Dale and I went camping last weekend and hit up a few of Southwestern Wisconsin’s tourist attractions. We took so many pics I thought we should break up the blog posts. Even before we got to campsite we stopped in at a place called Little Norway.

Most of the buildings on site are part of an old settlement of Norwegians. This building has an adorable grass roof.

The interior spaces feature a collection of artifacts that show what life was like for the settlers. They made everything–from their homes to every tool within, including the bucket and shovels pictured here.

The real highlight of the trip is the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition Norway Pavilion. It is one of only a handful of buildings that survive that were at the famed World’s Fair. I recently read Devil in the White City–a book all about the fair–and was excited to be inside the building. The building was built in Norway, disassembled and moved to Chicago for the exhibit. After the exposition, it was disassembled again and moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, by one of the Wrigleys. The Wrigleys donated the building to Little Norway with the condition it must be open to the public. It was disassembled again and finally moved (and re-assembled) at its permanent home in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin! *whew*

It’s very dark inside but Dale’s magical photography brought the building to life for me.

Dale snapped a pic of me snapping a pic (I like to take pictures of tiny, odd things).

I liked these Norwegian dolls with their sly little sideways glances!

Some Norwegian artifacts that are housed in the Norwegian Pavilion.

Apparently, some dignitaries and kings have come over the years and left gifts behind. I liked this one very much.

The door and the floors are all original–the place is in incredible shape for being created as a temporary exhibit. Apparently the Norwegian people took their pavilion very seriously!

Finally, on our way out of town Dale surprised me with a little gift! It’s little Swedish superstar Pippi Longstocking! I LOVED Pippi as a little girl. I remember watching her adventures as a little kid and adored how she exhibited super strength, sass and was smarter than all the grown-ups. It’s been a hoot posing her.