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 2^nd 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 17^th.

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. 

 

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 4^th 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 2^nd 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 17^th through the 22^nd   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.

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 31^st 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 1^st 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 2^nd.  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 21^st 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.

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 [JK1]is

Just Connecting Words: GO BREWERS!

Just Connecting Words: GO BREWERS!: I feel like spring is finally here because today is opening day in Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Brewers. I will be watching on TV, in the w...

GO BREWERS!

I feel like spring is finally here because today is opening day in Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Brewers. I will be watching on TV, in the warmth of my home, by choice, even though they now have an enclosed field and I know the roof will be closed so everyone can enjoy the game in relative comfort. Quite a change from the games I went to as a kid. The wind off of Lake Michigan, on opening day, could make it feel like the middle of winter.

The Milwaukee Braves came to Milwaukee in 1953 when I was six years old and I was lucky enough to have surrogate grandparents that had season tickets. I just wish I had the black jacket with the Indian Brave on the back and matching cap I wore as a small child. It would have been a great memory keepsake. The team was the Boston Braves from 1941 to 1952, prior to arriving in Milwaukee. They played at “County Stadium” in the same location that is now home to the Milwaukee Brewers. “Miller Park“, the current home of the Brewers, opened in 2001 and is one of the best in the nation.

As a kid growing up in Milwaukee I followed the Braves and collected Topps and Bazooka bubble gum cards. I can remember having some favorites; Lew Burdette, Ernie Johnson, Warren Spahn, Del Crandall, Joe Adcock, Johnny Logan, Eddie Mathews, Frank Torre, Andy Pafko and of course Hank Aaron. Great memories as a kid. Sure wish, as most guys do, that my parents had not thrown those cards out.

I thought it was ironic that on opening day, 2014, the Milwaukee Brewers were playing the Atlanta Braves because for those of you that are too young to remember or so old that you can’t remember, the Milwaukee Braves last season in Milwaukee was 1965. They then went to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Braves. As you can imagine they broke the hearts of many fans although attendance had been going down. At least that’s what we were told.

I remember, in the spring of 1965, as a senior in high school, taking advantage of something called “Senior Skip Day” and going to a Milwaukee Braves game with a group of my friends. Little did we know that it would probably be our last Milwaukee Braves game and one of the last times we would all spend time together, because graduation was only a couple of months away and we would drift apart. We still see each other occasionally, but it will never be the same. It’s wonderful to have those memories.

My day is complete. I got to watch the entire game without distraction or interruption and the Brewers won 2 - 0 on opening day, in Milwaukee, against the team that deserted me as a teenager in 1966. I know, get over it Jim. Still It doesn’t get much better than that unless you were there today or back in 1965 with friends.

Go Brewers!