Saturday, October 11, 2014
Just Connecting Words: Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU ...
Just Connecting Words: Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU ...: Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU FLAMBEAU 2ND VISIT : It was 1972 or 1973 when we extended our camping season into Septembe...
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - DOOR CCOUNTY PENINSULA, WI
We are on
the road again and this will be our last trip this calendar year. It was a
wonderful spring, summer and fall with our new trailer, but like all good
things it must end, at least for now. It was starting to mist as we pulled out
of the drive for Hy-Land Court campground located between Ellison Bay and
Sister Bay on the Door Peninsula. It continued to mist on and off for almost
the entire drive. We took
highway 151 out of Madison and it would take us all the way to Green Bay where
we would connect with highway 57/42 until we get to the campground. It took us
about an hour and a half to get to Fond du Lac where we would normally travel
up the west side of Lake Winnebago to Green Bay, but decided for a change of
pace and because we have no real schedule to drive up on the east side. We stayed
on highway 151 and went through towns I hadn’t been to in probably 30 years or
more. When we got to Green Bay we ran into a detour which, because of a wrong
turn, put us in the parking lot of Serrogi’s Candy Store where we always stop
when we visit Green Bay. Got back on the detour route and ended up on highway
172 that passes within blocks of Bellevue where we lived for 6 years. Decided
not to drive past the house on this trip.
We could see
the water of the Bay of Green Bay on our left about 10 minutes north of Green
Bay. I knew we were headed in the right direction. At 4 pm we arrived at one of the nicest
campgrounds that we have been at this year. Very large sites with many mature
trees, lots of room between sites, so level we didn't have to use any leveling
blocks and full hook ups that were all within five feet of our trailer. Even cable
TV for free, but probably hidden (included) in the nightly cost. Can only pick
up two PBS stations up here with our Wynguard antenna and didn’t want to miss
the Packers on Thursday so I do appreciate the cable TV. Finally saw about 30
minutes of sun at 5 pm so we are hoping it gets nicer as the week goes on.
Woke up to
cool temperatures and fog on Wednesday so we took time for a nice leisurely
breakfast and first got on the road to Cassville about 10 am. It’s the furthest
town south of where we are camped that we planned to visit. We visited a winery,
did the free wine tasting and found three that we had to have. Don’t think all
six bottles will make it home. We also did the tourist shopping thing and Lor
found some Christmas gifts that I can’t tell anyone about. We had a wonderful
late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant called “The Shipwreck”. Great food,
cheery pulled pork, great service and
their own brew pub beer that I probably wouldn’t order again.
Rained all
night but it should clear up later so we will journey to “Sweetie Pies” bakery,
just south of Fish Creek, that specializes in what else but homemade pies. It
was 11 am and we had to try a piece of Door County cheery/peach pie, another
healthy lunch, told my doctor I would eat more fruit. Definitely made the old
fashioned way with hand rolled crusts and just fruit without any type of
filling. Over 30 different pie selections and more that can be special ordered.
It was good as good as advertised so we took a small apple and small cherry
“Cutie Pie” back with us to have as desert at half time. Nice having cable TV
and being able to watch the Packers and Vikings. Lor also visited a jewelry
shop next door and found some very unique earrings that were calling her name.
Our next stop was Fish Creek, the largest shopping village on the peninsula.
Walked around all of the stores until we were shopped out at about 2:30pm. I
dropped Lor off at our trailer and drove to the northern most point on the
peninsula, Gills Rock, only about seven miles from our campground, to see if
there was some place to fish from shore. The trout and salmon are coming into
shore now and hopefully I can get a couple and have them smoked. The fish store
in Gills Rock will smoke them in 24 hours so you can take the fish with you. Found
a pier to fish from, but I wanted to get back to the trailer to watch the
Packers pre-game show.
Rained all night
again and Lor decided this would be a good day to stay in and work on some of
her projects, check emails, read and play games. I’m not a very good sitter and
always have to be going and doing so I drove to Gills Rock to fish for some
trout but the winds were 20 mph with gusts to 30 and the waves were 3 to 4 feet
breaking over the pier I had planned to fish from. If the Green Bay side is
windy the Lake Michigan side is usually calmer. I drove to Newport State Park
about 7 miles east. It’s a rustic camp ground for tents only, nice beach, water
was quite calm, but there was no place to fish from. My next stop would be
Rowley Bay on Lake Michigan just south of the park, but I had to drive back to
Ellison Bay to get there. It was one of those, “you can’t get there from here” and
of course the DNR warden meant directly from here to there. She then sent me to
an inland lake only two miles from the park, but they were already taking out
the fishing pier there for the winter. Nowhere is very far from anyplace else
up here and it only took me about 15 minutes to back track and arrive at
Rowley’s Bay. Talked to a couple of fishermen in a 20 foot boat who tried to
fish the Green Bay side yesterday and got chased off by the wind and waves and
were about to venture out on a much calmer Lake Michigan today. The water is
very shallow here and piers don’t go out far enough into the lake to make
fishing worthwhile.
No fishing
today, just cold and damp that seems to go right thru the old bones at times.
Nothing that a nice hot shower didn’t take care of. One of the advantages of
having a full hook up for the camper.
It’s almost hard to call what we do camping with all these luxuries. Went
up to Gills Rock for a delicious dinner of pan fried Lake Michigan perch at the
Shoreline restaurant right on the shore overlooking whitecaps. They start
serving at 5 and we got there at 5:15 and had over an hour wait, time to sit at
the bar drink an old fashion and enjoy the view even if it was cloudy with fog
rolling in. The wait was more than worth it and I would recommend this
restaurant to anyone who makes it to this area. We had so much to eat that we
couldn’t even look at desert and brought enough food home for dinner tonight. They
do close for the season the end of October along with many of the business
establishments up on the Door County Peninsula. Listened to the weather report
at 10 pm and they predicted more of the same, wet, cold and rainy for the next
couple of days.
Saturday
morning and we woke up to more of the same. Same weather at home so we really
aren’t missing anything by being here. It started raining about 6 am. I really
don’t mind the sound of the rain on the roof waking me up, but it usually means
we probably won’t get to do much today. Lucky for us we get ESPN 2 on the TV
and will be able to watch the Badger game at 2:30 pm. Plenty of time to read,
write and maybe even play a game or two. Lazy days are OK too. Can’t believe the
Badgers lost to Northwestern and can’t believe how bad both our quarter backs
played. I remember when Northwestern went for years without even winning
one game. I believe they have the honor of the longest
losing streak for a FBS college at 34 games between 79 and 82. I hope one of
our quarter backs gets it together before the season is over.
We woke to a
very gray and windy Sunday morning but no rain so we decided to do a little
exploring north of the campground in Ellison Bay and Gills Rock. Stopped just
outside of Gills Rock at Uncle Tom’s candy store and got some different types
of brittle, even one with bacon in it which is sweet and salty at the same time.
Also stopped at Seaquest Orchards Farm Market for apple cider, chocolate
covered cherries and fudge with cherries in it. I would recommend stops at both
places if you are up this way. The theme up here food wise is cherries and
apples if you haven’t guessed by now. The picture below is a brief period of clear skies and the scenery is why we come up here.
