House on the Rock
During college breaks we would
sometimes try to get out of town for a few days to clear our minds
for the next round. Dodgeville, WI and House on the Rock became one
of our favorite get away destinations.
Almost 40 years later, we
were interested in seeing how much things had changed.
With friends Sharon and Jerry, we
turned into the complex of House on the Rock. Interesting gargoyle
sculptures stood along the tree lined entrance.
Following the drive
into the parking area we began to notice a number of buildings that
seemed new to us.
Covered paths connected the buildings and the main
house.
Entering the large visitor's center where we purchased tickets to our tour we couldn't even identify the main entrance to the House on the Rock. After some directions we followed the path to the house and upon entering, we found a few familiar scenes.
Entering the large visitor's center where we purchased tickets to our tour we couldn't even identify the main entrance to the House on the Rock. After some directions we followed the path to the house and upon entering, we found a few familiar scenes.
Actually, the house itself is much as
it was years ago. Built first, the house was completed and furnished
many years ago. Having said that, the project has been never ending,
with furnishings added all the time. 
In fact new rooms have been
added, and new buildings constructed to house the new rooms that
house the new furnishings.
Finishing our circuit through the
house we returned to a central area to began our next phase. This
took us through the Streets of Yesterday that we remembered from our
earlier visits.
Huge collections of mechanical musical inventions
await you.
Drop in a token and watch and listen to animated musical
instruments play complete songs in perfect harmony....( well, many
need tuning right now.....) Complete mechanical band players with
their instruments go through their paces.
Player pianos, calliopes,
and mechanical disc gramophones do their things. Elaborate
mechanical pipe organs play classical music. Musical inventions that will delight you, surprise you, and amaze you are in every nook and corner of the street.
Top it off with the world's largest, grandest,
most colorful carousel estimated to be worth $5,000,000 with 20,000
lights, and you really have something.
Phase 3 is collections. Almost
anything you can think of has a collection exhibited. Miniature
circus displays,
doll houses infinitum, and even crowns of royalty
from countries around the world are represented.
Swords, knives,
guns, dueling sets...they are all there. In fact there are so many
collections it gets mind boggling and downright overwhelming....!
We spent the better part of a day
walking through these gigantic displays. In retrospect, two or three
days would have made the trip much less stressful and tiresome. We
literally felt as if we were walking our legs off....! House on the
Rock is truly amazing, ever changing, and growing.
Jo and I estimate that it is 3 to 5
times as large as it was when we were in college.
This was a good day trip. And as always, it's much better with friends along....
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