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PARISH NURSE RETREATS 2008 - see our brochure (pdf) "NURTURING YOUR SOUL: A Day Away for Parish Nurses" - A time for personal nurture with rest, renewal and resources for your unique role as a parish nurse. May 7-8, 2008  We are very proud to announce our certification in the TRAVEL GREEN WISCONSIN program showing our committment to good environmental practices and to improving wildlife habitat at our Inn! See our certification and rating.   See our Inn's Bird Life List with 51 species as of 12/17/07 (a pdf file) including this Barred Owl rescued at our B&B in August of 2007. Our LABYRINTH is complete. It is a classical, seven circuit, grass labyrinth in our upper land. See our entry in the "Labyrinth Society's" labyrinth locator. | |
| THE SETTING In the National Register Historic Village of Rural, the Crystal River flows to and fro and through the old swimming hole then spills over the dam and winds its way under five bridges. Before quietly slipping out of town, it glides past and around more than 14 mid-1800 homes and buildings. Nestled in one of these serpentine loops you'll find the Crystal River Inn, a premier bed and breakfast of Waupaca, Wisconsin - in an 1853 farmstead setting. Our 11 acre Inn property offers a variety of bird and other wildlife habitats. They include recent and long abandoned farm fields, evergreen pine groves, old and young hardwoods with lots of snags, a small pond full of spring peepers, some small areas of wetland, a small river (the Crystal), and some lawn. We will be restoring the west 3-4 acres as lowland prairie or oak savannah as there are several open grown burr oaks there. Further birding and wildlife viewing is a 2 minute walk in the village which brings you to an 1850's mill pond where sightings of belted kingfishers, great blue heron and other water and marsh birds are common. We recently saw a river otter snacking on one of the many fish in the pond. Within a five minute walk or bike ride there are uplands, drumlins as this is terminal moraine area, marshes and more river and field habitat. We are in the Chain O'Lakes so within three miles or less there are deep glacial kettles with marsh and tamarack swamp around them. Several of the lakes are "no wake" lakes perfect for canoe and kayak. Hartman Creek State Park is three miles away and the Waupaca River is 4 miles away. There is a restored oak savannah area 3 miles away by Waupaca High School. We are located on Wisconsin Rustic Road #23 and are in wonderful bicycling country. Our road and even the Inn are included in many bike touring guides. We support and are supported by: We are committed to improving the natural habitat and are members of the following environmental organizations:
You can read about us, the inn-keepers, from our '06 Holiday Letter. Our '07 letter coming soon! | |
THE ACCOMMODATIONS
In this beautiful Wisconsin riverside home, listed as a contributing home in the National Register Historic District of "Rural on the Crystal," you will enjoy the country comforts of luxurious down comforters on the queen sized antique brass beds of this bed and breakfast. All antique embellished bedrooms feature a view of the river, wildflower garden, the woods, or all three. Each spacious room contains a nook designed for reading or visiting. Almost all our B&B rooms have private baths, two have double whirlpools. The inviting main floor rooms include the Welcome Room, Parlor, River Room, Library, Sun Room and Breakfast Room. Have breakfast in the Sun Room or Breakfast Room - each adjoins the woods or overlooks the river. All rooms abound in comfortable nooks and crannies where one may enjoy tranquil solitude or join other guests in lively conversation. Click here to view rooms. For early risers, wake-up coffee, tea and hot chocolate (all fairly-traded and organic) along with homemade pumpkin or banana bread will be found in the Welcome Room before sitting down to a full breakfast prepared with a down-home flavor and a touch of Southern flair. At the Crystal River Inn you'll find
We're open year 'round. | |
THE HISTORY In July of 2005 Robert and Deborah Benada fell in love with the Crystal River Inn… We began dreaming of working together full time in hospitality and in November 2006 our dream became a reality as we became the new owners & innkeepers of the Crystal River Inn. We delight in providing a warm and relaxed place for all to feel at home and among friends, a place fostering rest and refreshment of body, mind and spirit. Over the summer we “trained” under Gene and Lois Sorenson who had turned the 1853 A.R. Potts farmstead into a bed and breakfast in1987 and so lovingly cared for this historic farm home so that many could enjoy its comfortable country charm. We now continue the same heart-felt hospitality that has been a hallmark of the In 1955, the Potts farm was awarded the Century Farm Award by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture acknowledging 100 years of continuous farming by one family. Another 20 years were added to that number before A. R.'s grandson Truman Potts retired in 1975 marking the end of a era. Most outbuildings still stand as they did over a century ago. Now they function simply as the object for frame after frame of film as passersby stop on the Wisconsin Rustic Road #23 to record this vanishing American scene.
DIRECTIONS Take Highway 10 to Highway 22 South at Waupaca, WI.
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