So windy I
didn’t even stop to throw anything that might attract those salmon that are
supposed to be here. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Al Johnson’s Swedish
restaurant with the grass and goats on the roof. It’s been in Sister Bay since
1949 and they are known for their Swedish pancakes, Swedish meatballs and
strawberry schaum torte. We had some of the best steaks that we have had this
summer and ate too much to have desert. Can’t visit Door County without a stop
for something to eat at Al Johnson’s.
Monday
morning we woke to this strange bright light coming through our windows. I
remember now. It’s sunshine. Decided to visit Sister Bay the city just south of
the campground and see what the shops had to offer. Nothing that we had to have
and it was still early in the day so we decided to drive the 14 miles east to
Bailey’s Harbor on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. Very pretty
scenery, colors are finally getting nicer and should be perfect right after we
go home tomorrow and through this weekend. Forecast is also for sun for the
remainder of this week right through the weekend. Sometimes you pick the right
week to see the fall colors and sometimes you don’t, but it’s still fun being
here. Stopped back at Al Johnson's at 1 pm for a piece of that strawberry schaum torte that looked so good last night but we didn't have room for. Fun to be at the age where we can have just a special desert for lunch and not feel guilty about it.
Tuesday
morning greeted us with bright sunshine again and a little sadness that our
camping adventure is over for this year. We are already thinking about where we
will be off to next spring, summer and fall.
My blog, “Just Connecting Words” will continue as the spirit moves me to
write about “this, that and the other thing”.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU FLAMBEAU 2ND VISIT
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU FLAMBEAU 2ND VISIT: It was 1972 or 1973 when we extended our camping season into September. We didn’t have children in school yet, the weather was usually v...
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - LAC DU FLAMBEAU 2ND VISIT
It was 1972
or 1973 when we extended our camping season into September. We didn’t have children
in school yet, the weather was usually very nice and the campgrounds were very
peaceful. Summer vacationers with
children had to leave to get their kids back for school. I remember one
September, at Clear Lake State, just outside of Woodruff, WI., when we were one
of three campers in a 75 campsite campground. So quiet and peaceful we could
hear the waves lapping at the shore and the wind rustling through those
beautiful brightly colored leaves. Nothing like fall in “Up North” Wisconsin.
Now that we
are camping again and can go whenever the spirit moves us we decided to return
to fall camping with a trip to Lac Du Flambeau where we spent a week earlier
this summer. If you have been following my blog, “just connecting words”, you
know how much we enjoyed that week. We made a reservation and got the same
campsite that we had then. We left home about 11 am on Wednesday, September 17th
and arrived about 4pm with two short stops. We spied a few trees turning colors
already just north of Wausau. It was so windy when we arrived that we decided
not to roll out the awning and knew we wouldn’t need the screen tent because no
bug that I knew of could fly in 20 mile per hour winds. Listened to the weather
report, “freeze warning for this evening”, and decided to turn on the furnace
for the first time this year. Only had it set for about 70 and it kept kicking
in all throughout the night and I was glad it did. They actually set a record
here for the lowest temperature this early in the year. Lor’s sister was up in
this area last week and reminded us to bring warm clothes and I’m glad we took
her advice. As I said earlier most Septembers up here can just be a
continuation of summer. I had the feeling this would not be one of those
Septembers.
We woke up
on Thursday to windows covered with enough condensation that we knew it was
quite a bit cooler outside than inside our very comfortably warm trailer.
Turned on the TV to listen to the news and weather and they predicted that it
would only reach 50 and we might see an hour of sun about 5pm. Unfortunately that was the good news. It was
supposed to warm up but rain was predicted for Saturday and Sunday when we had
planned to attend a couple of Fall Festivals in the area. We headed into
Minocqua to Triggs grocery store to pick up food and drink for the week and to
pick up a Lakeland Times, the “Up North” newspaper. Had to have essentials like
oranges and cherries for my Old Fashions. Hope my Doctor reads this one so he
knows I’m following his advice to eat more fruit. Please revisit my blog, On
The Road Again – Chippewa Falls, to see why I explained to him that drinking
more beer was good for my health. Hint. Beer is 80% water and he told me to
drink more water.
Being the
optimist that I think I am I really expected the weather to improve. Not happy
to look out the window and see white caps on the lake. Just in case the weather prediction was
correct we bought things we could make for dinner inside the trailer. In hindsight that turned out to be a good
idea. Thursday evening as I was about to get the grill out it started to rain,
but they said it should be over by Friday morning so we might have one nice day
to do something. We didn’t come up here to sit in the trailer for a week so we
put on some warm clothes and went into Minocqua to play tourist at a group of
shops called the “Boardwalk” mainly to get some fudge at Bosacki’s which has
moved from their original lake side soda shop and restaurant to just a small
soda shop and candy store. For those that are familiar with Bosacki’s they
still make their famous fudge, hot fudge for sundaes and wonderful malts. It’s
just not the same when you can’t sit at one of those old tables looking out
over the lake. Way too cool to have ice cream today. Settled for six ¼ pound pieces
of fudge. Some might even make it home for the rest of the family. There was a
slight break in the rain on Friday evening so I did get to grill some nice
steaks outside. The good news was that the ice cubes in my drink didn’t melt
while I was outside cooking.
It rained very
hard all Friday night and tapered off as we woke to a very cloudy windy Saturday,
but it looked like it might clear up so we had a leisurely breakfast and headed
for St Jermain and their fall festival. It was a nice ride, but we were done
looking at everything in an hour. It was only 11 am and the sun was out so we
decided to drive to Lake Tomahawk to check out their fall festival and car
show. It’s always fun to see if they have any 1955 Chevy Belair hardtops like I
had in high school. I’m sure my wife is tired of my comment that I bought mine
used for $250 in 1964 and that today they are worth up to $65,000. One of many
cars I wish I would have kept. It only took us about an hour to see
everything there so we headed back to the campground to just hang out and
relax. Our main objective for this week was just to enjoy the peace and quiet
of “Up North”, read, write and play board games. Turns out there is plenty of
time to do all of those things, inside the trailer! Winds are still constant at
20 mph with gusts to 30. Awning has not been deployed, no flag up, no fires
made, very little sitting outside, but we are enjoying the view of the lake
with its white caps from our trailer windows when they are not fogged up from
having the heater on.
It rained from 2am Sunday morning until about 7 am but the
wind has not diminished and the lake still has white caps. Temperature was up
to 40 degrees when I went into Flambeau about 9:30 to get a Wisconsin State
Journal. High today is supposed to get to 50 but that will probably be a stretch
with so many clouds and this constant wind. Finally some sunshine at noon, but
the wind just won’t let up. Only 6 TV stations up here in the woods and not one
with the Packers on. Had to listen to Green Bay lose on the radio. I hate when
I miss which direction they are running when they start and I have to guess. Doesn’t
appear that I missed much by not watching the game. Maybe they’ll do better
next week.
