My favorite Birdog and #1 fan called me to say that this Serta Sheep was going to be in front of the hh gregg stores headquarters. Karen told me about other items as well, like the Kissmobile she spotted. hh gregg is a regional, going national, appliance and electronics store. They’ve had other inflatables out front in the past like the Sirius Satellite radio dog.
Serta Sheep
Meet Gertrude the Guernsey Cow. Looks an awful lot like Sissie the Cow just below. Maybe they’re related? Anyway, she was the last Animal we visited on our Wisconsin trip. Gertrude is actually near Rockford, Illinois in Lockwood Park. I’ll have to say that 4 days of Big Thing hunting was pretty exhausting. When Deb asked me what the next object was and I told her a Big Cow, she replied, “Another cow?” I knew at that point we should head home, and we did!
Gertrude the Gurnsey Cow
Once we got to the Wisconsin Dells it was pretty late – we had dinner and turned in for the night. This was the large flamingo we came to town to find. The Dells are a great vacation spot. Lot’s to do if you have children in the family. We went on a couple river tours and enjoyed ourselves. It is a classic resort town — fudge and moccasin stores abound.
Flamingo Motel
Leaving one of the river tours, which involved an ex-US Army amphibious duck we spotted this Trojan Horse at the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. A water park, go cart track, mini golf all rolled into one. Gives you an inkling of what the Dells has to offer.
Mt. Olympus Trojan Horse
I like these Big Elephants. There is one close to home in Pendelton, IN and another at Jim Hipp’s Nursery in Southwest Indiana. A big animal made ever Bigger is fine. This one in DeForest, Wisconsin is at the Citgo gas just off Interstate 90/94. We had to wait to take this image, some parents were taking photos of their kids with the elephant, then the dog walkers were next in line. I had to be careful where I stepped to get this image.
DeForest Elephant
Let me introduce you to Sissy the Cow in DeForest Wisconsin. She is in front of Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet just off I90/94 exit 126. Nice cow and an even nicer cheese store. We spent some time inside and, of course, bought some cheese.
Sissy the Cow
In Madison Wisconsin we stayed the night at the Edgewater Hotel right on Lake Mendota. Our room overlooked the lake and we had dinner on the deck with a live band playing. One interesting thing about this hotel was the floors are backward. Our room was on the first floor and we had to go down to the 5th floor to get to the deck. I was a little confused when I went to get some ice. Oh, and we got these giant metal birds called Dreamkeepers outside an office building.
Madison Dreamkeepers Birds
On the way out of Oshkosh we were passing through Omro and spotted this Big Pig outside the Piggly Wiggly supermarket on Route 21. Omro had a couple of slogans posted on the side of the road. “Bridge to the Future” and “Picturesque and Proud.” Sounds like a nice town.
Piggly Wiggly Pig
I find a lot of Big Things using the Roadside America website. This time I was looking for a giant flamingo and followed the directions to this place outside Oshkosh. Actually Vinland, Wisconsin. We were not prepared for what awaited us. These fish and the following birds, moose and other animals were all in a field outside M. Schettl Sales. And this was just the start. Check out all the photos of Animals here! There were more Big Things too, see Food and Drink.
Mel’s Fish
Mel’s Catfish with Daily Specials Board
There are a lot of these chickens scattered around the country. I don’t know that much about them but Mel has two of them in the park. I wish I could have learned more about why he collected all these items. BYW the White Chicken is virtually identical to the Barnburner Chicken in LA, except this one has his tail painted.
Mel’s Painted Chicken
Mel’s White Chicken
The M in M Schettl Sales stands for Mel. He wasn’t in at the time of our visit but we were given the run of the place by the manager on duty. Mel sells just about anything. These six birds were on trailers and out in the field. Mel sells the trailers and the animals too.
The elephant was one of the 4 Big Things out front. We after this we went into the fenced “park” on the other side of the building. That’s where the flamingo is and many other treasures. If you are in need of a Big Thing I suggest you give Mel a call.
Mel’s Elephant
Now we’ve been taking these photos for a couple of decades and have not run into an abundance of Big Things like this. It’s like eating all the chocolate you want. Almost an overdose of Big Stuff. Before we finished we had “battle fatigue.” Mel tested our stamina with his assortment. (In fact, I’m feeling fatigue just trying to post all of these.)
We were on Route 21 from Oshkosh to spend the night at the Wisconsin Dells. As I’ve said some of the best Big Things are found unexpectedly as was the case with this Big Steer near Wautoma. He stands out front of the Silvercryst Steakhouse and Motel located on Silver Lake. Looks like a small resort town with good eats. I might vacation there sometime.
Surprise Steer
On our way to the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin we were on a secondary road and noted these birds in a field. We made a quick U-turn and climbed out into a field to get these photos. This is what farmers must do to pass time during the winter when they have time on their hands.
Wisconsin Field Birds
Wisconsin Field Birds
We took the ferry across Lake Michigan from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. If you didn’t know, there are LOTS of Big Things in Wisconsin. In Manitowoc, the Cedar Crest Cow is out in front of the dairy. You can stop in the company store and have a great ice cream there. We passed on that, but right across the street is the cheese store. Lot’s of varieties, we even bought a cheese in the shape of a cow! The man in the store was very helpful with samples of cheeses and gave tips on the local sites as well.
Cedar Crest Cow
I got a call while I was having lunch with the Chief Photographer at the Jersey Cafe, a haven for former South Jersey residents. It seems the #1 fan spotted another “Mobile Big Thing.” This large cow and Ice Cream Carton in front of the Kroger. She dropped everything and went up to the man handing out samples to find out how long he was going to be there and where he was going to be next. As you may recall #1 spotted the Kissmobile, the other “Mobile Big Thing.” Now with those two and the Weinermobile it becomes a sub-class along with Stationary and Inflatables. Breaking new ground, thanks Karen!
Karen’s Cow
I have lots of cows on this site, not nearly as many bulls. Here’s a good looking one. He is in a little park in the Village of Gilboa, (est.1837) OH. The park is on the corner of US-224 and Pearl. I wish we had more time to explore Gilboa, anytime a village have been around as this one has, it must have something pretty substantial to it. Maybe next time.
Village of Gilboa Bull
The Baltimore Harbor Visitors Center is home to this big poodle. I don’t know the story behind it (I think it was used in some type of parade) but we spotted it when visiting. Actually we were just going through the visitor motions in order to have crab cakes at Phillips for lunch. What we do for good seafood when you live in the middle of the country.
Baltimore Harbor Poodle
It was Christmas in New Jersey and we went to the movies to see Avatar in 3D, my first experience with 3D since Jaws 3D. I’ve stayed away from 3D ever since (if you saw Jaws 3D you understand.) We spotted these Chipmunks in the lobby and I had my photo taken with them. Naturally, after some children saw me climb over the roping they followed suit and had their parents take their photo as well. I guess I am not a good example of citizenship.
Christmas Chipmunks
