Coming from the Sunshine state five years ago, my family and I had never seen beautiful open land, rolling hills, and miles of green and gold soy fields. We were used to sandy beaches, towels, and the unforgiving heat of the sun. But on Saturday, September 20th, my mom Ginny and I saw the beautiful Wisconsin scenery on our drive to Holy Hill.

The weather was starting to turn chilly and we both had a free weekend to attend the Holy Hill Arts and Crafts Fair.

According to HolyHill.com, two hundred and thirty artists and craftsmen displayed their works in a natural setting. Entry fee was $5.00 with children under 12 and under free and free parking and shuttle service were available.

Holy Hill can be seen from 50 miles away.

I see it in the horizon when I am on my way to Ashippun. But, when trying to get there, we couldn’t find it–the landscape was hiding it. We thought we would get there easily (because it can be seen from just about anywhere in the Lake Country Area), yet it took us turning around and questioning the direction we were going.

I recommend using a GPS because relying on word of mouth directions proved confusing for my mom and me.

Around 10 am, we reached our destination. We parked in the furthest lot and walk quite a distance through the paths, trees, and relentless hills, only to find two lines of people waiting to get in.  

Six hundred plus people, varying from old to young, waited for the gates to open. The workers were putting down straw because floods came the night before and the entire area was now muck. Good thing I wore my favorite rain boots!

But the organizers sure knew what they were doing. When the gates opened, the first thing I smelled was food, seducing the hungry, tired, and frustrated people.

There were 256 booths of every craft imaginable. Booth after booth, from Halloween odds and ends to beautiful art tiles, I felt like I was in a stockade with thousands of people and a hundred thousands items to look at.

An hour and a half later, with six worry stones, ($3 for the six), three art tiles ($60 for the three), and three hair pins ($7 for the three), we were ready to leave.

While making the hike back home, we spotted a beautiful family of deer darting across the pathway, along with black and orange caterpillars and chubby little squirrels.

What started out as a relaxing day in the country, hoping to enjoying the beautiful sight of the church, ended with a headache, two aspirins, and a nap but ultimately a great day.