Monday morning and still windy but I decided to fish for a
while anyway. Hard to fish from their piers when the white caps are blowing
into you. Came back to find Lor sitting outside with hooded sweatshirt on, in
the sunshine and out of the wind next to the trailer. We decided to pay a visit
to the Lake of the Torches Casino and donate to the cause and then go into
Minocqua for dinner. Tried a new Mexican restaurant called the El Mez and the
food, service and drinks were great. I would definitely recommend this restaurant
to anyone who visits the area. About 10:15 as we were watching the news to find
out what kind of weather we would have driving home the next day the heater
kicked in. It’s been cold this week and that is always a reassuring sound. I
commented to Lor that I felt cold air coming out of the furnace. Not a good
thing that late at night when the forecast is for low 40”s overnight. I had
checked out the gauge on the 20 pound tank when I got up in the morning and it
was still green so I figured we would have plenty of propane for our last night
of camping. Went outside with my flashlight and sure enough the tank gauge was completely
red telling me that we would be snuggling in bed with sweat suits on and covers
pulled up. Our last trailer had two tanks so we could always switch tanks when
this happened. This new trailer only came with one. I will have an additional
tank when we go next time. We survived the chilly night, but I sure enjoyed
holding that first cup of coffee of hot coffee in my hands the next morning.
Looking back on the week we really did accomplish our goal of having a very
relaxing week “Up North” enjoying the peace and quiet.
Speaking of next time, we will be home for five days and then
leaving for a week in Door County, WI. at Hy-Land Park between Ellison Bay and Sister
Bay. The colors should reach their peak when we are up there. The Door County
activity calendar tells us that we we’ll be there for Door County’s “Delicious
Season”. The restaurants and bakeries all
try to utilize the Door County cherries and apples that they are so well known
for. Now all we have to do is wish for some
beautiful fall weather. I’m thinking positive, Indian Summer!
Thanks again to all of you who are following along with us while
we spend time “On The Road Again”.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
On The Road Again - Hudson WI
On The Road Again – Hudson, WI
Willow River State Park
Thursday
August 7th 10:30 am and we’re on our way to Hudson, WI., about 250
miles and five hours away. Hope it’s worth the ride. If you haven’t been
following our travels we are visiting places in WI that we always wanted to see
and maybe even finding a new spot that we may want to revisit. Stopped at a
wayside and then an hour or so later for gas and lunch and arrived at 3:30 pm.
We are in the newest of three campgrounds and it is quite open, but there is
plenty of room between campsites and we could put the screen tent up where we
get shade all afternoon from the one big tree on our site. 82 degrees, but a
very nice breeze blowing through to keep it comfortable. A Leinies, nice dinner
on the gas grill and then a walk around part of the camp ground before calling
it a night. Both too tired to light up a camp fire tonight and we want to get
an early start to visit Still Water, MN.
Woke up to a
very nice bright sunny day on Friday with just a slight breeze. Decided to have
a cup of coffee outside in the screen tent and enjoyed it so much I had cereal
and toast out there too. Enjoyed the sounds of the birds chirping and the
breeze blowing through the aspen leaves. Doesn’t get much more peaceful than
that. We left for Still Water about 9:30
am and we were there about 10 am.
Disappointed
that most of the stores don’t open until 11 am. It reminded us a lot of Galena,
IL. for shopping, but the stores were not as nice and it seemed like every
other one was a restaurant. We only stayed for about an hour and headed back to
Hudson where we stopped at a park along the river to look at all the material
we got at the visitor’s bureau before heading to Still Water. We decided on lunch
at Dicks Bar and Grill, recommended to us by the young ladies at the Hudson
Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. Walking into the bar it looked like a
small town dark bar, but we went into a very nice dining room with linen table
clothes and then out to their screened in deck with a wonder breeze blowing
through. One of those places where you take your time and linger over a very
pleasant lunch for two. Food and service was great.
Getting hotter so we decided to go back to our
campground and check out the beach and boat landing in hopes finding a place to
fish from shore, but didn’t find a good spot to wet a line. Spent the rest of the afternoon writing up my
VFW minutes from last Wednesdays meeting. I’m getting old and if don’t do it
right away I seem to miss things that should be recorded or maybe I just take
poor notes. Enjoyed another wonderful meal on the grill and burned through a
bundle of firewood. Camping just wouldn’t be the same without that campfire.
Amazing what your imagination can conjure up while being hypnotized by the red
and blue flames of a popping sizzling fire. Thinking about road tripping to Interstate
State Park which is located both in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Can’t wait to see
Taylor Falls that our daughter in law has been telling us about which is very
close to the park.
A beautiful Saturday came peeking through our
shades so we decided on the road trip to Interstate State Park. We went up the MN. side and we were only on
the road about 15 minutes when we got delayed in traffic for a run from Still
Water to Hudson. We idled in a long line of traffic for almost 30 to 45 minutes
watching exhausted runners, mostly walkers, none of which were smiling, most
looking like they were not going to make it to Hudson. The rescue squad went screaming
down the road the other direction and we hoped it wasn’t for some overheated
runner. The temperature was 85 and humidity was very high. I actually had to
turn off the air and open the windows because the temperature gauge started
going up. Finally we were the next car to go and there was a break in the
runners. Note to self to check prestone level.
The Interstate
campground was a right turn before we even got to the town of Still Water. We
waited in line to get into the office even though the campground posted a sign
that said campground full. When I got in the office I was told there was no
viewing area of the river in the park, but that we should take a right at the
first stop and go light when we got into town. It would take us to the Pot Hole
area of the park with scenic overlooks and hiking trails along the river. I
handed over $5. for a daily MN park sticker and we were on our way. One of the
craziest intersections I have ever gone through. Five roads and a campground
entrance with lights on four corners and a stop sign on another. Right before
we went into the park there was a parking lot for River Cruises so we decided
to check that out first. It was about 11 am and the next cruise was leaving at
11:30 so we decided to go on a 45 minute paddle wheel cruise. It was well
narrated, full of beautiful rock formations, had to use a very vivid
imagination to see what the captain said was there. Thankfully we didn’t
collide with any of the 100 or so kayaks and canoes on the river. Some just
stay around the beach area and some journey from that beach either 3 hours or 5
hours down river where a van picks them up and brings them back. A little too
adventurous for us.
We were in
downtown Taylor Falls by 12:15 and decided to look for lunch and decided on a
small town bakery with delicious everything. Once again sounding like our
typical, no good for you, lunch on the road. The town is only a couple of
blocks long and we were sorry we didn’t drive down to the end because they had
a 1950’s drive in with car hops that we would have had lunch at if we had not
stopped at the bakery. It was very crowded with hardly a place to park so it
must have been good. Maybe next time. Although I really was not impressed
enough with anything at the parks or in Taylor Falls to bring me back.
It was only
1:30 so we started our journey back to the campground on the WI side of the St
Croix River. We made a planned stop at Bass Lake Cheese Factory and restaurant.
It was about 2:30 and a doughnut was not enough to get me through to a late
dinner so we bought cheese, crackers and hard salami, all made right there and
enjoyed it out on their deck. They even bought out a knife so we could get our
cheese open. Everything tasted especially good because we were outside enjoying
a wonderful breeze and a wonderful view of a field of corn blowing in the wind.
