Make lemonade!

Revive sweet memories of summers past with these 11 southern Wisconsin activities, trips

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The older we get, the more it seems like summer slips away before we take full advantage. Don’t let this tragedy happen to you. Start by making yourself a glass of lemonade, lean back in your camp chair, and commit to doing exactly what you want this summer — something old, something new. No excuses.

Make lemonade

Do not buy a powder and mix it with water. Just don’t. Making real lemonade is easy. Juice about six lemons, or enough to make 1 cup of juice. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and the juice and bring to a mild boil to dissolve the sugar. Cool. Then add 2-1/2 to 3 cups of water and ice.

Eat outdoors: Wedl’s Hamburger Stand

Easy to spot on Hwy. 18 (200 E. Racine St.) in Jefferson is this historic, beloved, bare-bones hamburger stand. Head to the ordering window, where you can see the grillmasters smashing your handmade beef patty on a grill. The cheeseburger with fried onions should be tarted up with Wedl’s house sauce (a slight variation on ketchup) and other condiments, and then allowed to cool somewhat to best bring out the summery, peppery flavor — burgers, fries and onion rings uniformly come out scalding hot.

Honor the summer folk: Ten Chimneys

The summer retreat of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Ten Chimneys is filled with original furnishings and memorabilia and boasts a well-loved, personal, lived-in quality that is rare in tours of historic homes. See the swimming pool where the likes of Noel Coward sunbathed, and the pantry list that Lunt used to keep track of when lightbulbs were changed. Tours leave from S43 W31575 Depot Rd., Genesee Depot.

Revisit childhood: The Wisconsin Dells

If you grew up in southern Wisconsin, nothing says “summer” like a trip to the Dells. Whether it’s the sandstone formations on the Wisconsin River that made the area famous, a dude-ranch horseback ride, terrifying tube slides at a water park, miniature golf, or the intoxicating aroma of fried food and fudge shops, something here will lure your child’s heart out of its overscheduled Monday-Friday rut.

Try something completely different: Madison Polo Club

Madison has a polo club? With actual horses? Yes, south of Madison at 1814 Caine Rd. (off Hwy. M), Oregon, the Madison Polo Club plays the sport of the English gentry. The public is welcome to watch practices (6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, weather permitting), and the club hosts frequent matches on Saturday afternoons. See the complete schedule at madisonpolo.com.

Hike Devil’s Lake State Park

How has it been so long since you’ve visited Devil’s Lake? Sure, on some weekends it can be crowded. But there’s so much here — camping, swimming, mountain biking, climbing (on 500-foot-high quartzite bluffs), hiking, and getting out on the water with rowboats, paddleboats, kayaks and canoes (all available for rental). And with the park’s 9,000 acres, anyone can find some spot of solitude. The Ice Age Trail runs through the park and over to Parfrey’s Glen State Natural Area for a vigorous hike.

Ride the Merrimac Ferry

While both Hwy. 12 and I-39/90 will take you close to Baraboo, home of Devil’s Lake, the most summery route choice is Hwy. 113, which leaves Madison as Northport Drive, and angles through Waunakee, Dane and Lodi before crossing the Wisconsin River at Merrimac via the Colsac III, Wisconsin’s only free car ferry. The ferry accepts pedestrians, bicyclists and about 15 cars a trip. Don’t forgo a trip to the ice cream stand on the Merrimac side.

Make a steampunk pilgrimage: Dr. Evermor’s Sculpture Garden

You do not have to go to the Deep South to find great outsider art. Dr. Evermor’s scrap metal sculpture garden at S7703 Hwy. 12, northwest of Sauk City, is proof. If you’ve driven past on your way to Baraboo and thought that what you see from the road is all there is, you are so wrong. Behind the gate, a gazebo, metal bird orchestras, a huge telescope, the “Celestial Listening Ear” and of course the gigantic Forevertron — a sort of indescribable rocket ship — are more works, all purported to be created by a fictional 19th century inventor, Dr. Evermor, but constructed by salvage artist Tom Every. Hours may vary but are listed as 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon. When the gate is closed, access is available through Delaney’s scrap metal yard next door.

Watch daredevils: The Mad City Ski Team

You could go to the Dells and see Tommy Bartlett’s Wisconsin Dells Water Show, as it’s officially known, or head to Minocqua to see the fabulous Min-Aqua Bats. And those would both make great vacations. But if you can’t leave town or are overtaken quite suddenly with an inexplicable urge to see water acrobatics, you can watch the Mad City Ski Team performing flips, turns, jumps and shoulder stands right here at Law Park on Lake Monona. Shows are Sundays through Labor Day; junior team at 5:30 p.m., main show at 6 p.m. (No shows on July 19 and Aug. 9.) Free.

Go caving

While southern Wisconsin is not known for its caves, you can find stalactites and stalagmites. Cave of the Mounds, 2975 Cave of the Mounds Rd. in Blue Mounds, offers one-hour guided tours daily that are a great introduction to underground caverns before heading to a big system like Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Eagle Cave, 16320 Cavern Lane in Blue River, offers one-hour guided tours Thurs.-Sun. The cave features crystals, onyx and the site of a former underground river. There’s also a family campground on site. (More fun — Eagle cave offers in-cave camping, but not until the end of September — keep it in mind.)

Governor Dodge State Park outside of Dodgeville also contains several small sandstone caves that are probably more fun to hike to than to explore; the largest of them is found on an offshoot of the Meadow Valley Trail called the Cave Trail. Check the event schedule for naturalist-led hikes to this and several smaller caves.

Take in a baseball game: The Home Talent League

Baseball fans, there are other options besides the Brewers (mercifully) and the Mallards. The Home Talent League is Wisconsin’s largest adult amateur baseball league. Madison doesn’t have its own team, but surrounding communities including Monona, Verona, Oregon, De Forest, Sun Prairie, Cottage Grove, Waunakee, Middleton, Cross Plains and Stoughton all play. It’s real baseball with few if any sideshows, other than the concession stand. Games are Saturdays and Sundays, usually at 1 p.m. Playoffs start Aug. 16. See the full schedule at hometalent.org/schedule.htm.

Bike the Hank Aaron State Trail

If you do take in a Brewers game, skip the parking lot tailgate scene for once and instead do a pre-game bike ride on the Hank Aaron State Trail. Throw your bikes on the car, head to Milwaukee and park around South 92nd Street in West Allis, where the paved bike path crosses near West Schlinger Avenue. Bike east through the historic and reviving Menomonee River corridor before heading back to Miller Park (right on the trail) to watch the game. Look for the historic streetcar shelters, newly restored, along the path.