A Baraboo Adventure I Didn't Expect

My life is a feast or a famine. It's not whether or not I get food but in my activity level. I am either very busy or I have nothing to do. I guess I like it that way. At my age I need time between activities to rest and regroup. Some people thrive on constant activity but I do not. I have a need to feel a state of equilibrium and keeping just busy enough does that for me. 

Yesterday was a busy day. It started out with a story of a snake in the neighborhood. If you know, you know. If not, I will just say I had a snake to deal with but all is well. Fortunately I am not really afraid of snakes unless they are of the poisonous kind.

After I accomplished my first task of the day, I had to get ready for my next adventure. My grandson Dylan had the lead in a production at the AL Ringling theater in Baraboo WI. He has been in so many productions since he was Oliver in 7th grade and always makes me proud. He does musicals, comedies and dramas. Some I like better than others, but he always does a great job. 

 

My son in law wanted to leave a little early to go see Dylan because there was a place in Baraboo he wanted to go to. It was called Delaney's Surplus Sales. It is a store outside of Baraboo. I hadn't been there for 25 years and it wasn't a place I would choose to go, but I am the passenger and I go where the car goes. As it turned out, he was planning something else. Behind Delaney's is a place called Dr. Evermor's Sculpture Park. What an amazing experience it turned out to be.

 

Dr. Evermor's Sculpture Park is a park full of unique scrap metal art. Dr. Evermore (Tom Every) started building this park in 1983. He was a businessman and an industrial wrecker but couldn't scrap and destroy many of the designs he was hired to dismantle. He started keeping them and started building things out of the discarded items. He had a partnership with Alex Jordan who had the vision for House on the Rock in Wisconsin, but that didn't work out. If anyone has visited House on the Rock, it is also very unique. At the time of his falling out with Alex, Tom Evermor began building a huge sculpture called Forevertron. It was 50 feet tall and used 320 tons of salvage. They just bolted and welded parts of buildings, vehicles, musical instruments and a lot of different items they collected. He even got his family involved.

 

They collected so many things. 

 

 

 

There are so many different sculptures, I won't even try to show them all. If you want to see them it would be a good idea to go yourself.  The attraction is free and is right behind Delaney's Surplus Sales on Hwy. 12. Here is the website that describes many of the sculptures in detail. It is Foreverton.org 

 

This is a bird directing his bird band. The director and the band birds are made out of musical instruments.

 

 

 

 

This is a giant telescope and the Foreverton sculpture.

 

Next picture is a spider or at least I think that is what it is.

 

There are frogs and robots and a bird with a gas pump for a beak.  There are so many things to look at.

I had a full day. I got home about 10:30pm to my little grand dog named Bandit. I am taking care of him for the weekend. He and I are taking it easy. We had a little walk, some snacks and now we are just hanging out. 

 

I admit I am a wee bit tired. This morning when I went in the bedroom to make the bed and get dressed, I was greeted with this purse strap that got dropped on the floor. My reaction to it was a gasp and a small curse. I thought it was a snake. I guess I am not as brave as I want everyone to think.  

 

Chocolate Depression Cake

I am trying to limit the amount of unhealthy snacks and treats I have on hand. My logic says that if fattening snacks aren't easily available, then I would not be tempted. I was wrong. I will stop at nothing to get a treat (mostly sweet) when I get the urge. I have been know to take oyster crackers and a few chocolate chips in a bowl and eat them together. Sweet and salty takes care of that craving. Yesterday I had nothing to snack on. I didn't have any chocolate or crackers. I purposely passed them up in the grocery store but I should have just given in. Then I remembered a recipe I had made in the past. It was a chocolate Depression Cake.

Depression cakes (or War cakes) are a type of cake that originated during the Great Depression when people had limited supplies on hand. These cakes don't require eggs, milk or butter. You can make chocolate, vanilla or even a spice cake. I haven't made the spice cake but it's basically the same cake but you add cinnamon, allspice and even raisins. I made a chocolate cake but a vanilla cake can be made by leaving out the cocoa powder. The cakes rise by adding vinegar to the mixture. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda and gives it the bubbles it needs to rise just as it would with eggs. This cake makes a 8 x 8 cake or a dozen cupcakes.

Chocolate Depression Cake  

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil (I used avocado oil)

1 Tablespoon vinegar (I used white vinegar)

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 cup water

There is no need for a mixer. Just mix all the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, cocoa powder,  baking soda and salt. If you want to prepare these dry ingredients in advance, you can keep them in a jar and use when you want a quick cake.

Add the oil, vinegar and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Lastly add the cup of water and stir with a spoon to combine everything together.

Grease a 8 x 8 cake pan and pour in the cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick come out clean. It takes about 30 minutes.

When cool sprinkle with powdered sugar, top with cool whip or frost. Make frosting or just buy a can of frosting to have on hand.  

This cake was just what I needed to satisfy my sweet tooth. It mixed together quickly and didn't require many ingredients or a lot of equipment.