Sometimes these little stores out in the middle of nowhere are real treasures.
Typical of
the our last camping adventure it started to rain about 6 pm just as I was
putting baked potatoes on the grill. Sure didn’t want to cook two rib eye
steaks in a frying pan on the stove. It was only a brief shower and we managed
to have a very scrumptious steak dinner for two, candle light and all, at 7 pm.
Enjoyed an after dinner drink while Lauralyn burned up two bundles of fire wood
creating one of the best camp fires so far this year. Tomorrow, Sunday is
supposed to be cloudy with rain predicted for late afternoon and continuing
through the night and Monday morning. Only thing planned is to go to a Falcon
presentation in the campsite at 11 am. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Sunday we
woke up to cloudy skies and high humidity. Supposed to reach 85. There were
about 50 0f us at the beach and finally a park ranger showed up and told
everyone there had been a miscommunication and the falconer would not be there
until 2 pm. Many were disappointed because they had planned on attending this
demonstration and then leaving for home. Poor folks probably have to work
tomorrow. Did I mention retirement is great! We did drive a little further into
the park and found the falls and some fishing piers, so I might wet a line
tomorrow depending upon what we decide to do.
We went back
at 2 pm and about 25 people showed up to listen to a man, about 35, discuss
hunting with falcons which he has done for the last 15 years. I didn’t realize
that they have the birds for a year and teach them to hunt for themselves
before releasing them to the wild. They do this because 80% don’t make it to
adulthood. He had three birds with him. The first falcon was a cross between a peregrine
and grieves, the 2nd was a falcon from the southwest which was a
little bigger than the first and then brought out a very big red tailed hawk
that we see frequently circling above looking for a meal. No flight
demonstration. Really wanted to see that falcon flying at 230 MPH. He usually
only trains them during the fall and winter.
Got up to 85
already and very humid so I think the rain is coming as predicted. Just
enjoying the rest of the day in our campsite. Lauralyn always has knitting
along, books to read and puzzle books to work on. I’ve been writing reading a
book of poems, “Poems That Touch The Heart” by A.L. Alexander which I had given
to my Mom years ago and found on my bookshelf. Bet you didn’t take me for a
sensitive guy. Can’t judge a book by its cover. You all know I can’t write
without using a couple of clichés. Still trying to finish those VFW minutes
too. Maybe I’ll do those next unless I get distracted which happens very easily
when I’m out here.
Monday
morning wakeup call came about 4:30 am with rain on the roof. Amazing how loud it can be on the roof and
awning. Just rain so drifted back to sleep. Still misting when we finally got
up for the day and we were having a leisurely breakfast when another storm went
through with enough wind and rain to
make the trailer rock and the awning flap more than it usually does. We were
deciding if I should go out in the rain to try to lower the awning when half of
the screen tent collapsed on itself. Just as I’m fearing the worst for our
brand new screen tent a gust of wind came through and popped it right back up.
Went out later and there was no damage at all to the tent. I would definitely
recommend the Gander Mountain Vista Dome Screen tent.
Drove into
Hudson after lunch to check out the local stores but once again we were not
impressed. Guess we are just spoiled with those in Minocqua and Galena, IL.
They set a pretty high bar. Continued to mist and even showered once again
which also put a damper on our playing tourist. We walked out on Old Toll Road
which goes out across the St. Croix River almost to the MN. Side. They have an
opening that is just large enough to let boats through. Some really big boats
moored here and they actually have smaller boats locked up on shore to get out
to their larger boats. Would have made some really nice pictures if the weather
would have cooperated. All in all I don’t think Hudson would be one of the
places we would return to. Nice campground, just not enough to do without going
into the cities which we didn’t want to do.
We are contemplating
going up to Door County for a few days from August 22nd to the 28th , but there is no
definite plan at the moment. Our next reservation is a return to Lac Du
Flambeau and the Tribal Campground that we really liked. We will be there from
September 17th to the 23rd. Still looking for somewhere go in October
since we canceled our trip for my ship’s reunion in Rhode Island. Just don’t
want to even think about putting the trailer to sleep for the winter, but we
are already looking forward to our trip to Florida the end of April/beginning
of May. We plan on going to St. Augustine for a couple of days and then drive
down to Key West. Friends, that introduced us to Key West a couple of years
ago, will fly down and meet us so we can enjoy a couple of days together. A few
drinks, great shrimp called “Reds” and of course Key Lime Pie. The plan is to
drive back by way of Baton Rouge, LA. To visit an old Navy buddy that Lauralyn
and I knew from Japan. Jesse, I’m giving
you fair warning.
Enjoy what’s
left of this summer. For us it’s going way to fast, but it’s been one of the
best in a long time.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
On The Road Again - Chippewa Falls
Lake Wissota State Park
Chippewa Falls
Learned
another lesson today. I know you can’t believe everything you read on the
internet, but I also learned that my Garmen GPS is not always right. It told me
it was 204 miles and would take three hours. We only stopped for gas and a rest
stop and it took closer to 4 ½. Yes I did the speed limit almost the whole way.
Only got stuck behind one old person, older than me, in a Buick with Iowa
plates that either wanted to only do 40 in a 55 or could only do 40 in a 55. No
schedule when on the road so we never hurry.
Nice large
sites with enough trees and bushes that we can’t even see the camper next to
us. With just electricity and no sewer or water we have to be more conservative
of how much we use. Lucky for us one of the two bathrooms is within a quarter
block of our site, but it is a pit toilet, can you say outhouse? The nice regular bathroom with shower is on
the other side of the campground and there is no privacy for taking a shower.
They only have these two facilities for 116 sites which doesn’t seem like
enough.
Tuesday, our
first full day here, we decided to visit the Leinie Lodge, the home of
Leinenkuge’ls Brewery established in 1867. We took a one hour guided tour that
explained both the history of the brewery and took us through the process of making
it. I now have a greater appreciation of the Leinie’s Honey Weiss that is my
favorite beer. At the end of the tour we sampled four 4oz glasses of our choice
of their beers. I started out with creamy dark and now have another one of
their beers that I would have no problem drinking. They also mix their beers
together to create exciting flavors like the “Bumble Bee”, 50% Creamy Dark and
50% Honey Weiss, two of my favorites. The other one that I like was 50% Honey
Weiss and 50% Berry Weiss.
After shopping
in the gift store, that was as big as your local Walgreens drug store, we each
had a couple of shirts, a cap for me and two pint glasses that were on sale two
for one. I even got a free tote bag for being a lodge member on line. If that
wasn’t enough they had coupons for about a dozen places that would give us a
free Leinies if we bought something to eat. It was now 12:30 pm and time for
lunch anyway so we decided on “The View Restaurant” that overlooks the bridge
that separates Lake Wissota from the Chippewa River. Enjoyed a perfect four
topping medium pizza for only $13. and got two free pint glasses of Honey Weis.
The view from their outside deck could
have been on a post card. Just
enough breeze to keep the bugs away too. A perfect end to our tour and our day.
