort.com, from $149

WISCONSIN'S WINDING WAYS We sent a photographer to get a taste of Wisconsin's food, people, and outdoor attractions, as witnessed on this fun road trip. • Launch the slide show

Food

Cheese Factory 521 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy. S., Wisconsin Dells, 608/253-6065, cookingvegetarian.com, torte $4

House of Embers 935 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy., Wisconsin Dells, 608/253-6411, houseofembers.com, ribs $13

Activities

MacKenzie Environmental Education Center W7303 County Rd. CS, Poynette, 608/635-8105, dnr.state.wi.us/education/mackenzie

Circus World 550 Water St., Baraboo, 608/356-8341, circusworldmuseum.com, $7 ($15 in summer)

Extreme World 1800 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy., Wisconsin Dells, 608/254-4111, extremeworld.com

DAY 3
After a regrettable breakfast at a forgettable restaurant, we turn again to Oddball Wisconsin. It directs us to the Forevertron outside Prairie du Sac. Tom Every owned a salvage business but craved more in his life, so he adopted the name Dr. Evermor and built a scrap-art extravaganza. Words don't do the Forevertron justice. One glance and you see a flock of birds; look closer and you discover they're all made out of old musical instruments. Dr. Evermor's work is a monument to the power of imagination and, perhaps, boredom, and I'm dying to climb all over it. That's forbidden, however, and anyway I'm not sure when my last tetanus shot was.

Taliesin is the house outside Spring Green that Frank Lloyd Wright built for himself and the woman for whom he left his wife and six children. We take the two-hour Highlights Tour ($52), which includes Taliesin and a building called Hillside. The guide refuses to discuss Wright's love life, but without personal or architectural context, Taliesin isn't very special. The guide hasn't just drunk the Kool-Aid; she's mainlined it. At one point, she compares Taliesin to the Grand Canyon—and then says Taliesin is more interesting: "You've seen one rock, you've seem 'em all."

In a village called Black Earth, kids are lining the streets, waving and begging us to honk. The Wisconsin Heights homecoming parade is about to begin! On one float, football players are sawing the Belleville-Albany Wildcats in half; on another, they're cooking them in a smoker.