Pumpkin Farm

Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm: Of pyramids, pumpkins, and Parmesan.

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin.

“We have to take Valry on adventures or else she’s going to leave again.”
Heather

 

Since I came home from traveling around the world, Heather has decided that we need to take adventures,to keep me excited, so I won’t leave again to travel. Of course, I already am planning to leave again to travel to Guatemala, but we might as well have a little fun while I’m in Chicago no matter what.

Being Halloween, we decided to spend a day traveling to the Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Waterford, Wisconsin to go pumpkin picking. (And to stop at a few must-see roadside attractions and tourist traps on the drive!)

stopping for coffee

 

Onan’s Gold Pyramid House in Wadsworth, Illinois

No road trip from Chicago to Wisconsin is complete without a stop at the Gold Pyramid House in Wadsworth. This roadside attraction was built in 1977 by Jim and Linda Onan to provoke the mysterious, supernatural and magical powers that were related to the pyramids and the dwelling consists of a 17,000 square foot, 6-story structure that is surrounded by three pyramid garages, a moat, and an enormous statue of Ramses II.


I first saw this piece of Egypt in Illinois on a road trip around Chicago I took years ago. And it just gets more and more impressive every time we stop!

Golden Pyramid House

Golden Pyramid House

Golden Pyramid House

Golden Pyramid House

Golden Pyramid House

 

On the way to Bear Den Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

On our way to Bear Den Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

 

Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Waterford, Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking is one of the best Halloween/Autumn/life things you can do (it’s an Autumn bucket list item for sure). I’ve been before to Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm in Illinois, but this year we decided to cross the border into Wisconsin to go to the pumpkin farm at Bear Den Zoo & Petting Farm in Waterford.

We started at the zoo where we saw bears, albino peacocks, goats, kangaroos, and my favorite animal: the jackalope!

Then we took a tractor-pulled hayride through the woods to the pumpkin patch where we picked out the perfect pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns with! (I chose the one with the curliest stem I could find!)

 Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Bear at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Albino peacock at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Pig at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Kangaroo at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Me and a goat at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Jackalope at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Jackalope at Bear Den Zoo and Petting Farm in Wisconsin

Heather dancing at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Hay ride at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Heather and Jeremy at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Heather and me at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Smurf at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Pumpkin picking at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

GIant hamburger at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

Giant hamburger at Bear Den Zoo Pumpkin Farm in Wisconsin

 

Mars Cheese Castle

On our way back to Chicago we, of course, stopped at Mars Cheese Castle. Because you can’t drive to Wisconsin and not stop at Mars Cheese Castle to look at cheese-related merchandise, eat cheese, buy cheese, and, well, look at cheese!

Mars Cheese Castle in Wisconsin

Mars Cheese Castle in Wisconsin

Mars Cheese Castle in Wisconsin

Mars Cheese Castle in Wisconsin

Mars Cheese Castle in Wisconsin


Bear Den Zoo & Petting Farm
6831 Big Bend Rd (hwy 164) Waterford, WI 53185
Learn More

Gold Pyramid House
37921 N Dilleys Rd, Wadsworth, IL 60083
Learn More

Mars Cheese Castle
2800 W Frontage Rd, Kenosha, WI 53144
Learn More

 

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Hi, I'm Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the kitten. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and traveled for three years. Now I'm back in Chicago, decorating my apartment in all the teal, petting my cats, and planning my next adventure.

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  • Sid
    October 29, 2012at4:10 pm

    That gif of Heather needs to exist in more places

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