Do you remember any of the gifts you received during the holiday season last year? How about any of the ones you gave? This list is full of ideas that will allow your recipients to truly experience your generosity — and then not likely forget their experience, or you. You’re welcome.
Bi-plane rides from Gypsy Air Tours
No baggage fees and no long security-check lines. Just a highly trained pilot in an open cockpit taking your gift recipient for the ride of a lifetime. Based at the Brodhead Airport, about 50 minutes south of Madison, Gypsy Air Tours offers two types of flight experiences: scenic tours for one or two passengers and aerobatic flights for one passenger. The aircraft is a vintage 1930 Waco Taperwing, which, according to Gypsy Air’s website, “embodies the spirit of a bygone jazz era that set the aviation industry in full swing. It was a time when speed and altitude records were broken on a daily basis.” Flights can be booked from May through October, and gift certificates can be purchased online. Oh, and no smoking on board.
Cost: $160 and up.
Where: gypsyairtours.com, 608-215-7896
Hot air balloon rides from Gentle Breezes
Another high-flying experience can be had in a hot air balloon ride with Gentle Breezes, headquartered on Highway 19 between Sun Prairie and Token Creek. Balloon baskets can hold up to eight people, who will experience a peaceful, colorful, exhilarating and romantic ride, overseen by an experienced and professional FAA-certified commercial pilot. Flights range in length from 50 to 90 minutes, and take place on Saturday and Sunday mornings and evenings, as well as weeknights.
Cost: $225 per person
Where: flygentlebreezes.net, 608-577-9606. Holiday gift certificates are available.
Snowmobiling lessons, rentals and tours
How about a snowmobiling adventure? After all, Wisconsin boasts more than 25,000 miles of snowmobile trails. First step: Sign that person up for the official online Wisconsin Snowmobile Ed Course (snowmobile-ed.com) offered by the state’s Department of Natural Resources. Then visit the Dane County Parks’ “Information for Snowmobilers” web page for a trail map, GPS data and other important information about safety, clubs and trail passes. Considering recent snow amounts locally, though, you may want to head north.
Cost: About $245/day
Where: Power Sports Rental Network in Appleton offers daily rates for snowmobiles, and companies provide guided tours, including Adventure North Snowmobile Tours & Rentals in Minocqua and Wildman Adventure Resort in Athelstane.
Durable hiking devices from Garmin
For some people, the fun really begins after the snow melts. That’s why Garmin — a leading manufacturer of outdoor products — makes almost 25 hiking devices designed to help users go farther than ever before. From high-end GPS watches with wrist heart rate technology to wrist-mounted and handheld navigators with cameras, these products look sharp and will keep loved ones from getting lost.
Garmin’s eTrex 20x navigator shown above.
Cost: $110 and up.
Where: Local outdoor outfitters
Packers lore
Okay, you will keep this one on a shelf. The armchair adventurer who also is a sports fan will no doubt enjoy escaping for hours in Packers Heritage Trail: The Town, The Team, The Fans From Lambeau to Lombardi, a rich history of Titletown’s first 50 years — from the Curly Lambeau to Vince Lombardi eras. Published by KCI Sports Publishing in Stevens Point, this handsome hardcover book boasts 240 pages and more than 100 photos. Team historian Cliff Christl, who covered the Packers for more than 35 years for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette, walks readers through every stop on the trail — from the building in which the Packers were founded to St. Norbert College, which has hosted the Pack for training camp since 1958. Yes, the Packers Heritage Trail actually exists as a self-guided tour of locations related to the team’s history, and Christl packs the last section of his book with additional “As You Tour” highlights and a map of plaque locations along the Lambeau-Lombardi Spur. Most sites are located within a two-mile radius of downtown Green Bay.
Cost: $18
Where: At area bookstores or through kcisports.com