Make sure you get to The Leinie Lodge if you ever get to this area.
Woke up this
morning, Wednesday, to very cloudy skies and temps in the low 50’s. Believe it
or not the weather prediction is for a high of 80 with a chance of showers in
the late afternoon. We’ll see how that works out. It was a good excuse to cook
and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. One of my VFW brothers, Maynard, suggested
that we could not visit Chippewa Falls without going to Irvine Park, so that
was our plan for today. What a treat, a 318 acre park in the city of Chippewa
Falls including a zoo, hiking trails, many picnic areas, many with shelters for
groups and even individual tables with canopies over them. They also had a
baseball diamond, tennis courts, sand volley ball courts, horseshoe courts and
a splash pad. We got there at 10:30 am, walked around for two hours, enjoying
the zoo and a very beautiful view of one of the falls on the river. We found a
picnic table in a quiet spot where we enjoyed the lunch we had packed along. It
reminded me of a song by Peter and Lou Berryman. If you haven’t heard their
music bring them up on line and listen to the words very carefully, especially
one song “Pack Up A Picnic”. This is a picture of Chippewa Falls.
After lunch
we drove a short distance to the cities rose garden which was a disappointment,
but it was right next to their community vegetable gardens where I checked out
the square foot garden plots. Thinking now that square foot gardening may be
the way to go next year at home. Tired of walking around so we made a stop at a
local restaurant and had cones with homemade ice cream. It was as good as
advertised. All of a sudden it was 3pm already so we decided to call it a day
for sightseeing. I dropped Lor off at the trailer and then fished from one of
their fishing piers for an hour and a half, but the only thing biting were the
flies and they were biting me. Just as I
was about to start the grill to cook some hamburgers I heard thunder. Turned on
the TV and there was rain headed our way so the weather person was right, nice
weather all day, got up to 78 and now the rain was upon us. At least the 50
mile per hour winds stayed north of us so we only had rain. Actually had to
make our hamburgers inside. Well at least we have an inside to make them in.
Lor’s disappointed because she will not get a camp fire in tonight. Tomorrow’s
supposed to be a really nice day so we will decide while having breakfast where
the road will lead us next.
Thursday
already and it looks like it will be another beautiful day followed by rain
again around 5 pm. We decided to visit three nearby towns, Stanley, Boyd and Cadott.
We went to
Stanley first because it was the farthest away and we would work our way back
to the campground. It turned out to be just another small town but they did
have a nice veteran’s memorial so we stopped and took pictures. They also have
the Stanley Correctional Facility with 1500 inmates that employs over 40
people. We have stopped during our
travels at Veteran’s Memorials to take pictures with the thought of making a
scrap book or perhaps an online post of some sort. No
interesting or unique stores in Stanley to shop at.
Fifteen
minutes later we arrived in Boyd which was even smaller than Stanley with a
population of 600. It’s listed as “The
Friendly Town”. I was amazed at what 600 people could donate to put up a very
respectful and impressive memorial for their service men and women. Once again
no stores that enticed us to shop. Good news, we’re saving money. Flagpoles are at least $200. a piece.
Another 15
minutes down the highway and we were in Cadott which was the largest of the
three towns. It is noted for being half way between the equator and the North
Pole. The Veterans memorial in Cadott was amazing. I’m always impressed by the
way these small towns honor those that died, those that served and those that
continue to serve. We spotted one of those small town bakeries and stopped to
get lunch. At 67 we can get away with desert for lunch and not feel guilty.
Enjoyed our coffee and bakery at a small park at the end of town overlooking
another pretty waterfalls. It was still
early in the day so we decided to visit Chippewa Falls one more time and get a
couple of more small glasses even though it meant sampling some more Linies. The
things we do to supply our new trailer with juice glasses. We had planned on
grilling out, but once again Mother Nature had different plans for us. The
weather pattern this week has been beautiful days followed by rain beginning
about 5 pm. We did manage to get steaks grilled on our gas grill but settled
for microwave baked potatoes. Weather
person says more of the same tomorrow.
We had heavy
rain at about 12:30 pm that woke us up and I asked Lor if she closed the
overhead vents. She couldn’t remember so I got up to check. Got to the first
one, looked up and told her through the water dripping on my face that they
were not closed. Got a towel and dried the floor and went back to sleep until
we were awakened again by heavy rain at 4:30 am. Some nights are like that.
Slept in
after all the rain last night and decided over breakfast to go to Jim Falls
just because of the name. Got on the road about 10:30 am, but made a wrong turn
and ended up in Cornell where they have the only remaining pulp wood stacker.
I’ll include a picture because you really can’t appreciate how big it is until
you see it. Small Native American museum, but not worth the stop. We decided to
head to Bloomer, about a half hour away, because they were having their local
fair. Only enough to keep us there for a half hour, but the Knights of Columbus
stand had strawberry cream cheese cake that we couldn’t pass up. I know. I
know. I have to start eating healthier at lunch. Hey, it had fruit and cheese
in it. How bad can that be?
Finally we
were on our way to Jim Falls our original destination. Only 2:30 pm and rain
clouds were already rolling in. We were planning on going on the dam tour, no
it’s really a tour of the dam there, not a dam tour, or maybe it is. We decided
with the weather closing in on us we would go back to our campsite, only 15
minutes away to get our screen tent packed away before it got wet again. Rain
drops started hitting the windshield just as we pulled into our camping spot.
Sun is out and it is pouring rain. Only rained for 15 minutes so we hoped that
it would hold off until the tent dried out and we could pack it away. Just as
we were questioning if it was dry enough to pack up, you know what happened. It
rained again. It finally dried out enough to pack it up about 7:30 pm, but we
will have to put it up again when we get home. There are those that question
our sanity, but everything that seems like more work out here really isn’t. The
joy of seeing new places and meeting new people makes up for any extra work.
Last night
we talked to our neighbor who was from Canada. This young 70 year old has a
trailer similar to ours and has traveled 16,000 miles already this year. He’s
been on the road since April and plans to keep up this life style until he
can’t. We have to be out of here by noon tomorrow so we plan to leave even
earlier and travel by way of Niellsville, and stop at “The High Ground Veteran’s
Memorial” on the way home.
Saturday was
another beautiful day, but once again they were predicting rain storms by late
in the afternoon. We were packed up and on the road by 10:30 am planning to be
in Niellsville by noon. Just a warning if you go there with a travel trailer or
motor home the closest parking is about a half mile walk. We made it without
any problems at all. Nice straight flat country road. We first heard about this
memorial when we attended LZ Lambeau, the welcome home for Vietnam Vets held in
Green Bay in 2001. It was everything they said it would be and more. We’re
walking around taking pictures and reading about the individual war memorials
when a Wisconsin National Guard Unit Convoy drives past on Highway 10 all
blowing their truck horns. How fitting is that? Once again thought about my dad
and uncles, all Navy during WWII, my father-in-law, Army Air Corps WW II and a
friend, a Marine, killed in Nam. If you are in that area make sure you stop.
