Glacial Lake Cranberries

Slight change, this escape involved my husband and myself.  We traveled to Nekoosa, WI, where the Glacier Lake Cranberries, Inc. is located. Glacial Lake disappeared thousands of years ago and left behind this 6100 acres of property used to grow cranberries.   It is just south of Wisconsin Rapids in the center of the state.  Great Tour!!!  If you ever wanted to know all there is to know about cranberries, this is the place to go.  First, before you go you need to sign up for a tour time.  I had called a week earlier, and the 11am tours were already booked so we signed up for the 10am tour.  At 9:45 am we arrived and went into the Visitor Center, where we were greeted by a women who's great grandfather started working in these cranberries bogs when he was 12 years old.  Her husband drives the "Berry Bus" which is what we all boarded after each one of us sampled a cranberry dipped in carmel.  It tasted just like a tart carmel apple, very good!  Her son currently works in the bogs and it was mentioned that many of the cranberry marshes are run by 5, 6, even 7 generation families, basically cranberry growing stays in the family. 

We drove in the bus between the "bogs" or "marshes" for a close view of the harvesting operation.  The "bogs" (which are filled with sand, peat, gravel and clay) are flooded.  A machine resembling a large lawn mower is driven up and down rows in each bog, pulling the cranberries off their vines and then floating onto the surface.  Cranberries float because there are air chambers inside each berry.

 

Then the cranberries are corralled, using the same floating devise that contains oil spills.  They are then racked towards a conveyer belt that separates the berries from any leaves, one truck gets the berries the other truck gets the debree.  Once harvested, they move onto a processing facility. 
We got out of the bus to watch the guys racking the berries  Anyone who has seen an Ocean Spray commercial would truely enjoy these guys, wearing their waiters in the thigh high water.

 

We then drove to a cranberry bed that hadn't been flooded yet and we got out to pick our own cranberries. We also saw some Trumpeter Swans, since this area provides a ideal stopover for migrating species.

The whole tour was very well run, lots of information and hands on fun.  We went back to the Visitor Center where we purchased some wine, jam, and chocolate covered cranberries. 

Tidbit: A daily portion of cranberries can promote good health, as they contain a anti-adhesion effect the remains in the body for up to 10 hours.  Cranberry Bogs can be seen from Hwy 39, around Wisconsin Rapids as well.  Not all cranberry farms have tours, Glacial Lake does it right.

Loved it!