The Ridge and Valley Pre-Planned Tour Season is complete. We learned much, educated and entertained quite a few people, and brought some great agricultural insight to visitors from outside Southwest Wisconsin as well as local residents. There were some lessons, such as don’t try to cram 6 hours of entertainment, driving, and education into a 4 hour period. There were also some very pleasant surprises, such as the great discussion and connection that happened at every meal at the end of one of our tours. Overall it was a great experience and has served to show us some things we are doing right and some things we can improve upon.
I had someone mention to me a week ago, “So, you get to take the winter off right?”. Well, that might have been one of my original intentions but the reality of it is not proving that to be true. So far, since our last planned tour, we have taken groups to Badger and Packer games at Camp Randal and Lambeau Field, and we held our “Dinner With The Kids” night in which we took a group to hang out with the newborn kids and dinner at our new business partner The Branding Iron Roadhouse. And now we are holding the world premiere of R&V Tours Goat Yoga and Wine & Cheese Tasting!
At Ridge and Valley Tours, we are all about experiential ventures. Because we like trying new adventures we are cooperatively hosting a Goat Yoga and Wine & Cheese Tasting experience. This Saturday along with our business partners Narrows Creek Winery, dairy goat farm operators Chad McCauley and Robin Loewe, Stairway to Wellness, and Carr Valley Cheese, we are holding this event. The response has been off the charts and rest assured we will be offering this event again in the future.
Keep an eye out this winter for other experiences that are a bit unique or unusual. One event that we have an interest in making a trip this winter is the 2020 Snowflake Ski Jump event in Westby. I went to witness this last year and it exceeded my expectations. Even I was questioning the sanity in flinging yourself off a perfectly good hillside, 118 Meters high on skis. It is a fantastic event filled with ski jumping, fireworks, live music, and yes, some pretty darn good beverages.
As much as we think we know what is interesting or exciting for people to experience, we also have learned our participants are the ones who really show us what is of interest. If you are aware of an event this winter you feel would be worth a trip, I am always interested to hear new ideas and if it makes sense, make it happen. Feel free to reach out to me at ridgeandvalleytours@gmail.com or fill out the contact form below, and share your winter experience ideas with me.
Remember, there are no crazy ideas, just crazy people who have ideas! -Marty
-on a journey to tell our local story- 