Spending
four days at home, but it will go quickly. Wash clothes, pay bills, one of us
getting her hair done, Church on Sunday, Mallards baseball game on Monday
night, last one of the year for us, weed garden on Tuesday, if I can find it in
all the weeds , National Night Out in town with the and VFW Meeting on Wednesday
night. Then it’s “On The Road Again” to Hudson Wisconsin. Main road trip will be to Still Water, MN. I
was hoping to visit with a Navy Lt. that I served with in Taiwan, but
unfortunately he is out of the country.
Hope
everyone that is following us on my blog is enjoying my rambling about our
camping adventures. Also hope that all of you are having as much fun this
summer as we are.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
On The Road Again - Lac Du Flambeau
Destination “Up North” Lac Du
Flambeau
For us
summer has always meant at least one week of vacation “Up North” in northern
Wisconsin, often referred to as God’s country. We think of “Up North” as any town north of Wausau,
Wisconsin. This week we are camping for six days in Vilas County on the Lac Du
Flambeau reservation at their campground on Flambeau Lake. It’s about 1,200
acres with musky, northern, bass, walleyes and panfish. Our drive up here did bring back memories of
over 40 years of making this journey “Up North” for vacations with more great
memories than I could ever put into words. So glad we have pictures to help us
remember those wonderful experiences. We are camping about 10 miles from my
wife’s parent’s cottage that was sold about five years ago. We haven’t been “Up
North” since. I didn’t realize how much I much I missed being up here until we
drove through Wausau. I have also heard that any place north of Wausau is
thought of as being “North of the Tension Zone”.
No set plans
for this week. We will probably visit many of the towns that are within 15 to
20 miles of our campground just to see how they have changed. It may be hard to
decide which ones to visit in the next couple of days. We are right on the
border of Vilas and Oneida counties and may visit Eagle River, Minocqua, Manitowish
Waters, Boulder Junction or St. Jermain. It’s summer “Up North” and there is
something going on almost every day. We could attend art shows, quilt shows,
gem shows, food fests, museums and an endless number of tourist attractions. I
might even fish from shore in a couple of different places. Oh yes. I forgot to
mention that that “Lake Of The Torches” casino is less than a mile from our
campground. Hope we win enough to pay for our next adventure. We do whatever
the “Spirit” moves us to do in the morning when we get up. Some days we just
enjoy relaxing in the campground reading a good book or playing a board game. I might even get inspired to write.
Setting up
camp next to our new neighbors went perfect, including setting up the new
screen tent that we got the day before we left on this journey. It’s a Gander
Mountain 12’ X 12’ Vista Dome Screen tent that went up in 10 minutes and is so
much nicer than the heavy canvas one we had 35 years ago. We did put it up in
the backyard the day we got it so we wouldn’t look like it was our first day
camping when we got to the camp ground. We met our nearest neighbors as we were
setting up and they have a Jayco trailer also so we had something in common to
start the conversation. They are both Native Americans from Green Bay, WI.
where we once lived.
Friday
morning and we woke up early to very bright sunshine reflecting off the lake
and right through our shades. I’m sitting at our dinette table, having my first
cup of coffee, with a perfect view of Flambeau Lake as I write this. Life is
good!
We played
tourist in Minocqua this morning and Lauralyn ended up with new moccasins and a
book and I got washers for a leaky water connection. Had lunch, an ice cream
cone, isn’t it nice being our age, at one of the drive-ins that we had gone to
during our many years of coming up here.
We got back to the campground about 3 pm and just enjoyed the peace and
quiet and that wonderful sound of loons on the lake. Can’t explain it, but it’s
just so relaxing up here looking at the lake, reading the Lakeland Times and
looking forward to another great day tomorrow. They made a study and for some
reason people are more relaxed when looking at a lake, stream or ocean. I would
have to agree with that one.
Saturday we
woke up to gray and cloudy with the promise by weather people that it would not
rain and they were right. We drove about 40 miles to Eagle River to attend an
art show. It only took about an hour to see everything and Lauralyn did find a
perfect opal ring. We ate lunch at Soda Pops, a malt shop type restaurant that
Lauralyn remembers eating at for the first time when she was probably 10 years
old. They have about 75 different kinds of soda and old fashioned phosphate
sodas with almost any flavor that you could think of. I had a meatball sandwich
that was made with cranberries, sour kraut and brown sugar and was great but
really different. I chose a Dog & Suds rood beer because I worked at a Dog
& Suds during high school and my first year of college. Tasted just as good as it did in 1964. We
played tourist in Eagle River also enjoying all that the shops had to offer. A
sandwich sign in front of a jewelry store said “Thank You Vets” so of course we
had to go in. A man, about our age, was selling Navajo jewelry and Lauralyn picked
out a bracelet with two kinds of turquoise, lapis lazuli and oyster shell set
in a very pretty silver setting. I found a small fold up Coleman table that we
can use to put our small gas grill on or our two burner propane stove when we
choose to cook outside.
We took time
today to check out a different campground in Eagle River as long as we were
there, but the sites were too open (no trees), too close to each other or near
storage buildings. Then we stopped at Arbor Vita, the town right next to Woodruff
to check out another campground and this one turned out to be even worse than
the one we had just been to. Way too crowded for us and they just didn’t seem
very friendly. Checked these two off our list of possible campgrounds and once
again realized you can’t believe everything the campground listing says it is
and of course the brochures picture only their best sites. This is why we try
to check places out before we make reservations. We will check out three more campgrounds next
week and hope we have better luck, although we do like the one that we are in
right now. Red sky at night, sailors delight. Well we saw beautiful red sunset
tonight so we should see a very nice day tomorrow. We plan on going into Lac Du
Flambeau tomorrow. It’s about three blocks long, but has some shops and a
Native American museum. We will then make a donation to the Lake Of The Torches
casino and hope we win enough to pay for this week’s adventure or maybe even
two or three more. I’ll let you know tomorrow how we did.
Had a
leisurely Sunday morning which began with Sausage, bacon and blueberry pancakes
and a great view of the lake from our dinette window. Had my third and fourth
cups of coffee in the screen tent. What a view of this lake. We looked at our
calendars and decided to come back for a week in September. We were hoping to
visit Waswagoning Indian Village today, but found out they are only open
Tuesday through Saturday so we will have to do that the next time we are up
here.
We did go
into down town Lac Du Flambeau, about three blocks long, and were very
surprised at the improvements that have been made in the last five years. They
now have sidewalks and curbs that allow you safely walk to the casino about a
mile away. Downtown now has a small six store mall that was closed on Sunday.
We stopped in their grocery store to get a WI State Journal and a couple of
things we forgot for dinner and then I spent the rest of the morning reading
the paper and Lauralyn continued to work on a knitting project. Can’t get much
more relaxed than that. After lunch I went out on the pier that was built for
the handicapped but anyone can fish on it. It’s only a half mile from our
campsite and extends about a third of the way out into the channel between the
lake we are on and Lake Pokegamma where the casino is located. You could
actually take your boat from our campground to the casino if you wanted to. Only
caught one small bluegill but the wind was blowing right into where I was
fishing. I’ll probably try again on another day. After another great meal on
the gas grill we went to the casino and made a donation.
