As much as we love finding new places to go on our jaunts, we frequently find ourselves returning to a spot we have already visited. It’s a great opportunity to explore further— to follow that hallway you didn’t investigate, to climb that hilltop to see the view from up there.
We recently returned to Delaney’s Surplus. It’s a cluttered shop of various spare parts, abandoned equipment, and such. We had a great time there on our first trip, but our visit was in the middle of winter and quite cold. So we hadn’t explored the big back open lot with large items, too numerous, or too dirty to bring into the shop. This time, we went in early summer in order to peruse the outdoor area.
And were we glad we did!
We found lots of cool things outside: huge bins of door knobs, candleholders, giant crystal plastic lampshades for street lights, strange wired pieces that would make great trelises for our garden, and much much more. Not only that, we stumbled upon the secret entrance to Dr. Evermor’s Garden.
Dr. Evermor is legend in these parts. His metal sculptures made from repurposed scraps are found all throughout the Wisconsin area. Driving up to Devil’s Lake or Baraboo brings many people past the front of Dr. Evermor’s garden, with it’s giant birds and other odd creatures guarding the gates. The gates which are 
always closed.
We have long wanted to visit Dr. Evermor, but we never found the garden open. Until we found the back door.
Around the back of Delaney’s is a short path connecting it to the sculpture garden. Follow the path and you will find yourself surrounded by small metal insects, gigantic birds, dinosaurs and, of course, The Forevertron. The Forevertron is a massive piece, the center focus of the garden. It is amazing. Can it launch you to the heavens using magnetism? We’re not sure, but it is awesome to see.
Our inventive, artsy, tinkering family loved walking around the many sculptures and finding the hidden treasures tucked here and there. We’re sure we’ll go back and attempt to see the things we may have missed.
And this trip to Delaney’s will remind us to really look around each time we go somewhere , whether we’ve been there before or not, and to explore and discover the hidden bits that we might not otherwise see.