Woke up to a
cloudy hot muggy Monday and decided to road trip, in the air conditioned SUV to
check out two more campgrounds but only one would due in a pinch. We are really
spoiled with the one we are in which has larger sites. One that we looked at
the trailers were so close the pull outs from one were only a foot from their
neighbor. Very few children here because they don’t have all the extras that
children need today to keep them busy. Very quiet and very peaceful. Riding in
the car was so nice and cool that after lunch we decided to visit Mercer, “The
Loon Capitol of the World”. They had a quilt shop with a big sale sign so we
had to stop. Lor ordered a pattern for a small quilted sign
for the trailer just before we left on this trip and found the perfect material
to make it with on sale. Another store down the street had a tuned wind chimes
that we thought would be perfect in the screen tent and it is.
We kept
hearing weather reports of heavy winds, one inch hale and thunder storms so we
decided to take down our screen tent and put the awning up before we had dinner.
After dinner we once again donated to the Native Americans in Lac Du Flambeau. Yes,
I do know that people very seldom win at casinos, but it comes out of our “entertainment
fund”.
Can’t
believe it’s Tuesday already and we have to go home tomorrow. The rain was
predicted to be here after midnight, but didn’t arrive until 5:15 am and only
lasted an hour or so. We did have very strong winds today though so I’m glad
everything was put away early. We road tripped to Bolder Junction because we
used to camp at Big Lake there many years ago and they were having street sales
and a strawberry ice cream social. They also had a flea market and I found
connectors that clamp onto the screen tent material on the sides and corners
that you can put a stake through to hold down the bottom flaps on the inside.
You almost have to have a screen tent to know what I’m talking about. They were
having a raffle of a restored 1947 wood canoe which was just beautiful. Then we
realized it was as old as us, two 1947 babies. I asked them if they could
restore me, but only back to 20 or so.
Lor also
realized she has been coming up here for over 60 years. Checked one more
campground near Bolder Junction, Camp Holiday on Rudolf Lake, which will be our
2nd choice when we want to come this direction for R&R. If you
don’t know what R&R is ask a Vet.
I was emptying
the tanks one more time this afternoon when I got stung again by a ground
hornet. They came back and sprayed one more time and felt very bad about it.
This is just part of camping and Mother Nature. I did get everything packed so
we can be out of here by noon check out time. We treated ourselves to a very
nice dinner at the Polecat and Lace restaurant in Minocqua. Best steaks and
dinner out that I’ve had in a long time. Gets four stars from me.
I usually
hate the thought of leaving, but not this time. We will be home for four days
and then we are off to Chippewa Falls, WI. for a week. We will play tourist,
check out more campgrounds, I’ll get a chance to fish and we will tour the Leinenkugel’s
Brewery. Leinies Honey Weiss. One of my favorites. We’ll also be returning to
this campground for a week starting on September 17th.
Until next
time when you find us on the road again.
Added note: We often stop at Veteran's monuments. The monument is in Mercer the Loon capitol of the world. Biggest loon in the world too. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN CLIFFSIDE PARK
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN CLIFFSIDE PARK: On The Road Again We are on the road again, but only for a three day trip, with Lauralyn’s friends from the quilting group from St...
ON THE ROAD AGAIN CLIFFSIDE PARK
On The Road Again
We are on the road again, but only for a three day trip,
with Lauralyn’s friends from the quilting group from St John’s Lutheran Church
in Oregon Wi. It was a bright sunny 80
degree day when we left home and 60
degrees and fog when we got within about 2 miles of the campground. Growing up
2 miles from Lake Michigan I know “it’s always cooler by the lake”. There are
two travel trailers the same size as ours and the other three are fifth
wheelers. We are parked three next to each other with the others back to back
with those three. Two screen tents are set up in the middle of the trailers in
case we have to avoid rain drops while eating. Yes rain predicted for the next
three days. Of course they predict clearing when we leave on Wednesday.
By dinner time we
were all in jeans and sweatshirts. The sites are all hard packed white rotten
gravel, very level and have water and electric hook ups. A lot different from
when we had to go to an old fashioned hand pump and bring water back to the
camp site. Dinner tonight was a fish fry, cooked in a very large propane fired
deep fryer, by one of the guys that had caught bluegills through the ice this
past winter. Food always seems to taste
better when you’re out camping and it doesn’t have to be beans and wieners. They
even have table cloths and center pieces on the two tables. No camp fire
tonight, just conversation until the
damp got to us.
Monday morning greeted us with more fog that would last
until 3:30 pm, but at least there wasn’t any rain. After breakfast 10 of us
decided to road trip to Kenosha, WI., about 20 miles from where we are camping.
We are in search of Tenuta’s Italian Store/Deli that one of the couples is
familiar with because they lived in that area for a while. Everyone found something
they couldn’t pass up. Of course after looking at all that food we had to have
lunch there. The cannoli’s were especially good. The owner even brought out a
medium sized container of olives for us to have with our lunch. Well worth a
stop if you’re in the area.
On the way back to the campground we took a route along Lake
Michigan. The couple that knew the area called us on their cell phone from
their car and we put our phone on speaker in the other car trying to listen to their travel guide narration.
Didn’t work real well but it was entertaining. We did make a stop at the
O&H Danish Bakery in Racine that has been making and selling “The Famous
Racine Danish Kringle” since 1949. Finally something younger than I am. O&H
Danish was the first bakery in the United States to specialize in the making of
this Danish treat. Too hard to explain a kringle if you don’t know what it is
just go to www.ohdanishbackery.com
. Did I mention that the Kringel is now recognized as the WI state pastry. Another one of those trivial facts that I
know. Just don’t ask me what I had for breakfast. We also ended up buying an
apple fruit stick, a Danish apple coffee cake, to serve with breakfast tomorrow.
After another wonderful dinner we sat around a camp fire until about 10 pm
before we finally gave in to the damp creeping into the old bones. If you’re
over 65 you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The nice thing about having six couples is
that each couple only has to cook one breakfast or dinner while we are here. We
have breakfast tomorrow and we will be serving cinnamon raisin French toast,
bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, juice, coffee and the apple stick we got at the
Danish Bakery.
Tuesday got here at about 5 am for me. Hard down pour last
night and early this morning, but no strong winds. I was awake early listening
to rain drops, thinking about how I would have to pull the picnic table under
our awning just to cook this morning. By the time I got outside the rain had
stopped and I knew we could have breakfast for 12 done by 8:30 am as planned. Well
how about by 9 am. I blamed being a half hour late on the fact that it’s been a
long time since I cooked for 12, especially when I have to do it outside while
Lor was cooking the French toast inside the warm dry camper. I have a 30 year old Coleman two burner propane stove
that I did bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs on and found out it really
splatters hot grease when those rain drops fall from the trees. We must have done OK as breakfast cooks because they ate everything
including the Danish coffee cake.
It turned out to be a fairly nice, mostly sunny day. The ladies chatted and the guys played a camp
ground version of bocce ball. They used a softball for the pallino or jack and
there was no place that we couldn’t throw it. Made for an interesting game with
the mud and water. Dinner was barbecued ribs, potato salad and water melon for
desert. There theme for dinner was a 4th of July picnic. Hey it’s the
end of June and it’s supposed to be warm even in Wisconsin. I thought I could
even see my breath. The only bad news was that we found out the dump station
was full and would not be open until 9 am tomorrow. Breakfast was once again on
the agenda for 8:30 am so no one really was concerned.
Wednesday morning I turned on the TV to catch the morning
news and weather and found out visibility was only ¼ mile so there was no hurry
to finish breakfast and get hooked up. Time for that 2nd and maybe
even third cup of coffee. We were all packed up and ready to leave at 11 am and
already I can’t wait until we go somewhere with the group next year. I did know
some of the guys from habitat and some from VFW so it was like being with old
friends and now have some new ones too.
Our next trip, July 17th through the 22nd is to Lac Du Flambeau, WI where we will be
camping by ourselves at the reservation campground less than a mile from the
casino. You’ll have to read the next blog to see if we won enough to pay for
our trip. Sure hope so. That’s it for now and we hope that you are having as
much fun this summer as we are. Campground rating is five stars. The group,
priceless. Thanks to the quilters for inviting us along.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Just Connecting Words: ON THE ROAD AGAIN: As promised I will start blogging again now that we are finally on our maiden voyage with our new Jayco RB Jay Flight travel traile...
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
As promised
I will start blogging again now that we are finally on our maiden voyage with
our new Jayco RB Jay Flight travel trailer. Lauralyn started camping as a child
with her parents and our first vacation, after coming home from Japan, June or
July 1971, was camping with her parents and sisters. I loved it immediately.
The next summer we had our own tent and we would camp as a family for the next 18
years. We progressed from the tent to a tent camper and then to a 27 foot
Mallard travel trailer for the last 10 years that we camped.
In October
1989 Lauralyn’s parents bought a cottage near Minocqua, WI. where we spent the
next 20 years. Her Dad sold the cottage in 2009 so we had to decide what we
wanted to do next to enjoy being out in the woods and traveling. We spent about
two years looking at motor homes and then truck campers before looking at
travel trailers. We discovered that they were now making some that were light
weight and with everything we wanted in them. After only one day and one night
in it we already know this is the perfect trailer for us.
The trailer
is only 19.5 feet long, 8 feet high and 7 ½ feet wide, not much wider than a
car and lower than most trailers which sure helps with gas mileage. It’s
basically made for just two people and maybe one grandchild at a time for a
weekend. We’ll see. It has a queen size bed, kitchen with a table for two, a
stove, refrigerator and microwave, full bath with a small tub and shower,
digital radio, TV, air conditioner and awning. What more could you ask for?
Lauralyn just wanted to be able to stand up in it and have a bathroom. We
accomplished the goal.
So where did
we begin this new journey? Two hours from home at Nelson Dewy State Park in
Cassville, WI. on the Mississippi. It was a beautiful ride through many hills and
valleys and proved that our tow vehicle can handle anything with this trailer.
Pulling this trailer, just under 3,500 pounds, with our SUV looked good on
paper but you never know until you give it the test and we passed that getting
to this area of the state.
We arrived on
Thursday May 29 at about 3:30pm and discovered, sight unseen, no pun intended,
that we had picked a big, level perfect site for our trailer. Backed in on the
first try because Lauralyn has not lost her touch for guiding as I back the
trailer in. We also found, when we got out of the car, that the gnats were
probably going to be a problem. By the time we got set up, and swatted a
million gnats, the worst were behind the glasses, we decided to make dinner and
call it an early night. We surprised that very few sites had campers in and
thought it would fill up on Friday. Sure hope that gnats are gone tomorrow.
Woke up Friday
to a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 80’s and decided to drive
about 25 miles north along the River Road to Wyalussing State Park. It was a
very pretty ride through more hills and valleys with great views of the
Mississippi. When we camp we like to check out campgrounds to see what they are
like and jot down the best sites for our trailer on maps they have of the
campground sites. The views of the river from the camp sites were unbelievable,
but the majority of the sites were too small and too hilly for our trailer.
There were some loops without views of the river that would be nice for our
trailer, but we decided we would rather come back to Nelson Dewy where we are
now camping. We did pick up fire wood at a small store at the entrance to Wyalussing
State Park so Lauralyn to build fires in the evenings. One of the things she
has always enjoyed. She hasn’t lost the title of fire bug either. She got the
fire started with just one match. Don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow, but will
decide when we get up depending on the weather.
On Saturday
May 31st we woke up to another nice day and decided to road trip 55
miles to Galena, IL and walk up and down the main street and go through all the
stores. We had been there a couple of years ago with a group and really didn’t
get to see as much as we wanted to see. Found a camping cook book that has
recipes and directions for one aluminum foil package which sure makes for easy
clean up. Might even use these at home. As they say half the fun is in the
journey and we took back roads to get there and really enjoyed the scenery and
waves from all the people along the way. Stopped in a little Galena bakery for
tomorrow’s breakfast. We did find a fragrance shop that mixed us a magic potion
of mainly vanilla to stop those annoying gnats. Got back to the camp site and
the stuff really worked. Best $5. I’ve spent in a long time.
Sunday June
1st and it’s another perfect day. We decided to road trip about 40
miles to Dubuque[JK1] , IA. to visit the National
Mississippi River Museum and aquarium. The museum was great and we were there
from 10 am until about 4 pm. I’d recommend the Museum to anyone that gets to
the part of Iowa. The aquarium was not really worth seeing and we only spent
about half hour there. Stopped in one of the supper clubs in Cassville, two
miles from the Nelson Dewy State Park, but it wasn’t as good as the write up in
the town tourist brochure.
We knew it
had rained a lot last night but were surprised when we heard on the radio that
the rain fall measured 1.25 inches. Driving through Potosi the last couple of
days we kept going right past the Potosi Brewing Co. and National Brewery
Museum. This was our road trip for today, Monday, June 2nd. The charge was $3. and it was more than worth
it because we each received a free beer at the end of the tour. We spent about
four hours there and enjoyed every
minute of it. Never knew how many breweries were in Wisconsin starting in the
1800’s. This is another recommendation for anyone traveling in this area. Had
lunch in their restaurant and that also was very good. I recommend the beer cheese soup. How could
you possibly go wrong with a combination of two of Wisconsin’s best products. Can’t believe I’ve lived my entire life in
Wisconsin and never had a Potosi Beer. I would recommend the “Good Old Potosi
Beer”.
Woke up and
it was Tuesday already and we had to leave for home because I had a VFW meeting
the next day and a Mallard Baseball game the day after. We drove up to the
picnic area where there was a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River for
one more look before we hooked up the trailer for the ride home. We both hated
to leave and I’m sure we’ll be back.
Our shake
down trip with our new trailer reassured us that we had made the right decision
to go with a travel trailer and we only have to add a few things to make it
home sweet home away from home.We’ll be on the road again June 21st
with five couples from church. Our destination this time will be Cliffside Park
Campground in Racine County, WI, right on Lake Michigan for four days.
[JK1]is
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